We’re excited to announce our collaboration with Escape Room Woodbridge on their new room called Starbase Command. The ERG worked with ERW to develop and design the room and puzzles, and even created one of the props from scratch.
After watching the video, go to Escape Room Woodbridge’s website, and use ERGUYS as the promotional code when booking the room to get $7 off per person by September 25.
Please share this link on your social media channels!
And, after you’ve done the room, come back and comment here on what you thought of it!
The Escape Room Guys sat down with Angie Curtis, CEO of Escape Room Woodbridge, to chat with her about her location, their rooms, and their current promotion.
Description (from the company website): For months, Dave has been haunted by a tragic memory. Every time he closes his eyes he is forced to re-live devastation and loss. This room, a specially made experience for two people, is a dark and intense exploration into the mind of our main character, and it is up to you to save him from himself. Enter the dream and help Dave recover, because in 30 minutes he will wake to the greatest adventure of his life. (see House Arrest).
Note: This experience may be intense for individuals who are sensitive to low light situations, confined spaces, and eerie audio/video effects. All minors must be accompanied by an adult.
Difficulty (1-10): N/A, no record or success rate listed
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Cost: $15
Identifier: R1
Party Size: 2 (you CANNOT do this with one person)
Staging Area: The location is downstairs in the strip mall and does not have an outside door to the parking lot (you have to go in through the building and down the stairs). Waiting area is clean, several chairs; place looks nice and cozy.
Metro Access/Parking: There’s no metro or anything nearby, but there is plenty of parking.
OUR EXPERIENCE
This is the video we took before we entered the room:
Logistics:
Description of the room: You are in a mostly-dark room that’s about 3′ x 12’… we can’t describe anymore without spoilers, but even that small space seems… smaller for some reason.
Understanding of the Mission: We set out to learn what’s keeping Dave up at night and how he became a conspiracy theorist.
Did We Escape: Yes
Time Remaining: About 3 minutes (we had some technical difficulties at one point, so we lost about 3 additional minutes).
Our Suggested Party Size: Must be 2 people. It’s physically impossible to do this on your own.
Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes
Members of our team (other than the ERG): None
Worth the time and money? YES
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:
We had already been to the BBQ joint nearby (less than 100 yards away), Moe’s Original BBQ
Description (from the company website): The Silver Lining computer virus is spreading and the world is now on the brink of total collapse. Alfred Roland, the CEO of Locus Industries, is harnessing its power to locate items of great value without remorse of the destruction it is causing. He is hosting a party at his private manor and Dave has been put on the guest list, thanks to some help from a friend. Jump into Dave’s shoes and sneak into Alfred’s study to disable the core of the virus. It’s a stealth mission, and security is on high alert at this corrupt billionaire’s abode.
Difficulty (1-10): N/A, but the record is 42:15 and it has only a 41% success rate
Time Limit: 60 minutes
Cost: $25
Identifier: R1
Party Size: 2-8
Staging Area: The location is downstairs in the strip mall and does not have an outside door to the parking lot (you have to go in through the building and down the stairs). Waiting area is clean, several chairs; place looks nice and cozy.
Metro Access/Parking: There’s no metro or anything nearby, but there is plenty of parking.
OUR EXPERIENCE
This is the video we took before we entered the room:
This is the video we took just after we completed the room:
Logistics:
Description of the room: You start off in a library surrounded by books. There’s a desk, a full wall of bookcases, and a podium with a map.
Understanding of the Mission: We had to break into the office and find out how to steal the virus. And then escape.
Did We Escape: Yes
Time Remaining:12 min
Our Suggested Party Size: A slightly larger group (7/8) is great for searching this room, as there’s a lot to look for.
Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Amanda, Mike, Corey, Brittany, Rohan
Team Disturbed Friends (Rohan, Amanda, Mike, Corey, Brittany, Mike and Jason) infiltrated the Lion’s Den and found the code for the computer virus!
Worth the time and money? Yes
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:
We went to the BBQ joint nearby (less than 100 yards away), Moe’s Original BBQ
Description (from the company website): The world is heading for a catastrophic collapse since the release of Silver Lining, a cloud-based computer virus developed by Locus Industries. Dave Benson, Chicago journalist and conspiracy theorist, knows this and Locus will stop at nothing to keep him quiet. Enter his apartment and retrace his steps during the final moments leading up to Locus’ arrival at his door. Does he get out in time? The story is in your hands.
Difficulty (1-10): N/A – website lists a 40% success rate with a record of 36:45.
Time Limit: 60 minutes
Cost: $25
Identifier: R1
Party Size: 2-8
Staging Area: The location is downstairs in the strip mall and does not have an outside door to the parking lot (you have to go in through the building and down the stairs). Waiting area is clean, several chairs; place looks nice and cozy.
Metro Access/Parking: There’s no metro or anything nearby, but there is plenty of parking.
OUR EXPERIENCE
This is the video we took before we entered the room:
This is the video we took just after we completed the room:
Logistics:
Description of the room: You enter a small studio apartment that is somewhat in shambles. Obviously, the person living here has other things to be concerned about than regularly cleaning the place.
Understanding of the Mission: Escape your locked apartment before agents from Locus Industries show up and cart you away.
Did We Escape: Yes
Time Remaining: Roughly 2 minutes.
Our Suggested Party Size: 6 would have been the sweet spot, but 7 didn’t hurt us
Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Amanda, Mike, Corey, Brittany, Rohan
Team Disturbed Friends (Rohan, Mike, Corey, Brittany, Amanda, Mike, and Jason) embraced our inner conspiracy theorist and escaped our apartment before being captured by some very bad men. Photo courtesy of Immersion Escape Room’s Facebook page.
Worth the time and money? Yes
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:
We went to the BBQ joint nearby (less than 100 yards away), Moe’s Original BBQ
Description (from the company website): An extremely dangerous, criminal mastermind and his crew have stolen Johnny’s – my top client – very valuable diamonds, gold, and more. Johnny has given us the information necessary for you and your team to complete this operation…
Dimitri Chechenkov:
Wanted by all International Security Agencies
Considered Extremely Dangerous
Professional Thief/Assassin:
Historic Art & Jewelry
Precious stones, diamonds, and gold
Classified Documents
Beware:
Travels with highly trained bodyguards
Many connections
Security on Premises
WARNING! THERE HAVE BEEN MANY AGENTS BEFORE YOU THAT HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. ALL HAVE FAILED THE OPERATION TO RETRIEVE MY CLIENT’S STOLEN ITEMS.
Protocol:
Assemble your team
Report to location
BE PREPARED • BE DILIGENT • BE FOCUSED
Be ready:
Find the clues
Solve the puzzles
Search all rooms
COMPLETE EACH TASK AS DIRECTED!
Don’t set off the silent alarm
Find all stolen items
Follow THE directions
Be careful of the lasers
Difficulty (1-10): not listed, but no one (to date) has ever successfully escaped with all 10 items
Time Limit: 55 minutes
Cost: $30 per person up to 4, and slight price breaks after that. We paid $22 each for 7 people this time vs. the $18 per person discounted rate that was offered. On your second attempt, if you pay $22 up to full price, you are eligible for the whole pot of prize money if your team is the first to complete the room. If you take the $18 per person discounted rate, you are only eligible to win back half of the prize money.
Identifier: R1 (but this room has the clues and puzzles reset every week, allowing you to come back and try again)
Party Size: up to 10 (max), but at least 6 is suggested
Staging Area: This is located in an indoor game room facility (indoor golf simulator, anyone?), and has plenty of seating on couches and chairs. Restroom is right next to the seating area. Food and libations are also available in the Bar-n-Lounge area.
Metro Access/Parking: Not metro-accessible, but it’s out near Dulles Airport and easy access from the Dulles Toll Road.
OUR EXPERIENCE
NOTE: We suggest you read about our first attempt on this room (Better “Safe” Than “Dead”) before continuing with this post.
This is the video we took before we entered the room:
This is the video we took just after we completed the room:
Logistics:
Description of the room: You start in your mission briefing area outside of Dimitri’s house with your handler (handlers for this mission, not Game Masters). After your briefing, you enter the first room…
Understanding of the Mission: Go through Dimitri’s house and accomplish the objectives for each room, solve the tasks assigned, avoid security, make your way to the safe room, and find and escape with all 10 of your boss’ stolen items within 55 minutes, PLUS two secret documents of Dimitri’s that your boss now wants because you didn’t complete the mission last time. So, now you have 12 items to find, and only three clues available to you (versus five on the first attempt).
If your time runs out, you get captured and executed (even if you have found some items). Otherwise, you can abort your mission and escape with what you recovered.
Did We Escape: Well, we escaped this time by the skin of our teeth (aborted said mission) with six items, so we definitely got better this time. And, we did make the leader board again because we recovered 50% of the stolen items and escaped with those.
Time Remaining: 1 second
Our Suggested Party Size: We had 7, and that worked pretty well, but 6 would work too.
Did the room challenge the entire team? Hell, f#$&ing yeah!
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Tara, Eric, Steph, Heather and Mark
Worth the time and money? Absolutely
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: Try Google. This time, we headed back to Kingstowne for drinks at Fiona’s Irish Pub.
Play if… you’ve always wanted to re-enact that scene with Catherine Zeta Jones in Entrapment (get your mind out of the gutter… THIS scene… well, on second though… maybe not ALL the way out of the gutter).
Avoid if… you are claustrophobic or get freaked out by Russian criminal masterminds.
Description (from the company website): An extremely dangerous, criminal mastermind and his crew have stolen Johnny’s – my top client – very valuable diamonds, gold, and more. Johnny has given us the information necessary for you and your team to complete this operation…
Dimitri Chechenkov:
Wanted by all International Security Agencies
Considered Extremely Dangerous
Professional Thief/Assassin:
Historic Art & Jewelry
Precious stones, diamonds, and gold
Classified Documents
Beware:
Travels with highly trained bodyguards
Many connections
Security on Premises
WARNING! THERE HAVE BEEN MANY AGENTS BEFORE YOU THAT HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. ALL HAVE FAILED THE OPERATION TO RETRIEVE MY CLIENT’S STOLEN ITEMS.
Protocol:
Assemble your team
Report to location
BE PREPARED • BE DILIGENT • BE FOCUSED
Be ready:
Find the clues
Solve the puzzles
Search all rooms
COMPLETE EACH TASK AS DIRECTED!
Don’t set off the silent alarm
Find all stolen items
Follow THE directions
Be careful of the lasers
Difficulty (1-10): not listed, but no one (to date) has ever successfully escaped with all 10 items
Time Limit: 55 minutes
Cost: $30 per person up to 4, and slight price breaks after that. We paid $26.88 each for 8 people. If you pay full price, you are eligible for the prize money if your team is the first to complete the room. Otherwise, you can search their website for a hidden code that will give you a discount off the price when booking the room (and, no, we didn’t find the code, but we didn’t really look, either). [Update: Jason found the code right after completing his part of the review.]
Identifier: R1 (but this room has the clues and puzzles reset every week, allowing you to come back and try again)
Party Size: up to 10 (max), but at least 6 is suggested
Staging Area: This is located in an indoor game room facility (indoor golf simulator, anyone?), and has plenty of seating on couches and chairs. Restroom is right next to the seating area. Food and libations are also available in the Bar-n-Lounge area.
Metro Access/Parking: Not metro-accessible, but it’s out near Dulles Airport and easy access from the Dulles Toll Road.
OUR EXPERIENCE
This is the video we took before we entered the room:
This is the video we took just after we completed the room:
Logistics:
Description of the room: You start in your mission briefing area outside of Dimitri’s house with your handler (handlers for this mission, not Game Masters). After your briefing, you enter the first room…
Understanding of the Mission: Go through Dimitri’s house and accomplish the objectives for each room, solve the tasks assigned, avoid security, make your way to the safe room, and find and escape with all 10 of your boss’ stolen items within 55 minutes. If your time runs out, you get captured and executed (even if you have found some items). Otherwise, you can abort your mission and escape with what you recovered.
Did We Escape: Well, we escaped (aborted said mission) with two items, so we didn’t exactly fail, but were told that the client was pissed that we didn’t recover everything. However, we did make the leader board in recovering 20% of the stolen items and escaped with those.
Time Remaining: 10 seconds
Our Suggested Party Size: We had 8, but we’d probably recommend 6 since it got a little crowded (and loud) at points.
Did the room challenge the entire team? Hell, f#$&ing yeah!
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Tasha, Tara, Mark, Eric, Matt, and Steph
Team Disturbed Friends (Tasha, Tara, Mark, Eric, Mike, Matt, Jason, and Steph) recovered only two stolen items, but escaped without being captured. The client was pissed, but at least we got him back something!
Worth the time and money? Absolutely
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: Try Google. We headed back to Alexandria (our home base for most of the Disturbed Friends) for drinks at Portner Brewhouse.
Description (from the company website): Take a trip back to 1966. You are convinced your fashion model friend’s death was actually a murder. Can you solve the mystery before the police close the case?
Difficulty (1-10): N/A
Time Limit: 60 minutes
Cost: $28 per person. – Use ERGUYS when booking to get either a percentage or set $$ amount off per ticket (whatever promotion is running)
Identifier: R1
Party Size: Up to 8
Note: We were told this room is being replaced in late June.
Staging Area: Simple sitting area with couches. Restrooms are located in the back of the building past the Escape Rooms.
Metro Access/Parking: No metro access. This company is located in a shopping center and has ample parking. Watch traffic delays on I-95 and leave ample time to get there.
OUR EXPERIENCE
This is the video we took before we entered the room:
This is the video we took just after we completed the room:
Logistics:
Description of the room: Your friend’s murder is about to become a cold case file and you’ve taken it upon yourself to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Understanding of the Mission: It’s up to you to figure out the pertinent information to go back to the cops with. The case is being closed in about an hour, so hurry!
Did We Escape: Yes
Time Remaining: 4:31
Our Suggested Party Size: We did this room just the ERG ourselves, but we recommend 6, tops.
Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes
Members of our team (other than the ERG): None!
The Escape Room Guys (Jason and Mike) solved Madison’s murder with 4:31 remaining. Photo courtesy of Escape Room Woodbridge’s Facebook page.
Worth the time and money? Yes
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:
Fair Winds Brewing Company – We hit up this place on a previous visit. Great place for beer flights, beers and some food truck grub.
Play if… you will watch any of the original three Indiana Jones movies at any point when they come on your TV, no matter how far into the movie they may be (especially Raiders of the Lost Ark).
Avoid if… you can’t find true North, even with your GPS.
Description (from the company website): The famous archeologist has enlisted your help to find an ancient artifact! Your career depends on making sure he finds you worthy for future excavations. Do you think you have what it takes?
Difficulty (1-10): not listed (but they consider this their hardest room)
Time Limit: 60 minutes
Cost: $28 + tax per person. – Use ERGUYS when booking to get either a percentage or set $$ amount off per ticket (whatever promotion is running)
Identifier: R1
Party Size: Up to 10 people.
Staging Area: Simple sitting area with couches. Restrooms are located in the back of the building past the Escape Rooms.
Metro Access/Parking: No metro access. This company is located in a shopping center and has ample parking. Watch traffic delays on I-95 and leave ample time to get there.
OUR EXPERIENCE
This is the video we took before we entered the room:
This is the video we took just after we completed the room:
Logistics:
Description of the room: You enter an ancient tomb with scattered bits of furniture and scattered bits of excavation materials.
Understanding of the Mission: Find the lost artifact within 60 minutes.
Did We Escape: Yup
Time Remaining: 12:46
Our Suggested Party Size: 7-8
Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Jason, Dwayne, Brad, Cornell, Scott, Julie, Antonia, and Melissa.
Team Blanks – a spinoff of Team Disturbed Friends – (Jason, Jason, Dwayne, Mike, Brad, Cornell, Scott, Julie, Antonia, and Melissa) found the hidden artifact and remained gainfully employed by Dr. Indiana Jones.
