Never, EVER drink the KOOL-AID™!! – Room: Insane Asylum II – Saturday, March 25 – FAILED!

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you’ve ever wanted to experience being in a padded cell (without being actually committed).

Avoid if… you are all thumbs.


THE BASICS

PanIQ Escape Room Washington DC:

Address: 3283 M St NW, Washington, DC 20007 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: (202) 735-0485
https://paniqescaperoom.com/washington-dc/escape-rooms/insane-asylum-2
dc@paniqroom.com

The Room – Insane Asylum 2:

Description (from the company website): The year is 1956. You have been kidnapped by the CIA and are being used as a guinea-pig for their mind control program known as MK-ULTRA. Doctors have held you inside a padded room for weeks now.
There was an emergency at the other side of the institution, so the staff is gone for a while. Probably this is your last chance to escape before they completely brainwash you.

Difficulty (1-10)4.5 of 5

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $24-36 (+ tax per person) (varies based on number of players)

Identifier: R2 (Note: this says Insane Asylum II, so we’re giving this room the revamped room identifier, even though we did not do Insane Asylum I)

Party Size: 2-7

Staging Area: First, ring doorbell to gain entry. Rooms are on the 3rd floor of the building. Small waiting area with couches and water cooler. Enough space for one team to hang out while they wait, but additional seating in stairwell area.

Metro Access/Parking: Rosslyn metro and then a .9 mile walk across the Key Bridge. It’s Georgetown, so parking can be difficult (so definitely carpool and use the parking garage for Georgetown Mall (it’s open 24 hours) at Wisconsin and M, head down the hill towards K Street). We suggest Uber or Lyft.


OUR EXPERIENCE

Logistics:

This is the video we took before we entered the room:

This is the video we took just after we completed the room:

Note: The ERG were given the opportunity to try out this room for free, with the understanding that we would continue to provide an honest review and follow the same process we’ve used on all of our other ratings.

Description of the room: You enter a padded cell. Clearly the person who inhabited the room has gone a little loco.

Understanding of the Mission: Solve the clues and figure out how to escape the cell before the asylum’s staff returns. You are close to being brainwashed and this is your last chance to escape before they succeed and you become a mindless drone in their spy program.

Did We Escape: NO! [Insert word cloud of expletives here]

Time Remaining: Less than 0.

Our Suggested Party Size: We had 6 and that worked well. We could have added a seventh and it would have been fine. We don’t suggest any less than 4 because there is a lot to do.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Eric, Alphonso, Liz and Jill

Team Disturbed Friends (Eric, Jason, Mike, Liz, Jill and Alphonzo) ended up being committed to the Asylum after failing to escape! Photo courtesy of PanIQ Escape Room DC.

Worth the time and money? Hell yes, even though we failed.

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: It’s Georgetown, so there are tons of places to have dinner or grab a drink.

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We Stole the da Vinci Code(x)! – Room: da Vinci’s Workshop – March 18, 2017 – PLAY-TESTED

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you like art and crazy inventions.

Avoid if… you think the da Vinci Code was overrated or have an unnatural hatred for Renaissance Italy.


THE BASICS

Escape Room Woodbridge:

Address: 12668 Darby Brooke Ct., Woodbridge, VA 22192 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 703-910-6015
www.escaperoomwoodbridgeva.com

The Room – Da Vinci’s Workshop: RETIRED

Description (from the company website): As a rival inventor, you’ve been eager to discover the secrets of this mastermind. Now it’s your turn to get into his workshop and steal his sacred codex before he returns. Can you outsmart Leonardo?

Difficulty (1-10)no rating given

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $28 per person + tax. – Use ERGUYS when booking to get either a percentage or set $$ amount off per ticket (whatever promotion is running)

Identifier: N1 – replaces the Adventures in Wonderland room

Party Size: 6 people max

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

Note: The ERG were invited by Escape Room Woodbridge to playtest this room before opening to the public. We provided feedback once we completed the room. Our review below is based on our experience as it was during the playtest, so some items may have been altered prior to the room opening.

Logistics:

Description of the room: You enter a room decorated like da Vinci’s workshop (plaster walls with some exposed brick) and decorated with artwork, inventions, scrolls of drawings, and some furniture.

Understanding of the Mission: Infiltrate Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop, solve the puzzles, and find his hidden codex (containing sketches of his inventions and plans).

Did We Escape: Yup

Time Remaining: 4:19

Our Suggested Party Size: 4-6

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Mark, Eric and Alphonzo

Team Disturbed Friends (Jason, Mark, Mike, Eric and Alphonzo) found da Vinci’s hidden codex! Photo courtesy of Escape Room Woodbridge’s Facebook page.

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

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