The Joke’s On You – Room: Survive the Joker’s Trap – November 17, 2016

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… Whips and chains (particularly chains) excite you..

Avoid if… They don’t and you are afraid of clowns.


THE BASICS

Room Escape DC:

Address: 3949A University Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 703-270-0377
http://roomescapedc.com/jokers-trap-room/

The Room – Survive the Joker’s Trap:

Description (from the company website): You and your task force of detectives have spent months chasing the infamous criminal clown known only as Joker. Your investigation has brought you precariously close to capturing this clever crook, and you’ve grown confident: sure that this final chase will land Joker in ‘cuffs and custody. You were right on his tail, and then… It was a trap!

You and your team awake disoriented, in a disturbing basement, chained to chairs. Joker, indulging in the dramatic, has hidden a bomb set to detonate in one hour. The minutes are counting down fast. You and your team will have to rely on collaboration, and your investigative prowess, to free yourselves, disarm the bomb, and escape with your lives.

Harness your courage to decipher this trap… Otherwise, this will be your last blast!

The game begins with you and your team chained to chairs (YES, WE REALLY MEAN IT. IF THIS CONCERNS YOU, CONTACT US) in a creepy basement.

Difficulty (1-10)3 of 3

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $27 per person, but use ERG15 to take 15% off your price on games booked between Mondays and Thursdays

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 4-8 people

Staging Area: Lobby includes several tables/benches, sign-in counter, vending machines

Metro Access/Parking: No metro nearby, but plenty of parking.


OUR EXPERIENCE

Logistics:

Description of the room: A dingy and DARK basement with chairs and chains and some deranged clown-themed and graffiti artwork.

Understanding of the Mission: You’re kidnapped by the mysterious Joker and locked up in his basement. You have 60 minutes to free yourself from your chains (literally) and escape before the bomb detonates.

Did We Escape: YES

Time Remaining: about 13 minutes

Our Suggested Party Size: 6-8

Did the room challenge the entire team? Absolutely

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Stephanie, Brittany, Corey, Tara and Eric.

Team Disturbed Friends (Mike, Jason, Stephanie, Brittany, Corey, Tara and Eric) escaped the evil clutches of the Joker! Photo courtesy of Room Escape DC's Facebook page.
Team Disturbed Friends (Mike, Jason, Stephanie, Brittany, Corey, Tara and Eric) escaped the evil clutches of the Joker! Photo courtesy of Room Escape DC’s Facebook page.

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

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It’s Just a Little Cold; Nothing to Worry About – Room: Hospital of the Black Death (a.k.a. The Cure) – December 16, 2016

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you love the board game Pandemic or the mobile game Plague Inc., or thought learning about the Black Plague in school was fascinating.

Avoid if… you are a hypochondriac.


THE BASICS

Room Escape DC

Address: 3949A University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 703-865-4178
info@roomescapedc.com
http://roomescapedc.com/the-black-death

The Room – Hospital of the Black Death (a.k.a. The Cure):

Description (from the company website): You and your team are a group of archeologists searching for a lost, legendary treasure cache from World War II. You explore the most remote areas of Eastern Europe, imagining piles of glittering gold, and trunks full of rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. But it is not treasure you find.

You stumble upon a hospital that is not noted on any of your maps. It is decrepit. It is abandoned. Some members of your team think this lost, peculiar hospital is sure to house the treasure you so desperately seek. So, you enter. And now, you cannot get out.

You find this hospital was deserted because it was the site of a deadly virus outbreak. You and your group have all been exposed to the infamous pandemic: the Black Death. Even if you escape, you will not survive.

It is up to you and your team to devise a cure to save yourselves from this deadly pathogen. Quick: your skin is growing black, and darkness is setting in. You will have to work together to uncover the mysteries of this forsaken place. Your fate is in your hands.

Difficulty (1-10)3 of 3

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $27 + tax per person, but use ERG15 to take 15% off your price on games booked between Mondays and Thursdays

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 2-8 people

Staging Area: Decently sized lobby with plenty of seating. Two separate restrooms located off the main lobby.

Metro Access/Parking: Parking garage around the corner, but no metro.


OUR EXPERIENCE

Logistics:

Description of the room: The room that you enter looks like a a room in an old insane asylum. Medical stuff is strewn around and you get an uneasy feeling that you’re about to be locked in this room that has some weird juju going on.

Understanding of the Mission: Find out the cure to the plague and make the cure before it kills you!

Did We Escape: Yes, and we were the first to escape from this room (it opened that night)!

Time Remaining: 2:22… close, but we did it.

Our Suggested Party Size: We had 7

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes, and we were able to work on clues independently and help out when others got stuck.

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Katheryn, Mark, Stephanie and Tara.

Team Disturbed Friends (Katheryn, Mark, Stephanie, Mike; Tara, Jason) found the antidote and prevented the outbreak of the plague (and didn't die themselves!). Photo courtesy of Room Escape DC's Facebook page.
Team Disturbed Friends (Katheryn, Mark, Stephanie, Mike; Tara, Jason) found the antidote and prevented the outbreak of the plague (and didn’t die themselves!). Photo courtesy of Room Escape DC’s Facebook page.

Worth the time and money? Yes, and we actually got a discount for booking the entire room because we did two rooms in the same night (they also sometimes offer discounts to try out the new rooms on the opening nights/weekends).

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

  • The Green Turtle – sports bar w/ standard bar food. Karaoke was going on the night we stopped in.
  • The Wine House – stop in for a glass of wine and dessert.

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