Articles by Brian Gondek

Louisville, CO: Rabbit Hole Recreation Services – Mystic Temple

November 17, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

November 2, 2018- I get asked a lot what escape rooms I’ve done have been my best or my favorite, and I’ve always deflected those questions.  One of the reasons I can still enjoy escape rooms after solving 300+ is that each room is so different, and most aren’t even trying to do the same thing.  Sometimes it’s a cinematic experience meant for a small group.  Sometimes it’s a communications exercise for a large group.  It can be a linear brainteaser or a tangle of parallel tracks.  Different people will like different styles of rooms more than others, and unless I know […]

Puzzle #23: Mysteriously Vanished?

November 17, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

Getting ready to publish another escape room tale when I noticed that puzzle #23 had up and vanished from the site.  No idea what happened, and apologies for any confusion this may have caused!

Puzzle #22: Forward-looking Words

November 9, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

No, I haven’t disappeared.  I’ve been working on rolling out a new way to anonymously submit answers to my weekly puzzle, and I think I’ve got it!  Let’s try it out this week.  No longer do you need to go out on a limb and publish your answer for all to see.

Mission Accomplished

November 5, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

November 4, 2018 – Only ten months after half-jokingly suggesting I should try tackling an escape room in every state in 2018, and I’m done.  I also achieved my stretch goal of succeeding in an escape room in each state, which doesn’t matter too much to me, but it’s nice, I suppose.  And now I’m left wondering what to do in November and December.

Finale in the Mountains

November 2, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

November 2, 2018 – It’s finally here- after ten months of meticulously watching for flight deals and studying maps, I’ve hit the final stretch.  I just completed my 47th state (Colorado), will be headed to Wyoming in just a few hours, and will be tackling Montana and Idaho in the next two days.  Whew!

Puzzle #21: More “Math”

November 1, 2018 Brian Gondek 4

Happy Halloween!  Last week’s puzzle was a roller coaster, with Scott S. finding two unorthodox solutions right at the buzzer.  Thanks to all who participated!  This week’s puzzle is also numbers-based.  Keeping things mixed up between numbers and words, riddles and challenges.

The Dead Lady

October 31, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

Date: September 24, 2018 Place: ??? – New Hampshire “I’m dead.”   I turn to my left to see a gray-haired woman stooped behind a dusty oak table.  “Excuse me?” I ask. I’m sure I must have misheard, since I’ve never seen an introduction open with a declaration of being deceased.  

Puzzle #20: Next One Up

October 24, 2018 Brian Gondek 2

Surprise!  It’s a new puzzle before 10PM!  There’s a little more time to figure this one out.  There are multiple solutions this time, and I’m interested in seeing which of them get found.  The official winner this week will be declared by who has found the most distinct solutions this week, with the time of entry being a tiebreaker.

Brighton, MA: Komnata Quest – Boxed Up

October 23, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

September 22, 2018 – I had first heard of Boxed Up more than a year ago, but at the time, all I registered was that it was somewhere on the east coast and sounded neat.  An escape room where two teammates are locked in adjacent coffins and need to find some way to get out by solving puzzles in the confined space.  I hadn’t given it much of a second thought until I saw the description of it while visiting Komnata Quest.