60 to Escape has been a staple of top end Chicagoland escape rooms for some time, but their latest venture is quite the surprise- miniature golf! I had a chance to play through it this weekend, and the intriguing concept pays off, assuming you like miniature golf.
This isn’t my first rodeo with escape room miniature golf. In Tampa, I played an Alice in Wonderland themed mini golf escape room, Alice’s Tee Time, and I loved it. The room subsequently closed, but the holes were wonderfully intricate and thought provoking.
60 to Escape’s Putt Portal is a little different – it’s only 9 holes, and if you didn’t plan to solve any puzzles, you don’t have to. That contrasts to Alice’s Tee Time where your ball would often be locked up until you managed to solve a puzzle.
The shorter course length works well for 60 to Escape’s mall location. While I’d enjoy the experience going up to a full 18, the shorter commitment makes for a great impulse experience. Though tee times are bookable online, walk ins are welcome, and the eye-catching course is sure to draw in customers of all types. It might even drive interest to the escape rooms.
The hole designs are unique with large set pieces, most of which are inspired by 60 to Escape’s escape room themes. The holes aren’t limited to simply hitting the ball in the hole – one hole starts with a Skee Ball game, another starts with a Plinko-type drop, and another starts with spinning the ball around a roulette wheel. The holes also add penalties for various actions, typically hitting specific locations or holes, so precision is important, as is luck on at least a few occasions.
I’ve gone this long without mentioning my favorite element- the puzzles! Each hole has a puzzle that yields a mystery word, and when you collect the eight mystery words, the ninth hole reveals a secret message that yields a prize. The puzzles are entirely optional, so players who aren’t interested in puzzles shouldn’t be scared off.
The puzzles were enjoyable, albeit a little easy for our experienced puzzle solvers. Interestingly, the first hole’s puzzle is the most difficult, with the first hole giving players a lot of different information to explore until they find the intended challenge. Most other holes present a simple riddle or cipher to solve. I imagine that most groups trying to solve the puzzles, regardless of experience, should be able to solve about five out of the eight puzzles and figure out the final word from that. If they can’t, they can always come back and try again – mini golf is always appropriate for return visits.
I really appreciate the creativity that went into Putt Portal, and if I’m ever in Woodfield and have 30 minutes to spare, I’d be open to another round. It’s a neat twist on escape rooms and brings all the cool production effects you expect out of 60 to Escape to a different kind of game.
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