May 27, 2018 – At long last, I had reached the final point of my road trip through the midwest. Chicago to St. Louis to Kansas City to Tulsa to Omaha to Sioux Falls, all before heading back to Chicago. My poor car had to get back to back oil changes with the mileage I put on it. But it was well worth it- both Escapades and the town of Sioux Falls were extremely memorable.
To start, I want to thank the people at Escapades for the way they managed the overall experience. I had signed up to play the Pirate Shipwreck game with a few strangers, but when the strangers seemed hesitant to join up with another group, the owner at Escapades recognized it and made the judgment call to offer to split us up. I like playing with strangers (and would rather lose than cause someone else to have a bad time), but I acknowledge a lot of others are more hesitant about this kind of thing, and I really appreciated how the people at Escapades took an extra step like this to ensure the best experience for all.
After hearing about my 50 state goal, the owner gave me a sneak peek of the nearly-finished 60-To-Life room that is a must-visit on my next trip through the area. I got a general view of how elaborate and expansive the game is. I also have to mention that having a gloomy game like this take place in an actual basement is a nice touch that adds an extra layer of immersion to the experience.
My game for the day was RaPunzel’s Cottage. If you couldn’t tell from the name, the theme of the room is puns, with countless riddles and visual tricks based on clever wordplay. It’s definitely a unique theme which is always exciting to try out.
One thing I loved about the room is that it forced me to think differently. I struggled mightily at the start, but as I used a hint or two to get moving, I started to get a feel for the concepts behind pun-based puzzles and adapted to the situation. Kudos to the people at Escapades for developing puzzles that felt fair and challenging despite being fundamentally different from anything I had done before.
The pun-based design meant that each puzzle’s answer was often a reward in and of itself, essentially delivering the punchline to a joke. This rewarding structure was maintained throughout the full experience, and it made for a very satisfying game.
We successfully solved RaPunzel’s last puzzle and concluded our midwest road trip! Only a nine hour drive remained between me and home, but I was done with escape rooms for the trip.
Once again, I want to thank the people at Escapades for providing a great customer experience from start to finish. The teaser I got for 60-To-Life has me raring to get back to Sioux Falls, and I’m sure their other rooms are just as impressive and clever.
Before leaving town, I visited the Falls Park in Sioux Falls. I’m glad I did, since the falls were gorgeous. My photos don’t do it justice- the park has a few waterfalls converging at one scenic viewpoint. I also appreciated the nearby observation tower and gift shop, which also made a good stopping point to grab some T-shirts for my nephews.
And with that, I started an uneventful nine hour drive back to my home.
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