Escape Chambers Madison

Stressed out single employee coupled with a strange, rundown, dirty site raised our suspicions. Unfortunately we were paired with a group of loudmouth idiots who made it impossible to work as a team. No, never again. It’s a super cool concept and I’m sure we would have completely loved it had it not been for the company we were stuck with :(

I was recently a part of an Escape Chambers experience after a recommendation from a co-​worker that participated. I planned a birthday party for the hubs and 9 of us got together to bust some drug dealers and diffuse a bomb.
Navigating the website was a little wonky and not the easiest thing in the world, but I heard from their Madison employee (yes all 1 of them) that they are working on updating it, so I hope that goes live soon. Also finding the place was kind of a hoot. It says that it’s next to The Cheba Hut, but it doesn’t say that it’s in a building that has random offices for things like lawyers (presumably not the expensive kind), acupuncturists, dentists, etc. Thankfully there was an Escape Chambers sign in a window that let us know, we were indeed in the right place.
When we got there we were greeted by the game master Keely who was super friendly and casually chatted with us while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive. They had some couches for us to sit on, but it quickly became crowded when 7 of our party was there and 8 of another party (of 16 year old girls… shudder) were there as well.
Once we all arrived Keely took us to our room across the hall, explained the rules and guided us through our backstory of being DEA agents and needing to find drugs and cash. She was an excellent game master and did a great job of explaining everything while being amusing, I appreciated her style of instruction as well as her cleverly worded clues we received during our hour.
Really my only complaint is that at $ 30 a person, it’s a little steep for only an hour of entertainment. Each room they currently have takes up to 10 people (though I think 6 or 7 is more ideal) and they have groups potentially starting every 2 hours. With two different scenarios operating at the same time, they theoretically are making a good amount of money. I felt that our room was well themed given the scenario, but I would be interested to see what a room that had a more intense theme would look like. For instance, how far will they go to make a cellar or dungeon really feel like one?
I would definitely be more inclined to go again if the per person charge was closer to $ 15, maybe $ 20, but overall I really enjoyed our experience.

Escape Chambers Madison is going to give you a memorable experience that you will be talking about for hours afterwards. If you have never gone to an «Escape the Room» before I highly recommend the experience, despite the hefty price tag.
I was surprised with a trip to Escape Chambers by my lovely wife for my birthday. I had no idea that Madison had a venue for this, and apparently Unilocal didn’t either. My wife, 7 other friends, and I signed up to do «The Raid.» The room was built around being DEA agents trying to bust a drug dealer. I won’t say much beyond to avoid spoilers.
You are given 60 minutes to find clues that will help you get out of the room and open secrets in the room. The room was well themed and laid out. Overall, it was a good thought provoking puzzle. You are given 1 hint for free and an additional 2 if you check in on Facebook. The clues are very helpful so you are pretty much required to check in and help advertise the business. We ended up using all 3 of our clues by the end and escaped with 7 minutes to spare.
Despite the overall positive experience, I do have a small gripe with Escape Chambers. The whole operation feels like a giant cash grab with low overhead. There is one employee and the rooms are filled with everyday items. Aside from rent the business is paying very little to operate. Each room maxes at 10 people, but if you don’t reserve the room with the entire cap or close to, Escape Chambers will throw random strangers in with you to maximize their profit.
The whole experience costs $ 30 a person, which is insane for 1 hour or less of enjoyment. That money would buy you three movie tickets, a lot of beer, a ticket to an amusement park, among other things. The cost for one hour of entertainment is a ridiculously high cost-​time ratio for Escape Chambers. After going once, I would never go again because of this cost-​time ratio. I would definitely revisit to do their other rooms if the cost wasn’t so insane per head. I’ve done it once now, the experience was great, but I will not be returning unless their business model changes.
I recommend going to Escape Chambers Madison if you have never done an escape the room before, but otherwise the cost-​time ratio is too off balance to be worth the experience.