Daring Escapes

I honestly haven’t had so much fun in a LONG time! This was a lot more challenging than I expected but it was hands down awesome.
After reading the reviews I was honestly pretty worried it was going to be awful, but it was far from it. Our time was sold out, so 12 people were supposed to come, but thankfully only 4 others showed up. I do agree that if there was more people than maybe 7, it would have been really cramped and we would have more easily been «bitten» by the zombie.
Both the zombie and the guide were great actors, and lead to this being a great experiance. The puzzles were hard on their own, but adding this zombie that you must stay away from tops the cake!
I really can’t wait for the other room they are making to open, which is a murder mystery, as I will be back!

These guys created a very entertaining hour and a half. Their attention to detail in creating the atmosphere was more fun than Disney. The moderator was perfect with his story set up and quiet intervention when he knew we were completely out of hope. The zombie was the perfect foil who really keeps you out of balance. One of the best times I’ve had in a long time.

We had a group of 10 in the room and only knew one other couple. It was an awesome team building event, and the clues are tough, but damn we had a blast! The moderator was very good and helped the group when we got stuck on a clue. I would do this again in a heartbeat! We finished the last clue and found the key with 25 seconds to spare and my remaining teammate dropped the key resulting in the zombie grabbing it thereby ending the game for us. It was a blast though! The moderator and zombie met with us after the event and posed for pictures and were very nice. They informed us that they were soon going to be adding another room, as well as a murder mystery room. We are in!

Let me start with the fact that if I could give less than one star, I would. When arriving to «Daring Escapes» there is no clear direction as to how to enter the building, where to report to, or even if the place truly exists. Through the other participants who arrived before us we learned that you wait in the generic lobby of an office building and someone will come get you when they are ready for you.
After entering the «briefing room» and signing a generic waiver a lady with a fake accent reads you a list of rules. Might I add, she does it very quickly and with the other participants talking and the «zombie» beating on the door of the room, so they are hard to hear. One rules I did hear her say was «Do not move the furniture» (one of the clues involves movement of the furniture).
We are told there are 5 clues that we must open to obtain freedom from the room where the zombie is encapsulated. This room is roughly 8’X10’ and they crammed 12 participants in there with 3 desks, a small end table, a book case, two cabinets, plus the zombie and the «moderator». I get this is a for-​profit business but this should have been my first indicator for what we were in for. Putting 12 people in a space that small is just out right irresponsible. Multiple times I got slammed into walls and stepped on by other participants. Almost immediately I notice the room is getting hot… as it turns out there is no air-​conditioning in the room, nor is there ventilation.
The «moderator» is there to help you while figuring out clues. If properly done this would not be needed. With only 20 some people getting out «alive» and 40 some succumbing to eminent «death» by zombie with the help of this woman… Should tell you something about the complexity and/​or clarity of their clues. Within the first 10 minutes of being in the room the moderator scolded us like children for removing a «clue» from the wall. It was a laminated card.
Next the moderator told us when we figured out the combination for a brief case she would hand it to us as a group prior had broken the lock. Why this was not replaced is beyond me. Using a broken prop that can be replaced for under $ 100 is unprofessional.
At one point this «moderator» told us to «wrap ze zombies chain around ze desk». Considering he was already «wrapped» around the desk just by crawling his way around it a member of our group misunderstood her direction and touched the chain. To this the woman broke character screamed at the top of her lungs AT the member of our group «WHAT ARE THE RULES!!! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT TOUCHING THE CHAIN!!!» All of the air (the little that was actually in there) got sucked out of the room. Everyone stopped. Her irrational reaction leads me to believe she is dating the zombie and is VERY overprotective. But let me tell you… You DO NOT treat customers like that. No one was in danger (except the participants of HEAT STROKE). And if you want people to hear and listen and follow rules DO NOT distract them when you are giving rules.
After her little temper tantrum I had decided I was done with this little «adventure». I was so hot and thirsty I lost all interest in solving the mystery. Unlocking of one of the clues involved a mechanical toy. Which malfunctioned. How are we to solve a clue when the equipment is broken?
DO NOT WASTE your time or money. This was one of the worst experiences I have ever had.

Pros: moderator was in room to provide clues or hints as necessary, staff were awesome and into their parts, zombie dynamics were well-​done and exhilaratingly fun.
Cons: moderator took up space in the room (all square footage necessary to avoid zombie), puzzles were middle-​of-​the-​road (see Greenfield escape room for top-​shelf puzzles), moderator in room makes for a business that can easily fall behind schedule.
Overall, fun to try one with a zombie just once in your life.
6 people is ideal for this room, maybe less — 1 or 2 people to distract the zombie and others for puzzles.

Needs to have a limit on how many people can be in a room. When we went they had over 14 people in a small room. After 30 minutes it was impossible to do anything because you couldn’t move around anyone and avoid the zombie. There was a danger of someone jumping back from the zombie and knocking you into a prop.
There is no AC so it was terribly hot inside the small area. Some of the locks seems to not function well and there was a device needed for a clue that appeared to not be strong enough to do what it needed to do. There was a safety square on a desk you can stand on but no indication you could do that, but you got yelled at for standing on anything else.
Escape rooms with 8 people become very hard because there are just far too many communication lines. This had twice that.
Many of the puzzle and riddles of what you have already seen before. The real challenge deals with moving around a small space with a zombie, constant distractions from the guide who really doesn’t help all that much, and trying to look at anything with a room stacked with people. You really need freedom to move for an escape room to work, and standing behind five people who are trying to distract the zombie while five other people are trying a puzzle isn’t fun.