NYC Times Square: Escape Room Games & 60-Minute Missions

4.99

(175 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

Someone handed me a plastic prison jumpsuit before I’d even had a chance to put my phone away. The walls were painted this weird shade of institutional green, and our guide—her name was Tasha—smirked when she saw us sizing up the fake cell bars. “Don’t overthink it,” she said, but of course we did. There’s something about being locked in a room in the middle of Manhattan, just above the noise of Times Square, that makes your brain go fuzzy for a second.

I picked Prison Break because honestly, I wanted to see if my friends could keep it together under pressure (they couldn’t). Tasha stayed close at first, just outside the door, giving these little hints when we got stuck—never too obvious. At one point, I remember the faint smell of popcorn from the lobby mixing with whatever they use to make the fake jail smell musty. We argued over a code written on the wall; someone guessed “1234” (classic), but it was actually backwards. I laughed so hard I almost missed the next clue.

We only had 60 minutes and I swear time sped up after the first ten. There were other groups playing different escape room games—The Heist sounded cool too—but you don’t really notice them once you’re inside your own world. When we finally cracked the last lock, Tasha cheered like she’d been rooting for us all along. It’s silly how proud you feel after solving puzzles with people you know too well. Still thinking about that moment we almost gave up, honestly.