Great Room Escape

Loved this! This was our first escape room experience. We had a group of 6, and as others have mentioned, I can’t imagine doing a group of 12, I think it would be way too crowded. We probably could have used a couple more people to help solve the puzzles, but it may have just made it even harder to communicate.
We did the zombie room. It was a tiny bit scary at first, but mostly just adrenaline filled fun once you got used to running around the zombie (and getting eaten).
Our butler and zombie were both great. The butler was hilarious and was good at subtly (or not so subtly, if we were being dense) dropping hints when we needed them and making light hearted jokes at our expense when we screwed up.
Somewhat pricy, but worth it in my opinion. Would go again to try the other rooms.

My husband had mentioned wanting to come to this particular Room Escape because of the zombie in the room whose chain gets longer as the hour progresses. We are Walking Dead fans and so, he thought it would be fun.
I thought it would be:
— Claustrophobic in that tiny room
— Scary with an actor as a zombie
— An anxiety attack waiting to happen
But I love my man and so I booked a surprise birthday party for him here. The main reason I’m not giving 5 stars to this place is because of the booking process. If you have a group you have to basically just give them the link and have them buy their own tickets. Well, some people procrastinate and don’t listen to instructions right away. Therefore, your time slot can be taken away from you.
I called twice, and emailed the company twice prior to booking to try and get a time blocked and somehow being able to book as a group. Nope. No help. No return email or call. One time I actually spoke with someone she told me the time slot was booked and to look at a different day/​time. So not helpful. I fell like they have no customer service in this arena at all. I mean, what if people wanted a corporate event done here? I wouldn’t suggest it because trying to get some customer service is a nightmare.
However, after many emails back and forth with my hubby’s guest list, we finally got a time slot where everyone bought their tickets.
The place is located in the side of an old warehouse (also the Halloween Haunted House called House of Torment, it is the same entrance and building). So our GPS took us to the wrong side and we were almost late. Because of this, the video they show you before the event was the same time we were signing waivers. So no, I didn’t watch the movie about what we were about to experience. Super annoying especially since I’d never done a room escape like this before and WANTED to watch that movie so I knew what the h*ll I was getting into!
But once we got inside it was a lot of fun. The Butler, or game master, explains things, makes sure you follow the rules, and sometimes points you in the right direction of a clue. (You know, just in case you are totally stuck)
Don’t want to give it away but we didn’t make it out. We were all kind of deflated since we were bummed about not finishing the clues. Man we were close though! The Butler explains to you in the end the clues on how to get out.
So it is a one time event since they don’t change the clues/​room around at all.
Overall I would do it again and suggest it to people. Some tips
— Dress lightly, running around in a closed room gets stuffy
— The room is quite large so if you are claustrophobic, like me, you should be fine
— There is an emergency button to get you out of the room if need be (this eased my anxiety ridden mind)
— Communicate with your team members to solve the clues
— Follow the butler, sometimes he is singing to himself a song that pertains to helping you out, or he is looking in the direction of a clue
— Wear reading glasses if you have them, the lighting is so dim and it is hard on old people eyes to read in there!!!
— They lock up your coats, purses, and phones for the hour

We did the Zombie room. It was fun but the «butler» that was supposed to provide some assistance if needed was not as helpful as was originally stated. He was a bit more belligerent than he needed to be. We all enjoyed the 1 hour in the room, we did not escape, but it was something different to do. We all thought the zombie was was very gentle in how it «killed» you even though we would would all be running and screaming like crazy people. Make up was great for butler and zombie. I do think that they should remove the fake plants that they tell you up front do not hold any clues and so please do not touch them. They did not add anything to the experience except to get in the way. So the 4 stars only was because of the butler mainly. And the address for the place given in Groupon brings to you the wrong side of the building and you have to go over to Madison street to find it.

I think it’s incredibly too difficult. We did the zombie room last night and only solved/​found 1 of the 4 locks. This was all of our group’s first time doing any type of escape room, so lack of experience definitely was at play. I wish the butler (game master) would’ve gave us some clues. You know pointus in the right direction. Overall it’s a great concept I just think they could decrease the difficulty level a tad and people would leave thinking they had more fun!

We all had a great time, and talked about it all the way home!
No Spoilers follow.
Houdini Room: I have been to 8 previous escape rooms (Philly, Taipei, Nashville). I brought 2 friends this time who were first timers. Total party of 3. Our time slot was otherwise empty, which is rare, and all the more exciting. I am a magician, and I love Houdini stuff, so I was really impressed with the collection of posters and antique artifacts that they have assembled here. Be sure everyone in your group gets to see all the props. The décor is perfect to transport you into the Houdini era, and someone in your party gets to ‘perform’ an actual Houdini effect.
Arrival: Parking is really easy, with plenty of places to eat nearby. Intimidating exterior door says «House of Terror». Don’t worry. Turns out that it is a HUGE warehouse where they run what is probably the biggest haunted house I have ever seen. This being the off season, it was very peaceful inside. Nothing scary happened to us during our visit.
In the Room: This is the first time I’ve had a costumed moderator in the room with us. She plays a charming young ‘Bess’, and helped us a great deal to stay on track by gently teasing us when we were following a false trail, and stepping up quickly when we had clearly solved something but needed a little help. This room is LOADED with red herrings (shakes fist). More than I’ve ever seen. It can be upsetting, but then Bess is there making sure we are not punished by them too long. We finished with 8 minutes left, which means she did a great job with pacing her clues, although my favorite experience is to end closer to 59:30 or 60:30. Before you start, let them know if you want a tougher, or easier experience. I am sure Bess can accommodate.
There is a comfortable sofa in the room should you need one.
Mechanisms: The locks are all in amazingly good condition. There are a couple of really cool mechanical reveals, and then there are a couple things which required a gentle nudge from Bess to operate. A place here and there that need to be re-​glued, and probably will be soon. I am concerned that above 8 people, may get a little crowded, and communication will start breaking down
We could hear occasional banging and screaming from the ‘neighbors’ (The Zombie Room). Funny. For us, not them.
Departure: After succeeding, we were received by a staff that clearly loves to create great experiences for people, No rush to leave at all. They even let us take a peek at some of the other cool stuff they do there.
I used a Groupon for 3 people. You buy the groupon. You get a code for each ticket. Then you go to the Great escape website to book. Be sure to enter all three groupon codes (separated by commas) into the one promotion code field. The remaining balance should then reflect that you have already paid.

Fantastic! Our Youth Group did the Zombie room last night and loved it! Staff was great, organized and fun! Highly recommend for a fun evening.

We went back for Houdini room after having done the Zombie escape when it opened and we were not disappointed. Another great experience and a completely different pace, much more about thinking like Harry Houdini. We were greeted by our game master, given our marching orders of the task at hand and put into the room. There was one lock that was backwards from what I was used to, but the actor who was ‘Bess’ showed us the way to get it undone. We got out with a few minutes to spare, and I won’t give the spoiler to the end, but they did a great job with the ending. I hope they create more rooms as my friends and family would go to everyone of them.

I’ve done both the zombie room and the Houdini room at Great Room Escape and had a pretty great time at both. This review boils down to the zombie room probably being more fun, while the Houdini room was more challenging.
The zombie room was the first room escape I’ve ever done, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I liked that they make you put your phones in a locker (so no one can ruin the game looking things up or worse yet, taking selfies). I also really liked that the characters stayed in character the entire time. I thought having a zombie chase after you was a fun twist and really helped get me into the game. The props were really cool and the room had a good mix of challenging and easy clues.
As for the downsides of the zombie room, we went on a Sunday afternoon, so there were a bunch of kids under the age of 10 in the room. This got a bit annoying since they really were more interested in taunting the zombie than playing the game and just got in the way of people who were actually playing the game. I’d recommend going at night on a weekday or weekend to avoid the under 18 crowd. Also, at least 2 clues in the room weren’t working, which caused my group to be «eaten» by the zombie. Basically if the flashlight had been working, we would’ve made it out. The owner/​manager even said we would’ve made it out had the props been functioning. So that was a little annoying. This seems to be a recurring issue because I saw a woman below said the same thing, and I’m guessing it was the sample prop since it was the last prop needed to get out.
As for the Houdini room, I was impressed by the room décor and the really cool surprises in the room. But that’s where my satisfaction with the room ends. The woman who played Houdini’s wife switched between some sort of British accent and her regular voice, and worst of all, she literally insulted my friend multiple times throughout the game. She definitely had a bad attitude and it made the game less fun. Also, unlike the zombie room, Houdini’s wife gave us zero help in the way of pointing us toward clues. There were multiple points where we just felt like we were standing around because we didn’t know what to do next and she wasn’t helping.
There were tons of red herrings, if you will, in this room. By the end of the game (we escaped!) I was pretty confused why at least half of the clues in the room ultimately weren’t helpful or necessary to open locks or escape the room.
Overall, I liked the zombie room better than the Houdini room. The Houdini room never gave me the sense of working to escape, since the real goal was simply to help Houdini’s wife contact Houdini beyond the grave. At least with the zombie room you can pretend you’re really trying to escape so you can live. Plus having a zombie chase you around is pretty fun.
**PRO TIP** Definitely buy a LivingSocial deal for this place. It’s $ 2 cheaper than the Groupon deals. These room escapes are ALWAYS available on LS and Groupon, so definitely don’t pay full price.

I went with a group of 10 girls, We laughed and screamed, we tripped over each other and fell on each other! It was so much more fun and scary then I expected! We all had a blast and plan on going again!

This was the best experience I’ve ever had under pressure! The puzzles, riddles, hints, are so hard to solve when you are in fear of your life! The zombie was very terrifying, the butler was inviting, and the room was intriguing! I thought 1hr would be enough time for us to solve and recover the keys to unlock the door to freedom, but I was so wrong! Even with the amount of people we had (me, my sister, cousins, friends) total of 9 and all our heads put together… please we couldn’t even open a lock on a treasure chest and we had the key! That was soooo embarrassing lol. Anyways my friends and family (including me) will be back to conquer Zombie Apocalypse! Hopefully we can survive this event!!! Thank you Great Room Escape!!!

We’e done multiple escape rooms in the area, including both the Zombie Room and the Houdini Room at the Great Room Escape. We enjoyed the Houdini room a lot, but had a mediocre experience with the zombie room, where my wife was injured.
The rooms were active but not as challenging as some others we’ve been in. Unfortunately their size and the high number of attendees (up to 12 per room) makes them feel less structured and more random. It’s harder to maintain communication in such a large group, spread out over a very large area. In the zombie room, especially, there’s less of a sense of one clue leading to the next.
The other problem with such a large group of people is that in the zombie room (where there is, no spoilers, a zombie) it just breeds chaos. People are running all over the room, which is how my wife got hurt — someone sprinted into her at full speed, slamming her in the face and knocking off her glasses.
Overall we enjoyed the Houdini room, but there are definitely better escape rooms in the city. If you’re just looking for an hour of fun, Great Room Escape is fine, but if you really want a teamwork component and a challenging puzzle, look elsewhere.

This place was super fun! It’s very professional and well done. We did the Houdini room and loved it. The puzzles were hard, but not impossible. Teamwork will definitely help you. Also there’s a actor in the room with you to «help» but also for the story line. I really liked that. It help you not stay to far off course because there can be a lot of distractions. I can’t wait to come back and do the zombie room.

I was very impressed with the place. The owners were very friendly and answered all my questions. The room was very up to date with impressive technology.
The actors were on point and convincing.
The puzzles made sense and were fun to crack. We didn’t get to the end but were very close.
Go now!!! IT was a truly wonderful experience

I purchased a Groupon for 5 of us to do the Houdini room and we had a good time. No problems making the reservations and the receptionist was pleasant and chatted with us before we went in.
The room itself was nicely decorated and had a lot of elements, and also a lot of distractions. «Houdini’s wife» is in the room with you and while she provided a little help, she didn’t really do much to add to the experience. In fact, at one point, she disappeared through a locked door without saying a word and we were like, are we supposed to follow her? She came right back out, but it was still weird.
We ended up not succeeding in getting out, but we still had a lot of fun.
*********SPOILER ALERT**************
My only complaint about this room, and it’s a big one, is the straight jacket. One person in your group can put on a straight jacket and if they escape from it, you get an extra clue. What we weren’t told until AFTER someone had it on, was that if you don’t get out, you have to stay in it for the rest of the hour!!! That is something that should be told UP FRONT before anyone puts it on. And our person did get out, so I’m not sure if someone panicked if they would have indeed been let out or not, but that part needs to be much more clearly explained before anyone proceeds.

Went to this on a first date in the zombie room.
It starts a little awkward because the building is a warehouse style and there’s trucks all around the parking lot, and its dark, but it just sets you up for the rest of the night. The escape room itself was better than the video on their site shows. The clues were difficult, the actors were great, and the stress level was extremely high. The room has less than a 12% success rate, so it gives you the determination to do it. The other 3 people we were paired up with in the room said this was the hardest escape room they have ever done. If you are up for the challenge and a high heart rate this is the place for you! Don’t make the mistake, and be too scared. Alos, the group getting out of the Houdini had only good things to say.

Everyone involved in this escape room did a fantastic job! First I loved how the room was decorated and went along with the whole eerie feel. The first hostess that greeted us was very nice and helpful with giving us any information or questions we might have had. She also made us feel safe in case it got a bit chaotic. The zombie himself was really good. He never broke out of character and I thought he seemed fair. I’ve been to another escape room where the «zombie» was a bit too clever with the group which made it more unrealistic. Not this one. He seemed to play the part very well!
And lastly, the butler! He was fantastic! He was in character through the whole game and was very entertaining. I’m still amazed how he remembered all of our names!
We will def be back for the other escape room!

I’ll start off with explaining my reservation troubles in case any of you experience the same pain points. (To be fair, my rating isn’t based off of these problems)
My friends and I bought a Groupon for the Great Room Escape and there were several hiccups when attempting to make the reservation. The website (linked from the Groupon) wasn’t very intuitive when trying to reserve for multiple people (I could not find an option to), nor did it give any information with how many spots were remaining for the available days. Tip: You need to add all of the Groupon’s to the promo field with comma’s.
I tried to call the number on the website but I was having a hard time getting through so I attempted to email. Eventually, after a few days, I was able to get in contact with a representative who helped answer my questions and help adjust my reservation — she was very responsive and helpful via email. I just wish I didn’t have to go through all of the phone tag before getting in contact with someone. I guess the phone number listed on the website and the confirmation email is incorrect; hopefully they fix this soon. Tip: Email! And if you don’t get a response, keep emailing!
Now onto my Great Room Escape review —
I should start this review by saying that I do not enjoy losing; so from the time of purchase I already had the mentality that my team had to be on point to win!
The challenges weren’t very difficult, but there wasn’t much direction by the «butler”/“game master» at the beginning. You put a kid in a pool and tell em to swim, we were put in a pool and told some gibberish with barely any use of verbs. In any case, we tried to do things that we thought we should be doing, and eventually the butler started to become of value. It was fun! The pressure with the zombie was terrifying at first but slowly diminished as time went on.
When working with your team, communication is key! We were with a group of strangers, but definitely made it work. No need to figure out names, just make sure you’re asking questions, giving suggestions, and working together. With the time ticking down and the zombie getting closer and closer, it’s easy to get distracted from what you’re trying to solve, so try to stay focused and remind your team to as well. Also, you’re going to want have someone on your team who won’t be scared to get close to the zombie — you’ll find out why.
In the end, my team only found 3 out of the 4 keys. Ugh! It was (and still is) very hard for me to accept. I want to easily blame it on the faulty props, but that may not be fair since I never touched what we were stuck on. In any case, it was a fun hour creating lasting memories with great friends!

LOVE! I cannot say enough that the Halloween/​Zombie escape was awesome! We didn’t get out, but we had a fantastic time! If I can offer you anything on this experience, it is that you MUST communicate! And be open to sharing and hearing!
I love these things and I can say that this one is one of the better ones! Look everywhere! If you find ANYTHING interesting, someone else might be able to offer you more on it!
Thrilling!

I went with 9 friends/​family last night to the zombie room escape. It was our first time doing something like this. It was fun to attempt to solve the puzzles and search for clues together. The zombie was SO great. She was the best part of my experience. Like straight out of Walking Dead scary.
However there were 2 times for my group as when things didn’t work out as they were supposed to (it seems I was the same night, but a different group from the other Unilocal rater Tracy, and it looks like we had similar experiences). One of the important objects we had was not working and it took about 15 – 20 minutes to get a working replacement. And that time is pretty significant when you only have 60 minutes to get out! At the end, we also found out that the «Butler» (an employee that is a part of it and is in the room with us) did not give us a clue/​information when he was supposed to.
Those factors definitely impacted our experience. And with other room escape options in the Chicagoland area, I will definitely not be coming back to this one anytime soon.

Just attempted this escape tonight and am not happy with this experience. I’ve done a couple room escapes now but this one was the first with a live «zombie.» The person playing the zombie was fantastic. She was terrifying and it added an element of chaos that made the room fun and challenging at the same time.
Now comes the reason for the bad review. It’s hard to escape from a room escape when your props that give way to clues are broken or malfunction. I’m not going to give anything away but there were two key elements that did not work. When you’re in a room escape and something doesn’t work you assume it’s because you’re missing something and continue searching for a missing piece. You’d think if there was a malfunction that the game masters would recognize it and help move you along since it’s an error on their part. Well when this happened they just let us waste our time. We spent time looking for what we thought were missing pieces when in reality things were just broken and not working. These two things were pretty much the last two things we needed in order to escape. Our «Butler» who was in charge of supervising us even signaled up to them several times to let them know things were not working and still nothing was done.
A room escape is not fun when it is IMPOSSIBLE to escape. When you don’t escape due to not being able to figure it out yourself is one thing, but not escaping due to malfunctions that you don’t know about until after your time is over just leaves you feeling cheated and angry.