i've been to the one in Kitchener. i enjoyed it, but it took a long time to get there from Toronto!
i've also played Real Escape Game Vol I in Toronto and Vol II in San Francisco. In all three cases, i wished that the rooms had more of a story to them. We were just sort of standing around in an Ikea-furnished room looking for conspicuously out-of-place clues, trying to get the front door open. Why? Because it was locked.
My love of the escape game concept (and my frustration with its shortcomings) inspired me to launch LockQuest in downtown Toronto. We're at Summerhill TTC station on the Yonge line, two stops North of Bloor.
http://www.lockquest.com
Our debut game is called
Escape the Book Club Killer. AF4iK, it's a tiny bit like Saw because you're trapped in a serial killer's apartment, and he's coming back in an hour to murder everybody. The killer's voice rings out on the loudspeaker every so often, taunting you. Unlike Saw, the game isn't gory. You can chop your own limbs off if you feel like it, but it won't help you escape.
And you guessed correctly: escape game owners have to put "do not touch" indicators on things like thermostats, radiators, and electrical sockets. In our space, we have a closet that we would've loved to include in the game, but the faucet inside turns off the water to the unit upstairs! That's where those signs, while immersion-breaking, are a necessity.
If you have any other burning questions about LockQuest or escape games in general, i'm happy to answer them!
- Ryan