We have been to Cracked It! threw times over the last year and have had a blast each time. My fiancé and I had our first escape room experience in the DEFCON-1 room and it was incredible. The room and storyline are fantastic, it all fits together brilliantly, and it was a great introduction to escape rooms. We went back the next day to play Queen Anne's Revenge with our 10-year-old. The first time I did an escape room, I was a little hesitant because of the cost, but after doing the first one, the experience is well worth it. For less than dinner and a movie, we have had great experiences as a family that we have talked about for hours on end. We have worked together, learned new things together, practiced communicating with and trusting each other, and we have all had the experience of figuring out a clue first or seeing something no one else did, and feeling proud that we moved the game forward. You have an hour in the room, plus time with the staff before and after, an employee is focused on you for the entire time you're in the room (and they have to put it all back together afterwards), plus so much is made by hand and must be invented, created, tested, and maintained. When you think about everything that goes into the experience, and everything you will get out of it, it's not expensive at all. Recently, we went again to play Maude's Madness, with my father and his girlfriend. It was the first time they had ever even heard of an escape room and they weren't sure what to expect. Our gamemaster, Shawn, went over everything and was very clear about what to expect. He showed us an uncommon type of lock that we might encounter in the room, which was helpful so that we wouldn't stumble on that. (One suggestion I have is to give the lock to a newcomer to try to open rather than ask if they'd like to try, or have a set of different locks with directions out on the table in the waiting area for players to try while they're waiting to begin - I could tell from my dad's face that he didn't get it 100% just from seeing Shawn open it, but I think he was embarrassed to ask for him to explain it again.) As the Cracked It! staff, Maude's Madness isn't any scarier than an episode of Scooby-Doo. According to the website, it's appropriate for ages 10 and up. There was one moment that was startling, and I would categorize the room as "creepy" (you know that going in if you read the description on the website) but it wasn't gory or violent. The story and puzzles were very good, everything worked perfectly and was obviously constructed with a lot of care, and we made it out just in time. Afterwards, Shawn took his time answering the questions we had about the room, and that was one of my favorite parts. My dad and his girlfriend loved it and we did another one the next day. We have had a blast every time we have visited Cracked It! and we'll be back when there is a new room. Thank you guys for bringing something new to do to this area, and working really hard to make sure the experience is great. read more

After playing 55+ games, I can say with certainty that the games at Cracked-It Escape are in my top 10, with their DEFCON-1 room being in my top three. If you are deciding what Escape Game to play in Jacksonville, look no further, this is your place. The atmosphere is very welcoming along with the staff. I also love their leader board. Granted, I don't think all rooms should have a leader board, but it is perfect for their rooms. They have plenty of fun games to play in lobby and one of the cleanest restrooms I have seen. Game-play: This is what makes Cracked-it amazing. The games flow perfectly, have an amazing story and their puzzles actually make sense. Their use of simple and technologically-driven puzzles actually made me stop to appreciate the dedication that went into making such great products. Clever, although all of their puzzles were good, they had one of the simplest, most clever puzzles I have ever seen and I am still thinking about it a week later. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner or an experienced player, find some friends (at least five, you'll want to share the experience) and set aside an afternoon to play all three games at Cracked-it Escape. It will be one of the best experiences in your life. read more

Awesome fun as our family returned to Cracked it; this time to face the challenge of Defcon 1 - Red Alert and a challenge it was. Our group covered the generations from child, teens, adults and grandparents. Everyone participated and contributed. No spoiler alerts except to say we were most appreciative of the youngest childs performance for one of the tasks. It was a well put together room. Props were on point and interactive for all of us. We were challenged and laughingly stumped a couple of times, regrouped ourselves with a chorus of kumbaya and laughter and some guided motivation from helpful clues. A well spent hour of quality family time. We were able to save ourselves with less than 3 minutes to spare. Applause and thank you for a great time to our friends at Cracked It. Making plans and looking forward to our next visit. read more

Had a great time with the family this evening at Cracked It! We have three children all in different age brackets. As a family We tend to struggle in finding activities that everyone enjoys together. Our Youngest child is 9 and seemed to be engaged almost throughout the entirety, Our middle child is in 8th grade and our eldest a senior in high school. This activity definitely met a need for our family. We can't wait to See the success and growth of this business. The staff was very friendly, kind and supportive. The whole experience was Challenging in a great way. Looking forward to more escapes. An excellent addition to Jacksonville. Guaranteed to be a fun time and the fastest 60 minutes in your day! read more

This is our second time at Cracked It and we LOVE it!! We did Season's Thievings first and had so much fun that we did Defcon1 too. Shawn was a wonderful game master and humoured our shenanigans. (I believe our game master for Defcon1 was a woman who's name I didn't catch, but she was awesome too!!) The owner was super friendly as well, and we would 1000% recommend Cracked It to anyone in the area!! read more

Epic! My husband, our friend, and I just completed the DEFCON-1 scenario - cracked it with 40 seconds to spare! This was the first escape room any of us had ever done, and we are all ready for more. We plan to go back to try out other scenarios, and would highly recommend DEFCON-1 (might have sent some "Do it!" Texts on the drive home!). Shout out to Shawn for his cryptic hint-giving skills! read more

I did an escape room for the first time here. Tons of fun! Each room had a theme and it was great seeing how all sorts of clues could be hidden as normal stuff. I definitely recommend it as an activity for 4+ people who are looking for a fun and challenging way to spend an hour. Well worth the drive to & from Raleigh. read more

I've driven past this place about 100 times. I had an absolute blast here! Sean was an amazing facilitator, and really emerged himself in the story telling role. I have been twice already and plan on going back in a few days. This is a great addition to the Jacksonville area. Highly recommend to all. read more

After being hesitant about going to an escape room, I am super happy I did! It was super fun. We completed Maude's Madness in a group of 3 in about 55 minutes. The room really makes you think! Gabriel helped us with our escape and offered help when needed. Would definitely recommend. read more

Had loads of fun! Went here for a date night with the hubby so we joined another group but it was still awesome. Challenging and inventive. Love the fact that they offer 3 Games total so I'm looking forward to going back trying the other two. read more

Great first experience! Took my 10 yr old and he loved it, too. The difficulty level was perfect for adults but he was able to figure out some of the clues and enjoyed looking for them. Staff was friendly and helpful and the place was clean. read more

We had a great time. We loved the details and the complexity of the puzzles. Get a group of friends together and make a reservation, a lot of frustration, a lot of laughs, and a lot of excitement. It was a great way to spend an evening. read more

Came here on a whim with three other friends from work and had an amazing time! The staff was awesome and the room was well thought out as well as challenging! I'm looking forward to the new rooms getting finished so I can come back! read more

Super fun every time I go there and will definitely be going back. I completed every challenge they had and can't wait to see what else they come up with. It's great for a group of friends looking to change up the day to day norm read more

If you are looking into doing something different in Jacksonville with friends, family or coworkers...this place is it. Just recently went with coworkers for a team building event and really enjoyed it! Highly recommend :) read more

I have done 2 of these 3 rooms! I can't wait to try the next one! The owners were SO sweet and the girls working are very knowledgeable of the story line. The rooms were AMAZING. Love the newest room, Defcon. read more

Good experience. Shawn was great and really enjoyed his job. The clues were great and weren't too hard but were the right level of difficult that you had to put some serious thought into was you were doing. read more

We had a group of 6 who did the fallout one, it was super fun. We were fairly new and able to complete it our first try. Stacy was our facilitator, she was great and helpful! Would recommend read more

We celebrated our daughter's 10th Birthday by trying the Christmas themed room. It was a blast! We will definitely go back! Also our "elf" Shawn was friendly, helpful, & fun! read more