Our Girl Scout troop had planned a team-building outing to Lock Chicago. We did the Matsuri room with a group of 8 kids ranging from age 10-12. The puzzles were clever and engaging, and there was a perfect mix of challenges that kept all the girls involved and excited. We met with Ty when we arrived, and he was great at setting the scene for everyone. He was encouraging when they needed help, without giving too much away. It was a fantastic team-building experience, and the girls loved working together to solve everything before time ran out. They solved the case in 50 minutes! It was a few sneaky tricks, cool puzzles, things that stumped us and over all a whole lot of fun!! Highly recommend for groups of kids or scout troops, familes or adults looking for a fun and memorable activity! I'd love to go back and try the other rooms sometime soon! read more

We brought our family of 5 as a fun experience in celebration for twins' birthday. Our Game Master, Ty, was the perfect balance between providing context and being "hands off" to let us figure things out for ourselves. We have very different types of thinkers in our family, so this had something that allowed each of us to shine in our own way. I really appreciated the experience given all but 1 of us had never done anything like this before. Highly recommend. read more

Lock Chicago Escape Rooms generously donated tickets for our nonprofit's gala, helping us raise critical funds to continue our mission. We're so grateful for their generosity and community spirit! read more

Great Customer Service! I cannot wait for our teachers to experience Lock Chicago Escape Rooms! Looking forward to it.

I contacted Lock about possibly donating to our school's auction - Bane, Brian, and Alex responded to my message very quickly, and generously offered us some tickets! Whoever wins is in for an entertaining night out! I know I will be going no matter what- knowing they support our community makes me want to support them even more! read more

Lock Chicago is a true asset to our community. Their entertaining activities cater to all ages, making it easy for everyone to have a great time with minimal hassle. Bane, Brian, and Alex are a wonderful team, and we appreciate having such an outstanding local attraction close to home! read more

$50 per person is pretty out of touch these days to charge someone. Don't even think about bringing a family of 4 or 5.

I reached out to Lock Chicago Escape Rooms for a donation for my schools fundraiser. They got back to me quickly and we cannot wait for their donation to be at our event! read more

I contacted them regarding a donation for a youth leadership program and they were very generous, easy to work with, and responsive. We love that they are so open to helping out the local community. This is a super fun activity - don't miss this one if you're in the area! read more

This was our second experience at Lock (first was the now-retired Sunburn). We solved Malfunction (all 9 cores!) in 45 mins. We needed one hint and were annoyed with ourselves for not realizing what to look for! Very cleverly designed and intermediate difficulty. We definitely would go back to try other rooms! read more

We had an excellent time at Lock Chicago yesterday for a date night. We booked Matsuri which had well thought-out puzzles and was a great fit for our experience level. Our guide Calvin was very welcoming and helped us really get into the backstory of the room's plot. He was attentive throughout the experience, giving us just enough clues when we asked for hints that still preserved the problem solving aspect. We recommend Lock Chicago for anyone looking for a cerebral challenge in a pleasant environment. The rooms are all private and very spacious. We will be back! read more

Y'all... I do not know how this place has so many good reviews. The building itself smells like sewage, some of the puzzles are broken, decor falling off of the walls, no music or ambience. The game master made a huge deal about not giving a clue unless all of us agree to one... then gave us MULTIPLE OBVIOUS CLUES without us asking, very early on. Super frustrating. There are so many great Escape Room companies in Chicago/north suburbs... go elsewhere. read more

Location: Lock Chicago has moved from Davis street to Green Bay road, both within Evanston. I do like this location much better as it is more spacious and there is more parking available. There are also several restaurants and fun shops in the area, so you should make a day out of it. Condition: We were a group of 6 people and booked a private room. It was the newest room and everything was in a good and clean condition. Staff: From the very beginning, the communication with the business from booking, to re-booking, to re-booking again has been friendly and efficient. Everybody working here is nice and happy to help. Summary: This specific room Icarus was very involved and I am glad there were 6 of us versus, let's say, just 4. Sadly we did not succeed, but that did not discouraged us from going to another room some another time. We had lots of fun and the hour went by very quickly. read more

This was our second time at Lock Chicago. This time we did the Matsuri room. We have tried escape rooms all over the country and were happy to see that the rooms were not filled with various versions of locks but consisted of puzzles that required thought. There were a number of unique puzzles which we had not seen before. Ty and Aiden were excellent masters and made the game so fun. Parking is easy. We highly recommend checking out Lock Chicago. You won't be disappointed! We're looking forward to the new room which is coming soon. read more

All three of my experiences at Lock Chicago have been unique - one with a group of adult friends, one with my team from work, and one with a group of tweens for a birthday party - and all three have been a blast! The puzzles are challenging and entertaining, and the staff is helpful and organized. I highly recommend it for parties, corporate events, team building, or just a fun night out! read more

We booked a room and had a great time. Calvin was incredibly friendly and made the experience even better. The combination of the fun and difficult room and the fantastic employee made for a great time. Would highly recommend read more

Our game host Ty was awesome. He was gave clear instructions when needed and was very accommodating. Would go here again Thanks Ty!

Had a great time in Evanston today. Aiden was fantastic, he was very friendly and personable. He gave us the back story for Matsuri, and made sure we had all the info we needed. We had a blast, even my daughter who had never done an escape room before. Would definitely recommend for a fun afternoon. Easy to drive to, parking on-site, spacious lobby with comfortable seating. read more

Very positive experience - great service, creative escape room, strongly recommend.

We booked tickets to Lock Chicago on a whim this last weekend and it was a great choice! We did the Malfunction room and had to try and close a black hole by solving different puzzles. Mark did a great job explaining the room to us before we went in and he was also super attentive to when we yelled for a hint, etc. The puzzles were a challenge but they were tons of fun and we felt really accomplished after succeeding in 45 minutes! Somehow we came out f the room with our friendship still intact - it can be done! I definitely recommend Lock Chicago if you're looking for an escape room and hopefully I'll get to return soon to try the sunburn room where you have to use flashlights the whole time. read more

Lock Chicago Escape Rooms - Escape Games Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Went here with three generations (grandparents, parents, and kids) and had a great time! The puzzles are quite challenging but the game masters give you some hints to help out if needed (and we needed them!). A fun way to spend an hour or so with friends or family, especially as it gets cold out. Definitely recommend! read more

We tackled Mitsuri and did complete, though we needed to use one of the hints. Very challenging, but certainly doable. Lots of fun. Good facilities and good props. Definitely would like to come back for the steam punk theme one. read more

Best team retreat ever! Ty was incredibly helpful from making the initial arrangements all the way through to a triumphant photo after we all escaped. I'm looking forward to going again! read more

Private group of six of us did the Malfunction room. The entire experience was less than ideal. We've had prior escape room experiences and this one unfortunately ranked lowest by far. The host was unfriendly and hard to understand. They offer hints, but only if you like them on social media BEFORE you play the room. If you don't like them, then no hints are given. We didn't want to play with hints anyways, so we didn't give any likes. I find it a shady practice to solicit positive feedback before having the experience. The room itself was bland and uninspiring. The puzzles had no theme to them and didn't tie into the back story of the room at all. I'm not going to give spoilers, but the majority of the puzzle mechanics weren't creative. The room's puzzles also become very linear about 1/2 through, meaning that one puzzle had to be solved in order to work on the next one rather than have multiple puzzles to work on. If you've never done an escape room before, this one may be entertaining, but there are far more interesting ones in the area with friendly staff that make the experience truly enjoyable. read more

We had a #YelpNorthShore event here and it was so much fun! I was lucky enough to have such smart teammates, that we are now the record holders for the matsuri puzzle! Yay! Definitely check this place out! read more

Lock Chicago Escape Rooms - #YelpNorthShore - Escape Games Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

This was my first escape room experience so I have nothing else to compare it to, but I really enjoyed myself and wish it would have lasted longer. This was a team building exercise for my office and none of us had done it before so it took quite some time before we got the first clue. I think we wasted a lot of time and we should have moved on. I enjoyed the Sunburn room and even the little story behind it was clever. I'm definitely hooked and will try others. read more

I really enjoyed my experience at Lock Chicago. We did the Malfunction room - it was really challenging for us to even get started). The staff are kind, the space is clean - I especially appreciated the jellybean dispenser in the front. I'm going to take off one star entirely for aesthetics of the room - it is very rustic looking as if a high school group had built it for a fundraiser. But other than that - I'd go back in a heartbeat because of the pure mental challenge provided. read more

My aunt and uncle were in town from Phoenix and some rain had us scramble a bit for some indoor activities. Lock Chicago came up on Yelp as a close escape room so we decided to check it out. We were able to book the Matsuri room about two hours in advance, which was lucky because the other rooms were all booked up until much later. Our host/guide (I forgot his name -- tall guy with earrings, and a big Harry Potter fan ) was very friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic. The room itself was challenging but not impossible (we beat it with about 12 minutes to go) and the way the boxes unlocked were very cool -- many of them lifted/slid/turned on electronically giving it a high tech/high end feel. This was my first escape room and it was lots of fun. Thanks, Lock Chicago! read more

This was our first trip to Chicago(from Arizona) and we booked several escape rooms in the Chicago area. We booked Malfunction and Sunburn at Lock Chicago on 5/24/17, which was our 46 and 47 games overall. When my family discusses escapes rooms after we play them we think of them with three aspects in mind, Setting, Gameplay, and Mechanics. As far as the setting goes, well, frankly it was a bit weak and this would be the only thing I think they could improve but we loved the rooms enough to give them both 5-star ratings. The props were ok and there was minimal clutter. In Malfunction, the booking information says it hold ups to 6. We only had 2 and we could have used more so I think they are spot on with the people requirements in that room. Sunburn is rated for up to 8 people. We did it with 2, I think you could have gotten away with 6 but 8 seems a bit much. If you love puzzles and figuring out things, these rooms are for you! We love puzzles and that is why these rooms are getting a 5-start rating. They are NOT the most immersive but are so very good puzzle wise that we have to give them major kudos for that! They didn't manage to hit any of our pet peeves(red herrings, having to guess, need for prior knowledge and lighting) in Malfunction. In Sunburn they hit only one pet peeve and that was the need to have one bit of prior knowledge for one puzzle. No lighting issue in Malfunction and while Sunburn was very dark, they provided the appropriate flashlights and such and we never had a problem with lighting. Kudos to them! Overall, we enjoyed the games a great deal. As far as the mechanics go in the room, it had a good game flow, an adequate hint system, an attentive game master, no breakdowns (Yay!), great customer service and a decent website! read more

Very friendly staff and fun escape rooms! The Icarus room was a fun challenge for my family of five, and we beat it with 25 seconds to spare! Would definitely recommend this place read more

Fiancé and I are in Chicago for a few days before flying to Kansas City for his cousin's wedding. Since we are escape room junkies, how can we NOT do a escape room every city we visit?! We tried booking with the ones in downtown Chicago, but no such luck as it was last minute bookings. Sigh. So we browsed on Yelp and came across this one! We were on our way right away as soon as we found out there's availability that same night. This is definitely different than those regular escape room! We did the Malfunction of course and it was a blast! You're actually not trying to escape, you're trying to collect objects that's needed to survive! How unique is that? Puzzle after puzzle, we managed to reach the requirement to live! We totally got stuck on the last puzzle. Only if we had maybe 5 more minutes left then perhaps we would of gotten the championship! We did do pretty well with just the 2 of us though. Quick tip: Don't spend too much time on one puzzle if you're stuck. Move onto the next one first, then come back from time to time to connect the dots. :) It'll all come together in time. Good luck and have fun! read more

I had my daughter's 11th birthday party at Lock Chicago, and the 6 young ladies very much enjoyed their experience. Thank you to Sam, our escape room master, and the whole staff. The girls solved a challenging room with 3:37 to go, and the screams could be heard down Davis. read more

My friends and I had an amazing time at their escape rooms! Easy drive from Chicago and very accommodating team. Would definitely recommend for others in the area to try something new. They mentioned opening a 3rd new room in the upcoming month so definitely looking forward to trying that when it opens. Easy to find in Evanston as well there is street parking for $1 per hour and a parking garage down the block. read more

It's fun and challenging but our experience was sabotaged by an equipment failure that prevented us from getting beyond a certain point, and the guy working was very passive in his apology. One of the safes containing information we needed had no power so we were dead-ended, not knowing if it was a dummy safe to throw us off or was in fact dead like we presumed. Not wanting to ruin our experience of actually feeling locked in by calling out to the guy to ask, we decided to continue on. Once the time was up and he came in to get us, we informed him of the lack of power and he just kind of said "oh yeah, sorry... that should have been working". No offer to compensate us in any way, invite us back to do the other room, or anything that would have made up for the fact that we were basically put in a situation where no matter how great we did, we would never have succeeded due to an equipment malfunction. Not very good customer service, in my opinion. We left feeling as though we spent $60 to basically be set up for failure from the beginning. read more

This was the second escape room experience I have had and it was great! I personally like scavenger hunt type of escape rooms. This one was more of the puzzle type. I felt as though it was a little too difficult and a bit all over the place. But overall, I had a blast! read more

We've done a ton of escape rooms, and this one was not very fun. There were way too many obscure puzzles and no real flow. We love rooms that stretch our brains, but this room was not smart, rather just a mush mosh of things to decode with no real spirit of adventure. Bummer. read more

I've done the Sunburn and Malfunction rooms and they're both super fun! The puzzles are difficult but not impossible, and the staff is friendly. read more

Thank you Lock Chicago for supporting our school, it has been a Great experience for us over the years! We look forward to seeing you again this year for a great time. read more

My friends and I went last week and did Lock Chicago's newest room. Tons of fun and interesting puzzles! The rooms felt very clean and well kept. We ended up getting out with a few minutes to spare and the staff was very friendly and helpful. read more

I am a director of a school. I took my teachers and staff as a team-building activity. We had a terrific time! As we left, we began discussing how it helped us to collaborate and brought out the best of our skills as individuals and as a group. Thank you! read more