TLDR: Excellent escape rooms in downtown Raleigh. Plenty of options to choose from that vary in…read moreback story and difficulty level. NERD escapes has two houses with 7 rooms total. The red and yellow color coding identify which house you go to. We completed the Chernobyl and the Return rooms with about 5 people. We had a blast in both rooms. The back stories were engaging and the rooms are detailed and well kept. Reserving rooms is quick and easy on the website. We were even able to book last minute. Hints are allowed although we like to save them as a last resort. An employee kept up with our progress to provide appropriate hints when requested. We did need a few hints, one related to difficult to use equipment. The room were challenging without being impossible. We ended up needing nearly an hour to escape from both. Unlike most escape rooms they do not offer to take your picture at the end. We remembered after the second room, but forgot after the first. They have an area for pictures with props so it was surprising that you have to request a picture. Parking: lot available behind the houses as well as street parking. Price: typical escape room price of $30 per person per hour Customer service: excellent. We were greeted upon arrival, received clear instructions, and allowed time to use the restroom before starting.

Sadly, this is not my favorite escape room place. I've done two of their rooms, both in the yellow…read morebuilding (which is confusing in itself) and the first (art museum) was solidly "fine." Some clever puzzles, decent concept, mostly good experience. The Chernobyl room, however, was kind of terrible. I do a good number of escape rooms, and it wasn't that it was too hard, but more poorly conceived. It was a mix of super niche or hard to find clues combined overly easy ones, starting with an uncomfortable and somewhat pointless lock. It was also very linear, so a large group would likely have people standing around because there's not much going on at once. The most frustrating thing was the ending has a very finicky piece of equipment that we couldn't master. We ended up giving up because, while we felt we solved it, we couldn't get it to work and just wanted to be done at that point. Plus, our experiences outside of the room were super awkward, not offers for ceremonial photos. Will not be trying another room.

In town visiting and I'm not sure if this was the first thing I was looking to do, but my friends…read morewere excited and I said why not. I like escape rooms but when I'm somewhere new and visiting I usually like exploring local or something new but this escape room was honestly a highlight. We did the speakeasy one and it encompassed some local facts and was a great time overall. Recommend an escape room in Raleigh!

Decided to check out this escape room with my friend tonight - we do one every other week or so!…read more We entered the room and although it looks outdated compared to most, the room looked fun. During the intro, the host gave us a very short backstory, and said that he "couldn't talk, cause I just drank some water." Unfortunately, one of the items wasn't working in the room as it should, so we were given the answer (no biggie). The host states "I'm not sure how to fix this, but this is what you should do for the answer." We continued the game, and asked for a hint later, but received hints beyond where we were, and were told "oh, that was the wrong hint, I was supposed to give you that later on." After that, along with the very interesting intro, we decided to leave in the midst of the game, and forfeited the money we spent. We've done several rooms throughout Raleigh, Durham, & even at the OBX! This really bummed us out, and unfortunately we likely won't return here.

I love escape rooms. I chose a really hard one though I was with my husband and 8 year old. So be…read moremindful of the difficulty level.

Our first time doing an escape room and we didn't escape! But that's okay. We did the Bustin' out…read moreof the 80's challenge. Very well thought out clues. We would recommend this company!

My wife and I took our son to his first escape room today. So glad it was this one! Creative, great…read moreatmosphere, good puzzles, and plenty of fun RFID surprises and other tech. Avoid All In Escapes (Triangle Town Center) like the plague and play here instead! This is what escape rooms are supposed to be!

This play is a perfect place to go if you want to have fun and get a great bond with family.read more

Great experience and team activity. Z and Ezekiel were amazing! The group really enjoyed themselves…read moreand I will definitely be back for another experience!

We had so much fun! It was actually pretty cool and this is my first ever escape room, but I highly…read moreenjoyed the academia vibe of the one we went to. For some reason, I thought it would be kind of horror based, but just excited to see that it's more clues and sleuthing than thriller. The employees were very nice too! There were four people in total that came with for this event, and the owner was very kind to let us change our original times due to night shifts. Just for this reason, I have 100% will be back and appreciate his help! Thank you!

The owner done a great job preparing us for our first Escape Room. He had a great personality &…read moregreat passion for good family fun! Recommend

First escape room and it was amazing I loved the pirate plunder escape room the theme was on point…read moreI felt like I was in a pirate ship would recommend.

Pretty cool place, I had me and my sister do it and she kind of sucked at it. Me though I'm a sigma…read moreand I was good at it.

From the owner: Go on an adventure, solve an escape room puzzle, or survive the zombie apocalypse. For a limited…read moretime only we are doing 1 hour sessions for as low as 9.99!

My wife and I recently visited Times Up! and we had a really good time…read more Most of the rooms at Times Up! required 4 or more participants, and since it was just the two of us, our only choice was the Room 555 escape room. Overall, I thought the room was a lot of fun. The moderator was nice, and the room had some good puzzles. My only complaints would be: 1) The text-to-speech computer program used to present the story and clues was a little awkward and clunky, and it definitely made it harder to immerse myself in the scenario. It'd be significantly better if a real person was reading the dialogue. Also, it felt like the background story could have been more interesting, although the clues were fun to figure out. 2) One of the clues was meant to be locked and they left it unlocked, so the moderator had to come in during the scenario and re-lock it for us. Not a big deal, but it did disrupt the event a bit. Overall, I liked Times Up! and would definitely come back.

Really well done. Great experience, kind and helpful staff. A fun time for family, friends, or a…read moredate! It's the perfect challenge level for bonding

Came here with my wife recently and completed one of the escape rooms! We had a really good time…read moreand would definitely come back. Parking was pretty easy since Game On is part of an outdoor shopping mall. Importantly, there are two levels to the mall, and Game On is located on the top level. We completed the Odin's Trial room in the allotted time, with a few hints from our gamemaster Spundun :) Everything in the room worked as expected, which is always appreciated. In general, escape rooms feel a little overpriced to me, but we did have fun, so I guess I can't complain! Overall, I'd recommend Game On.

Great place!! We had a group of 3 and did the MacGregor Manor escape room. It was a challenge and…read morewe didn't get through it. We should have asked for a few more nudges along the way. The staff were friendly and explained everything well. Definitely can't wait to go back and try again. Worth the price and a super fun experience!

Great team building idea!! Creates such a positive and fun environment. And helps with stress!!…read more Our work team loved it!

Great activity for corporate departments to have fun together with a purpose. Set up was ready to…read morego the minute we walked in. Highly recommend