Team Jefferson Starship reviewed this attraction on August 28, 2017.
Final Score: 8.76
Summary:
All In Adventures promises a journey to a far off locale and then a challenging puzzle to get you back home again; in that, they certainly deliver.
As demand for Escape Rooms grows, a business like All In Adventures was clearly on the horizon. Unlike high tech or custom-built escape rooms, All In Adventures is practically a franchise – multiple locations across the US with a variety of different rooms meant to provide entertainment for everyone. While they’re trying to find their exact niche in the market, they have hit the highlights of what customers are looking for in a new experience.
Rooms are themed around exotic locations or events; lobbies are set up like an airport or travel agent’s waiting lounge; all you have to do is get some friends together and walk in. Best of luck in your attempt to walk out again.
Atmosphere: 7.17
AIA is situated in a large shopping mall; however the front lobby is decorated like a ticketing agency or airport terminal. This is meant to help immerse you into the idea that you’re taking a journey.
The waiting area is simple. We wished that there had been sample locks to practice on, or puzzles to help get you in the mindset, but alas, there were none.
Theme: 9.02
We tried two of the escape rooms that AIA – Florence had on offer: “Sherlock’s Library” and “Houdini’s Magic Cell.”
Both rooms are different from your standard madman/serial killer escape rooms and designed more with a nod towards families or groups looking for a mental challenge rather than something scary.
Both of the rooms had fitting decor and were kitted out with their respective themes: Sherlock’s library had pieces from his famous cases and lots of literary references while Houdini’s Cell was more themed towards a magician’s tricks.
Special Effects: 8.03
AIA is essentially a mass-market escape room. That is to say, there is little that you will encounter inside that you couldn’t purchase at a hardware store – locks, chains, boxes.
However, they use appropriate decor and wall decorations to make the individual rooms feel a little different from one another.
Most of the key items are fairly plain, but pieces are interactive and you must be aware of the room’s setting and wall decor in addition to the clues you find locked away behind various puzzles.
Gameplay: 9.07
These were challenging rooms at AIA. Furthermore, all of the AIA rooms have two “levels” – if you complete a room and have time left, there are additional clues/puzzles (all clearly marked) for you to attempt to solve. These additional clues constitute the extra level – while they don’t necessarily increase in complexity, you’ll definitely be low on time when you get around to them.
On the plus side, you are allowed an unlimited number of clues from the staff to help you solve the puzzles. On the downside of that, the staff have to come into the room with you to give you the clues – this might break the feeling of immersion for some folks, but with the set up AIA uses, there’s not much that can be done about that.
Houdini’s Cell was fairly linear while the puzzles in Sherlock’s Library had a little more leeway in the order they could be approached.
Customer Service: 10
All In Adventures (AIA) is geared towards customer service – you don’t have to make a reservation at their locations which are peppered around public shopping malls. You can reserve rooms in advance, however; if you do, their ticketing service automatically reminds you of your visit both a week and a day before your arrival.
This room was safe and ADA Compliant. The staff was very helpful, understanding and knowledgeable.
Value: 9.25
AIA offers up a variety of different rooms, with differing levels of difficulty. You don’t need a reservation and can walk right in. Furthermore, they change up the specific puzzles every few months – if you really love escape rooms, this means you could conceivably do each of AIA’s rooms once per month and, by the time you’d finished them, the first one would have changed to a degree, perhaps allowing you to attempt it again.
Rooms are $21 per person (with a discount for groups of 8, and with plans for special events). Given that each room is a 50-minute puzzle, that comes out to well over 2 minutes of entertainment per dollar spent.