RATING: 5 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: 0:16

Come work at an escape room, they said. It will be fun, they said…if only the ghouls got that memo…

Welcome to your first day on the job! Small problem, spirits are wandering the building. Totally normal, right? Don’t worry, all you have to do is round them up before the boss finds out. Easy! But if you mess up… well, let’s just say your employee benefits don’t cover eternal haunting.​

We are the newest game-masters  in training at Think. Solve. Escape. Escape Room, and we’re already encountering an issue with our orientation- the spirits from the graveyard right next door have decided to wreak havoc. Of course we have to ward off inter-dimensional beings. We couldn’t just have a normal first day of filling out paperwork and watching training videos, could we?

Not only have the ghosts decided to appear on our side of the veil, they apparently also want to mess with the space-time continuum. Their portal to the other side has resurrected some games that have been retired from service. Not only do we have to oversee the six other active games, we have to conquer the challenges of the past in order to return the specters to their rightful realm of the dead.

A love for the escape game genre in general is evident, since the desk and filing cabinets are covered in stickers and magnets from other escape room and immersive-experience establishments across the county.

Normally, having a plain computer monitor as the countdown timer breaks the immersion just a little bit, but in this instance, it works perfectly. This screen is nestled amongst the displays of the active rooms in the venue, so we can fully observe all of the goings-on throughout the building.

The office opens up into a standard-issue break room, with employee lockers, bulletin boards, shift schedules, and a snack machine filled with various treats. The only indication that something is somewhat awry from the spirits’ meddling is the giant twisted mass of cables and wires  that covers the ceilings in both chambers- it is very reminiscent of the ominous vines and tendrils that appear elsewhere in the game.

The pesky poltergeists also have caused us to be trapped in time, stuck with the ghosts of escape rooms past- the venue’s retired rooms have come back to haunt us. A circus tent, a children’s nursery, and a old Western saloon have all re-materialized within the walls of the building. Much like the other games branch off from hallways leading from the lobby, so do these mysterious spaces. Only this time, the corridor is dark and spectral, just another sign that these spirits are taking over the venue.

All sorts of various skills are put to the test to prove our mettle as game-masters. There are the standard combination locks, but there are also much more technical elements. All help to further the notion that these ghosts must be defeated.

Communication is highlighted, as there are several instances where employees-in-training must be physically located in different areas of the space from one another in order to solve the challenge. There are numerous occasions where a puzzle component is found in a completely separate location than the main portion of the task, encouraging movement and nuanced conversation.

The riddles require being able to switch mentalities between a game operator and game participant throughout, as we constantly transition between the venue office and the ghostly remnants of the former experiences. Both our mental and physical prowess is contested; after all, we have to prove we’re ready to earn our paycheck!

Help Not Wanted is the epitome of meta, done right. It’s not everyday that a venue makes a game about the venue itself. Taking inspiration from the graveyard that sits adjacent to the property is a stroke of genius. It is the incorporation of this cemetery into the game that leads to a totally unique and original concept, which cannot be replicated anywhere else.

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Venue: Think. Solve. Escape. Escape Room

Location: Turnersville, New Jersey

Number of Games: 7

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 8 people

Group Type: Private / You will not be paired with strangers.

Cost: $28.50-39 per person, depending on number of players

We thank Think. Solve. Escape. Escape Room for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.