This is the third part of our series dedicated to extraordinary escape rooms worth visiting in Athens. This time we focus on rooms that have nothing to do with horror – instead of fear, they offer exciting adventures, great fun and interesting puzzles.
If you're looking for rooms that will give you a memorable experience without the thrill of horror, these suggestions are just for you! In this list you will find a wild west full of humor, a jailbreak in a suspenseful scenario and an unusual bookstore heist that will put your mind to the test.
Check out which of these rooms fit your style of play!
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Company: No Exit Ilioupolis
Themes: wild west, treasure hunt
Fear level: 0/10
Position in TERPECA 2023: 55
Position in TERPECA 2024: 77
Wanted Dead or Alive was the most entertaining room we played in Athens. Both our groups played in this room, but we have divergent impressions. The room will definitely appeal to people who like a large dose of laughter and comedy in an escape room, combined with an interesting but galloping storyline and actor interactions. And these interactions are really abundant here - the actor accompanied us for almost the entire game and was an integral part of the scenario.
The surface of the room once again did us in. It's hard to count how many rooms we visited during this game. Unfortunately, the puzzles themselves were not many and were quite simple, at times even trivial. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. It all depends on the attitude with which you approach the room. If you want to have fun in the wild west, experiencing truly surprising adventures while searching for lost gold, and a talkative and very expressive actor is not a problem - this room is a must-see item in Athens. If you're traveling to Greece in search of extreme thrills and powerful experiences, consider other rooms, like Amen, Don't Take a Breath, Manifesto or Woman in Black.
Now it's time for the downsides, because we found a few of them, too. It was clear that the room was not one of the newest, evidenced as much by the heavily worn decor as by the puzzles that didn't always work the first time. It also wasn't the cleanest of the rooms we played in, but that's the way it is in the wild west! Although if you have asthma, beware of the hay present in the room.
As we mentioned in the previous section, No Exit Ilioupolis has 3 escape rooms in its portfolio, which is conducive to planning more rooms at once. There are restaurants and a shopping mall in the area, so you won't have trouble scheduling time between games.
Death Row
The company: No Exit Ilioupolis
Themes: jailbreak
Fear level: 1/10
Position in TERPECA 2023: nomination
Position in TERPECA 2024: 166
Death Row is another room from No Exit Ilioupolis that we played. Already stepping over the company's threshold was an introduction to the game - atmospheric, consistent with the storyline and very exciting, building tension that followed us almost throughout the game.
After joining the threshold of the room, the excitement increased - the interior of this prison scenario surprised us with its grandeur, and the excellent acting made us stand as if mesmerized following the orders of the prison guard. The plot itself was not surprising - inmate criminals on death row give the prison a leg up, avoiding responsibility for their actions. However, the story was not trivial - we felt its impact on the whole game, the game was dynamic, revealing more cards to us.
The room surprised us with its size. Before going to Athens, we had heard more than once that the escape rooms there are huge, hence the long game times, which can be a challenge for those accustomed to 60-90 minute scenarios. It should be noted that Death Row is not only a large room, but also has quite a few passages that require players to be physically fit. This is worth bearing in mind when planning the room.
The puzzles in Death Row also deserve a comment. We make no secret that this is one of the most important aspects of escape rooms for us. The tasks we encountered here were really quite a lot - some more to our liking, others less so. Some of the puzzles were very confusing and, despite the hints, we couldn't connect the dots very quickly. We knew that the room was dedicated to experienced players, however, some of us were quite frustrated, and after a while we all felt tired. The puzzles, however - very importantly - were consistent with the room's prison theme and storyline, which in our opinions is a huge plus and a great tool for deepening immersion.
The Bookstore
Company:
Themes: intrusion, abstraction
Fear level: 1/10
Position in TERPECA 2023: 33
Position in TERPECA 2024: 57
We thought for a long time what to write about this room so as not to offend anyone. We know that there are Bookstore lovers for whom this is one of the best rooms they have played. We, unfortunately, do not count ourselves among them.
After these already several months of visiting this truly unique escape room, we came to the conclusion that it just wasn't the room for us. The Bookstore is a rather static game, without the "wow" effects that previous Athens rooms have accustomed us to. Static, however, does not at all mean that it was boring - absolutely! In this room everyone had their hands full - there were a lot of quite difficult puzzles. Some of them we liked, some of them we didn't, but what affected our perception the most was the timing. Deciding on this room, you need to know that the assumed playing time is as much as 4 hours.
We do not want to suggest that this room is not worth considering when planning an escape trip to Athens. On the contrary! This is a unique experience worth having. There's a reason the room is so high on TERPECA's list of the world's best rooms! If you like older generation rooms with multiple threads in the plot, you'll definitely like The Bookstore.
And should The Bookstore appeal to you, the company also has a second, equally long room - Music Academy.
Scooby...Who?
Company: Art of Escape
Themes: investigation, paranormal phenomena
Fear level: 1/10
Position in TERPECA 2023: 194
Position in TERPECA 2024: 381
Ghosts, mysterious puzzles and a charming cartoon-like atmosphere - sounds like great fun, doesn't it? Scooby-Who? from Art of Escape in Athens is a room inspired by the famous team of detectives, which provides a lot of fun, but does it actually match the legendary adventures of Scooby and company?
What did we like about it? The atmosphere of the room is well suited to the theme. We immediately felt like we were in a cartoon mystery world, and some of the set design elements made a really good impression. There were quite a few puzzles by Athenian standards, some more logical, others a little less so, but overall the game requires thinking and cooperation. And that's always a plus! The gameplay had a really good flow, and the mechanics in the room encouraged teamwork. There's room for laughter, planning and some detective deduction.
What could have been better? Again, we have to point it out - cleanliness. We get it, part of the room is an old mine styled space, but it was still a little too dirty. Atmosphere with atmosphere, but the dust and dust could have been under better control. In addition, several puzzles didn't work perfectly, and we solved one by accident. Although it was enjoyable to play, at times we felt that some elements needed to be refined.
Scooby-Who? is a solid room with a pleasant atmosphere that we really remember well! The light, adventurous atmosphere makes it worth giving it a chance - especially if you're in the mood for something that won't test your stamina for stress and fear.
Our tip - the room is located a piece from the center and there are not many stores in the area. It's worth taking this into account when planning Scooby-Who? in the evening and at night.
Previous Parts Lockme's Diary
Be sure to also check out the previous parts of this series, in which we wrote about horror rooms:
- Lockme's Diary Part 1 - Horror games scary and less so
- Lockme's Diary Part 2 - Horror games for players with strong nerves
