RATING: 4 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: 12:38

Go back to the 90’s to save the world from Y2K. I’d rather just stay there though

Get ready to go back in time! You and your group will travel all the way back to New Year’s Eve 1999 where you help cousin Neil find his code to crack the Y2K bug and save the entire world from utter destruction! Will you be able to find the clues, crack the code, stop the bug, and return home before time runs out!? Put your group to the ultimate test and find out if you will be Y2K Compliant all while enjoying some seriously awesome nostalgic 90’s props!

Time travelers are sent back to New Year’s Even 1999 an hour before the New Year begins. Cousin Neil was able to come up with a way to prevent the Y2K bug from happening but unfortunately his cousin hid all the floppy discs necessary to put his plan into affect but lucky he’s a big prankster and has left a series of puzzles to be solved in order to find those floppy’s.  After getting into Neil’s aunts house, teams have to follow clues left behind by Neil’s cousin, find all the floppy discs and stop Y2K once and for all.

The adventure starts in cousin Neil’s aunts living room and it really feels like you stepped back in time. The whole space is filled with 90’s nostalgia, There’s Power Rangers toys laying around, a box of pogs, a Bart Simpson phone and even an old tube television showing the count down to Near Years (which is brilliantly also your timer for the game). It will be hard to wipe the smile off the face of anybody who longs for the days of the Spice Girls, Gameboys and the Macarana.

This is one of those escape rooms where the game master is in the room in character with you the entire time but Room Escape Adventure’s has really done a great job of making it fit perfectly in the story world.  Cousin Neil is even decked out in clothes right out of the 90’s making the whole game pretty immersive.

Back to the 90’s is a lowtech game but I can’t stress enough how much that really works to it’s strengths and creates a very fun and charming game. Some solutions to puzzles are actually triggered by the game master once Y2K protectors complete a specific action which allows for some very fun and creative puzzles to occur. Since there weren’t any technology constraints the vast majority of puzzles felt different and even if they were commonly done puzzles, a blast of 90’s nostalgia made them feel different and exciting.

Room Escape Adventures has a unique hint system where if a clue is requested or if cousin Neil realizes that the time travelers are a bit lost then he will wonder around a certain area and inspect seemingly random objects or hum certain tunes from the 90’s that if paid attention to, gently nudge teams in the right direction.

Staying completely in the story world, every single puzzle is straight out of the 90’s. CD’s have to be used to decipher a code, at one point 1-800-COLLECT has to be called and even a pog collection is discovered.  Having knowledge about 90’s pop culture is definitely a plus but Room Escape Adventures has done a great job of making sure it is never a requirement. One stand out puzzle involved a boxing bag, Britney Spears and a baby that made the entire team start laughing. It’s pun heavy puzzles like that one that really made the game fun.

From start to finish Back to the 90’s is nostalgia overload in the best way possible. This game is just flat out fun and having a great game master in character just adds to the whole experience.

This game is a must for anybody who loved the 90’s, it’s a walk down memory lane filled with fun. I can honestly say I’ve never had more fun doing the Macarana.

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Venue: Room Escape Adventures

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Number of Games: This venue has closed.

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 8 people

Group Type: Public / You may be paired with strangers.

Cost: $29 per person