PanIQ Escape Room Chicago

Address:	1200 W Lake St, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Phone:	+1 312-837-3125
Site:	paniqescaperoom.com
Rating:	4.4
Working:	10AM–12AM 10AM–12AM 10AM–12AM 10AM–12AM 10AM–12AM 10AM–12AM 10AM–12AM

Location

Photos 54

Reviews 7

Kevin Jones

I want to preface that there are some gaps in this review because I do not want any spoilers. We came to PanIQ and did the prison room. When we arrived we went through the rules and were guided to the room and split into two cells. It was clear once in the room that a lot of thought and design was placed in to the well-themed room. We worked through the puzzles and tried to solve them as quickly as we could. A couple puzzles seemed designed to be time consuming as they take a great deal of precision to complete, yet fun and challenging at the same time. I recommended having patience for the first puzzles. I dont have patience so I turned that puzzle over to my wife to solve. While working on the puzzles, we saw a key on the floor outside the cell. We tried to use a method like a prisoner would by using a bed sheet and were told not to use this method because there is another way. The other way was very unexpected and something I had never seen before....kudos on that!!!!! As we went on through the room we got down to the the final 2 minutes and found the key to open both cells. The pressure was on at this point. We got both our teams out, but were confused that we broke out and still had 2 puzzles left. We tried to open the door we came in and it was not locked so we exited. When we did we realized our game master was no longer monitoring the game. We waited for several minutes in the lobby before a different game master asked which door we came out and then told us we needed to go back into the room and finish. We thought we escaped and were thrilled, but were told we did not follow the flow; therefore, we did not really escape which took our emotional high to a bottom low. Apparently, there was a hidden secret room we were suppose to find and exit out another room. However, we were not told we could not exit the door we came in from. Now, I will admit that we are owners of an escape room and I feel PanIQ did a great job in their design and concept. As a group activity, we did enjoy ourselves and would reccomend anyone in Chicago or visiting to stop by and see if you can escape these challenging rooms. Despite my concerns, I promise you will have nothing less than a great time. I would make a few recommendations to the owners though to enhance player experience. 1) Our game master should have been watching and told us not to exit out that door. Also, when exiting we should not have had to wait to be told anything while our time continued to count down. When we stood in the lobby waiting and one game master looked at us he didnt know where we came from and had to ask. 2) Maybe lock the door using a magnetic lock with an emergency push to exit button with a rule that if any exit buttons are push you fail the game. This is a cheap and easy option if permitted by code in the area Another option would be to put a sign on the door that says emergency exit only. 3) Replace the walkie talkies with a intercom system as they are difficult to understand the game master due to the poor clarity. If not any easy investment, higher quality FRS radios. We had to ask the game master multiple times to repeat himself because we could not understand him when asking for clues. 4) If someone is using ingenuity and solving a puzzle a safe way that works without damage to props, the room, or ourselves, then dont tell them they are doing it wrong. If there is supposed to only be one way to solve a puzzle, dont have objects in the room that allow for multiple solutions only to be told we are doing it the wrong way. I want to make it very clear that I had a great time and any reccomendations are based off of what gave me a great experience at other escape rooms. These recommendations as side will not discourage me from coming back and spending money at any of their locations. Everyone was super friendly even when we expressed our concern about the confusing escape. All over, it was a great time. I will be back to try their other rooms very soon.

Stephen Fleming

I had a pretty good time in the prison room. However we spent about 20 minutes confused because the keys were damaged and wouldnt unlock the locks. We used the provided walkie talkie to notify the game manager but he was not very responsive and took about 10-15 minutes to address this issue. In the end he had to unlock a few of the locks for us because the ones we had were bent or broken. This is something that should be checked when resetting the room. Otherwise I mostly enjoyed the experience! I went with five others and the only comment I have is that I think the puzzles were made such that both teams had to work together, but often there was a lot of downtime waiting for the other team to figure it out, or the puzzles were only doable by 1-2 people without becoming too crowded.

Suzann Prushinski

There were 4 of us who did the Prison room. Each of us had done a few different escape rooms and this one is at the top of our list of favorites. We did struggle with the very first puzzle (after that it was smooth sailing) which took up most of our time, but after our time was up since there were no bookings after ours, the employee let us stay and finish figuring out the room which was extremely kind! The puzzles and room itself was extremely unique and enjoyable. Will definitely be returning to try the other rooms!

Rex Bowman

My friends and I had an absolute blast. Seriously. We did the Prison Room and the set-up was so authentic I felt like I was actually incarcerated.A few tips but no spoilers:On weekend evenings make sure you get there 15 minutes in advance to sign necessary waivers. You wouldnt want to risk having to cut short your escape time.Save the alcohol for after. I had a couple drinks but underestimated how much thinking would be involved first timer. Good thing there were 6 of us to help. Cant wait to try the next one!

Parker Simensen

We have done a few different Escape the Rooms and this one was definitely the most intricate. We did the Mob room, and what I/we enjoyed most was that there were actually several rooms you had to get through. All the rooms were fun and unique. We had a team that have all done quite a few escape adventures and LOVE puzzles, so we managed to escape the room with about 15 minutes left "Team Rabid Bunnies!!" and are on the leader board for March, however I would not classify it as an "easy" task.

alex bonick

I would leave 0 stars if I could! We bought tickets Monday morning. Tuesday at 2:30 a.m. (!!!!!) I received an email stating they were flooded out and closed... since Saturday. So why did they sell me tickets in the first place? We got a refund, but were going back to Tennessee the next day. We were not able to re-book an escape room here or anywhere else, which is what my son wanted for his birthday. Very unprofessional.

Kara Smith

Went today had an AMAZING time we did the mob room. We struggled some. The hints that were given did not give the answers away. The staff was very friendly and even allowed us to finish solving the puzzle after the time ran out. When the door unlocked it was like a breath of fresh air. The anticipation of whats next was exciting. We can not wait to go back to do infectious and the prison room.