Escape City - "The Hunt for Arms McGee"

Matthew Lui

Dec 17, 20222 min read

Updated: Apr 22, 2024

LOCATION:  Edmonton, AB, Canada

Photo above is property of Escape City

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: The Hunt for Arms McGee
📅 DATE PLAYED: November 9, 2022
🎬 GENRE: Mystery, Family Fun
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 5 ppl): 5/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 8 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: $33.00/ pp (Adults), $27.00/ pp (Ages 8-15)
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

With the big game coming up, Arms McGee, the star quarterback of the Edmonton football team, has been kidnapped. The authorities have identified the kidnappers as the notorious superfan group of the rival team, the Gridiron Gang. Investigators have found the hideout of the Gridiron Gang but it looks like it has been abandoned. Calling upon your group, can you go through the hideout to figure out where the Gridiron Gang is and find where Arms McGee is being held captive before the start of the game?

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

There were a lot of inventive puzzles overall but most of the puzzles involved everyone which resulted in a lot of group eureka and celebratory moments.
There were some props that they integrated into the room seamlessly and had some creative puzzles that went with them.
The room was not huge, but they used the space wisely. There were puzzles all over the place but none of them were set up in a way that made us feel like we were ever in each other’s way.
There were some fun reveals throughout the room, some that were surprising and some “Wow! That was cool” moments.
As residents of Edmonton, the story was something that we could get into as well as the room had so many easter eggs to our wonderful city.
All the other Escape City rooms start out with an immersive, high-quality video with high quality actors as an introduction. This one had that but also had a lot more video cutscenes that all featured key areas of our city.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

As Edmonton has changed over the years, this room does have some out-of-date references

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

"The Hunt for Arms McGee" was a wonderful ode to Edmonton. The puzzles fit perfectly and revolved around the great references to this city. The story line was well thought out and was something we could easily get into. They also had some premium cut scenes to pull us through the room. If you are a fan of mystery and just wholesome fun, this would be a good room for you. We played with 5 people, but this room could easily have the full 8 people and keep everyone busy. Whether you were born and raised here or just staying for a short period, this room highlights a lot of the great things Edmonton has to offer and is absolutely worth the play.