Maine Escape Games - "Dr. Gem's Time Trap"

Updated: Apr 10

LOCATION:  South Portland, Maine, USA

Photo above is property of Maine Escape Games

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Dr. Gem's Time Trap
📅 DATE PLAYED: August 13, 2023
🎬 GENRE: Sci-Fi
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 PPL): 8/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-8 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins
💰 PRICE: $35/PP (more on weekends)
☎️ BOOKINGTYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes (44:00)

📖 THE STORY

You and your team are a group of visionary scientists working on perfecting a time machine. Just as you are ready to complete your invention, the dastardly Dr. Gem steals pieces from it and hides them in the past. With your machine now running on emergency power, you have just one hour to repair the time machine, journey into the past, and return to the present with the stolen pieces.

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

The puzzle elements in this room are off the charts cool! All of the props have been lovingly crafted by the designers, and the dedication to detail shows in every aspect of the experience. Tech runs smoothly every time, and is worked into the puzzles in very clever ways.
The experience of completing these puzzles is wonderfully tactile, incorporating the props in ways that feel extremely satisfying.
The story of this room is excellent and elegant, using the space creatively and incorporating a midpoint twist that took us completely off guard.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

Honestly, nothing. Despite being a very critical person by nature, I can think of nothing bad to say about this room!

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

It’s a rare thing for me to be so completely impressed by an escape room that I can’t think of a single way to improve it, but Dr. Gem’s Time Trap has managed to do just that. From the moment you first walk in, this crown jewel of Maine Escape Games’ impressive suite of rooms is an absolute joy to experience, with a wealth of hand-crafted elements that are incredibly satisfying to manipulate. Assembling the time machine’s scattered pieces feels great, and at every step the room uses impressive technical flourishes to sell the experience. We were blown away by the number of tiny details baked into each puzzle, from chemical mixtures that bubble and change color as you interact with them to the myriad custom parts that glow and hum and you slot them into various panels and systems around the time machine.

The story of Dr. Gem’s Time Trap was also excellent. I won’t go into specifics to avoid spoilers, but the room does such an excellent job of incorporating the story into the experience in a meaningful way, changing the design conventions of its puzzles as the story goes on. A particular mid-game twist took us completely off guard, and will likely remain one of the single most memorable moments in any escape room we’ve completed before. Curse you and your fiendish schemes, Dr. Gem!

Maine Escape Games has one of the most impressive rosters of escape rooms I’ve ever seen, without a dud in the lot. I know that I’ll be back the next time they open a new room, and I encourage anyone who has interest in escape rooms to check out whatever they can there. I think all their rooms are top tier, but if you had to pick just one, do Dr. Gem’s Time Trap, because it’s just about as close to perfect as it gets!

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

Plenty of parking available just outside the front door.
Merchandise available for purchase in the lobby.
The building itself is handicap accessible, but not all the rooms are. Double check before booking!

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

BOOK NOW

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Disclosure: We thank Maine Escape Games for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.