The Great Gotham Challenge - "GGC MMXXIII"

Updated: Apr 17

LOCATION:  New York City, New York, USA

Photo above is property of GGC

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: GGC MMXXIII
📅 DATE PLAYED: June 10, 2023
🎬 GENRE: Puzzle Hunt
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 4 ppl): 7/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-4 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 3-5 Hrs
💰 PRICE: $199/Team (1-4PPL) + $18.90 Booking Fee/Ticket
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Public
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE EXPERIENCE

We did a virtual GGC event last year during the holidays and had so much fun that we were really excited to be invited to this year's in-person event. Since Brandon and I are pretty much considered born-and-raised New Yorkers and lived on 42nd Street for more than 10+ years, we were really curious about the hunt that will be revolved around this area.

The weather was perfect Saturday, June 10th and we were fired up to begin the challenge with our teammates Kevin & Adara. Kevin (owner of "Escape and Immerse") is an escape room designer. Adara is a veteran at in-person puzzle hunts. It's great to have helpers as I believe a team of 4 was the magic number for this challenge. Once we got to the secret location, we checked in with a GGC gamemaster and were given a sealed envelope. Once all the rules were established, all the teams (I believe around 15 teams per time slot) opened the envelope at the same time.

Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

You don't need to download any apps for this challenge but you'll need to go to a designated website that your team will be using to find clues, enter solutions and ask for hints. The website is synced for all the members on a team so if one team member takes a hint or enters a solution, it'll update for the rest of the team. There are several hints per each puzzle. Pending on how fast you take a clue, you'll be penalized for more time or less. The minimum penalized time for a clue is 5 minutes. We did like the fact that we can jump directly to the clue that we are in need of rather than go through all of them. But be careful as you can only go back one clue so don't skip ahead too much. Pending on the goal of your team (leisure or competition), you might want to strategize on how and when to take a clue. There is also a walkthrough available for every puzzle if you still can't solve it after the final clue. This will cost 10 minutes of your time.

Once we solved the first puzzle with the items provided in the envelope, we were led to the first destination. This is where we got our first surprise and were amazed by the logistics that went into the planning for this event. There were a lot of "Wow" and "No way, they couldn't have done that. Could they?" moments. The prominent locations in Manhattan (yes, we even watched a movie in a movie theater!), hidden spots, live actors, and cool tactile puzzle components really made this experience like no other.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

Don't be afraid to use Google as a resource since some of the questions do involve a little bit of history. Figuring out where to go is just one part of the puzzle but there is usually another part of the puzzle waiting for you at the actual location. One of the puzzles that we had to use a hint on was a bit of a stretch for us since we didn't get a prompt to have to connect to an unknown WIFI and we felt that more cluing should have been used for that puzzle. The rest of the puzzles were justifiable in the cluing and difficult level. One of my favorite puzzles was the one that led us into a pizza place where we told the server a "secret phrase" and we all got a slice of free pizza (oh and of course there was a puzzle on the pizza box)!

When we finally solved the last puzzle, we were given a location to meet up with the rest of the players to celebrate the winners of the challenge with refreshments. Since we had a prior engagement to get to, we couldn't attend the celebration. But in my eyes, we were all winners already. This experience was educational, eye-opening (I've actually discovered many places I've never been to after living here for 30+ years), exciting, and gratifying all at the same time. I would definitely recommend checking GGC out for their next public event or if you need a private bespoke experience.

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

- Your meet-up location will be provided 24 hours prior to the game.

- The game will proceed rain or shine (unless you receive additional information from the organizer).

- You'll be able to get to every location by foot.

- Materials you might need that could help with the puzzle hunt: Calculator, notepad, pen, clipboard, headphones, cellphone charger, water, comfortable walking shoes, umbrella, light raincoat, and sunglasses.

*** We regret to inform this game is no longer available for booking but check out other games on their website***

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(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank The Great Gotham Challenge for comping our tickets for this game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion of the review whatsoever.