Understanding the Key Differences
The growing ecosystem of live-action entertainment offers many escape room adjacent options and diverse gameplay formats. Let’s take a look at some of the differences:
Is Level99 an Escape Room?
To answer plainly, no, Level99 is not an escape game.
The distinction lies in the gameplay; while Level99 thrives on rapid physical engagement and bouncing between different experiences, Escape Rhode Island offers an intensive hour-long experience filled with a series of challenges that are more brainy than brawny. This difference is crucial for those seeking the specific timed gameplay challenge that defines an escape room.
Our rooms are great for newcomers as well as enthusiasts who have mastered the tropes and tricks of the genre and want to test their skills. At Level99, you will find artwork from local artists and lots of physical challenges, but you likely won’t find an immersive story, a sense of progression, personalized hints, or a number of other classic escape room staples.
What is an Escape Room?
An escape room (or escape game) is an activity where a team works to solve puzzles, riddles, and other challenges to complete the room’s goal. Players embark on their chosen adventure with the understanding that success hinges on collective effort, critical thinking, and the ability to communicate under pressure before the clock hits zero. Most traditional style escape rooms are designed to be “pass-fail” with teams either making it out or counting down the final seconds while still working on the last few steps.
At Escape Rhode Island, we have many different ways to play! We offer four indoor games we’re always improving, two outdoor adventures that take you around Providence, and on-site large format games for corporate events. However, our main focus is the “traditional” style of one-hour escape rooms, offering a complex multi-stage challenge that requires mental agility, creative problem-solving, teamwork, and critical thinking. Our dedicated operators are tuned in and on hand, offering hints and guidance to gently steer teams back on course without unraveling the mystery for them.
The ultimate goal is to complete all of the puzzles before time runs out and, if you can make it out with time enough to spare, to rank on a competitive leaderboard. Our experiences, designed for a wide demographic range, invite teams of players to immerse themselves in a cohesive adventure that challenges the mind more than the body.
What is Level99?
Level99, emerging as a "social gaming playground,” presents a contrasting model of entertainment. Unlike escape rooms where you’re in one game the whole time, teams are presented with a variety of short challenges that require players to navigate through physically interactive tasks and obstacle courses. When a scenario is finished, players are given a digital score, and then move on to line up for another activity.
While still engaging in their own right, the challenges at Level99 tend to focus more on strength, movement, and agility instead of on intricate puzzle-solving and multi-phase gameplay typical of escape rooms. Most scenarios amount to one or two tasks, with a focus on short, physical challenges suited to smaller teams of two to three. For players seeking an adrenaline-fueled competition across multiple arenas instead of one cohesive activity, Level99 is a well-suited challenge.
Other ways that it contrasts with escape rooms is that their activities are self-directed and cater to an all-adult audience. In an escape room, you have a dedicated game operator who can give you personalized clues on areas you are struggling with and accommodate special requests to ensure every player, regardless of age, ability or experience, can fully engage with our narratives. Level99 does not offer this level of personalization, however you are able to try a challenge over and over until you complete it perfectly.