Casa Loma Escape Game Series – Company & Co.

This was my very first escape game and damn was I impressed with what Casa Loma has brought to the world of escape games. For me it would be really hard to top but we’ll see. We were here during the weekday because the weekends were booked up months in advance. We did the Prohibition Scenario one which sets in 1921 Toronto.
First Impressions: Pretty creepy to tell you the truth. You walk to the basement where someone is waiting to check you in and the whole vibe just felt creepy in a fun exciting way. Even though we had 12 people we still had 3 random people join us. They take you into this small auditorium where they explain the rules and then you are off.
Game Impression: Without going into too much detail I just want to let you know what you are getting yourself into. This is a co-​operate style escape game. Your group will be divided up into different rooms solving different puzzles. All three rooms are different themed but still stays within the same story. Each room has an actor that helps monitor the room but love the fact that they stay in character. The challenges are not that difficult, I would say moderately challenging but it does take time so watch your time carefully. You get about 1 hour to complete all the task and just a hint there’s more to complete after the rooms. The actors will interact with the group so just have fun with it.
Opportunities: There not much I would change with what Casa Loma is doing. One suggestion I may have for this scenario specific is to be more vocal about the time that is left or have some sort of display. We were discouraged from using our phones, some privacy policy I think so it was hard to tell time and we didn’t know when we officially started
Overall Impressions: Our group could not stop talking about it after we were done. Unfortunately, we did not complete the story but it was for sure memorable. The production here was amazing from the set design to the actors costume it was simply perfect. I would definitely like to try the other escape game that Casa Loma provides. They said a new one is coming at the end of March, something along the lines of secret agents!

When I first heard that Casa Loma was going to have an escape room series, I was excited as I’ve done a few escape rooms around the GTA and was curious how it will pan out at this venue. I learned quickly that these rooms get sold out fast and noticed that there is a limit of 12 people (for the Escape the Tower game). I also noticed that these block of tickets are released a few months in advance at a time.
Around August I looked online and wanted to see if a block of 12 tickets were available around my birthday weekend (Family Day long weekend). I just also learned at that time that I was pregnant and thought it would be a unique way to celebrate and have a baby shower. I wanted my closest friends to attend and with it being Family Day long weekend, those who were coming from out of town were able to make it. We were all set and pumped to take on the Tower. Until…
Yesterday (February 2^nd), I received an email from Leonardo Dell’Anno, GM of the company, who is responsible for the escape room games. He mentioned that «unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances» they have to reschedule my session to another date… that Monday. Wait… what?
I told my friends about this and all thought it was a sick joke, but when I showed them the email, one had called the number that was on the website to only find out that it was the number to Casa Loma, not Company & Co. The CSR from Casa Loma was very nice about it and apologized that on that particular day (February 12), Casa Loma is closed. Out first thought was, «How could this happen and how is it possible to not know when the venue is not available or not?»
I sent an email back to Leonardo stating that it was unacceptable and disappointing that we had these tickets since August to only find out a week and a half before the event that it had to be rescheduled. Leonardo emailed me his cell number and asked me to call him. Our conversation was very short. He sounded «positive» and repeatedly said it was «unfortunate» and that this «never happened before». He also stated that he «couldn’t get into details» as to why he was notified that day that the venue will not be available to be used for the escape games. He still offered me the Monday. What good would that do? My guests who are out of town leave that day. Additionally, during the conversation he had this nervous laugh. Was he trying to make light of the situation? I didn’t feel like he did.
Sure, he offered a 20% discount «IF» I rebooked on any of the Mondays he had recommended (which I don’t think was comparable b/​c Fridays are prime-​time days whereas Mondays are not, basically he was giving me the non-​prime time price not really a discount). Sure, he apologized. Sure, he offered an alternative, but like I said, it took work to get a group of people together and we had these tickets since the summer. In my email back to Leonardo, I had asked if they can book us on the 13^th at a different time… nothing…he didn’t bring it up. Felt like there was really NO effort on his end to try to keep customers, instead, he lost revenue… I had asked for a full refund.
I had heard so many great things about this escape series, but now hesitant to even want to try to book again (after having my baby) and go through the whole waiting game for a few months AFTER purchasing tickets… to only what… find out AGAIN that Casa Loma is out of bounds a week before going?
Too bad we couldn’t experience this… guess those escape rooms up and down Dundas and Spadina will have to suffice…

My friend and I took part in the King Of Bootleggers game last night and loved the experience. Characters were a lot of fun, the mystery/​puzzles were well thought out, and the group had to communicate and interact with one another a lot in order to be successful which made it all the more enjoyable. Definitely going to return to try more of their games.

I went on a Tuesday evening with my boyfriend’s coworkers. This escape room is as awesome as it gets. Doing puzzles in a group of 12 is challenging, but all the better. This escape series is the true definition of team work. Going up a tower and flights of stairs makes the whole process even more exciting.
It is more expensive at 41 $ per person, but is well worth it. It takes coordinating and booking in advance to get the time slot you want (especially if it is on a weekend).
There are live actors in the room with you and the additional dimensions of having different areas in the tower adds to the definition of escape as the entire game is on different levels. The live actors increases the interaction in the game and guides you along the way.

Probably the best «thing» — activity, game, theme park ride, mindfuck, whatever — I’ve ever done with a group of people. Did the tower game, actors, puzzles, layout, climbing to the top of this super cool tower in casa loma, so freaking cool. I’ve never done an escape game before so I probably was excited as hell because of some novelty, but bet it would have still been so awesome even if I wasn’t a total newb.

This escape room actually takes place in a four story tower in Casa Loma. It is a corporate escape game, which means if you sign up with less than 12 people, they WILL put strangers with you in the room. The cost is about $ 41 per person for a one hour game but with the introduction and post game, the entire experience is about 1.5 hours.
First off, I’d like to mention that this not my preferred style of escape games. The problem with corporate rooms is that you don’t know who will be thrown into the room with you. We once had a guy who was a little weird join our group and it ruined out experience a bit. Luckily we were able to find 12 friends who were free on the same day.
Secondly, there are live actors in the room with you the entire time. Some may prefer this as it adds to the immersion, but I always found a room that is self-​operating more impressive. I don’t think anything was manually triggered in this escape game, but I couldn’t say for sure. I also don’t want anyone giving me hints when I never asked for one!
Thirdly, this is a very non-​linear room, which is expected when you have 12 people in the same room. This means there are a whole bunch of puzzles that go on at the same time and your group will break off into smaller groups, solve some puzzles, and then bring that solution to solve a larger puzzle. I don’t particularly like this style because in the end, I’ve probably only taken part in 30−40% of the room. People later spoke about how ingenious a puzzle was, but unfortunately I had no idea what they were talking about because I didn’t take part in that puzzle.
Now, I went into this game knowing the above already from experience, so I will try to review this game without taking those things into account. Did I enjoy the game? Yes actually! I was particularly impressed by the company using real history and working that into the storyline. The introduction was a nice touch and made your goal very clear. The production quality was also impressive and there weren’t any technical malfunctions in our game that I witnessed. With regards to the puzzles I took part in, they were interesting and fit the theme of the game very well. Whether there were any leaps of logic, it’s hard to say for sure as there is usually one of the actors pushing you along.
There were some negatives about this game, in my personal opinion. Part of the game required you to rummage through a bunch of junk. I never liked these ‘find Waldo’ type puzzle as it seems like just a lazy way of taking up time in your game. In another part of the game, you are again required to search on floor full of junk using a ‘tool’, but you are only given one of this ‘tool’ to complete the task. Really? One ‘tool’ for 12 people? Finally, the very last part of the game required you to find a specific ‘object’. Our group actually found this object earlier in the game and was carrying it around for a while, quite certain it was something significant but in the end found no purpose for it so we left it on the ground. Later, one of the actors told us to put it back in its original place. That, in my opinion, seemed like a design flaw that annoyed me a bit. But in the end, our group had a great time!
I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who has a large group and enjoys having live actors involved. The price is almost double what most escape rooms charge, but with all the work, thought, and technology put into this game, it is worth it. 4.5 Stars.

Having been to the home grown one room escape games which you pay $ 20 for an hr, this one by far is well worth the money and quite well done. If you’re a fan of escape games, this is a must try. It takes place in the actual tower in casa loma.
It’s $ 41 pp including taxes. Books up quickly and you’re looking at a 2 – 3 month time frame for a spot. For the tower escape there are 12 ppl per time slot. Ideally you’d find 11 other good friends to fill this spot, otherwise another group may join you. The tunnels escape there are 16.
Do you actually need this many people? I would say for the tower you need at least 10. There are a lot of things to do in each room, dividing and conquer is necessary and only possible to complete it in the time frame with enough people to help.
The whole escape experience was well designed and puzzles clever, challenging and cohesive. Puzzles were not easy but not impossible making it fun and progressive. There is a good story, with missions to complete and is followed through until the end.
One of the best things was that the experience was guided by actors that not only immerse you in the story but provide guidance and focus. Ask them questions, and they also provide hints like that help you figure out what is relevant and not. It’s quite helpful to keep things going rather than dwell on things that are not relevant.
Although $$ it’s well worth it and pretty fun. Excellent team building. We are already planning to go again for the tunnels escape.
Free parking on premises after 5pm. Enter on the left side
It is 1.5 hrs with 30 mins of intro and ground rules given. Arrive 15 mins before your allotted time (5:30, 730, 930)

One of the most immersive theater based escape rooms I’ve ever played! I have experienced a dozen or so of these games in the GTA and this is by far one of the best. Can’t wait to see what the castle has in store for future games like this!