The Stolen Relic

We do NOT recommend this room, and after playing two different games at two different Royal Escape locations in Panama City Beach, FL we do not intend to return to play any others. The first issue is that it appears as though they have one person running the front desk and the same person introducing and monitoring all of the games. Needless to say, they were very slow to respond when something didn't work or we needed a clue. In order to get a clue you're supposed to wave at the camera and/or ask for a clue, but we for at least minutes waving in front of cameras and asking for clues because they weren't in a position to monitor the game or were slow to respond. Overall, the game flow just didn't make sense. We've now done over 60 escape rooms and this game had a very jumbled flow. They do not allow a clue in the first 15 minutes so we were stuck with the same couple of items that we were unable to figure out to get started. Why they don't allow a clue in the first 15 minutes, but we were still able to solve the game makes it seem like if you're on track it's really only a 45-minute game, not the 60 that you paid for. We have NEVER played an escape room where we are told that the room is pretty dark and we are told to use our iPhone flashlights to light the rooms. In those cases flashlights are always provided and we are always advised in every other game NOT TO USE our iPhones in the room. Being on vacation, I didn't have my phone with me so we were short one flashlight. This seems very "low budget" to me. Either light it more effectively, or provide the tools required to complete the room. Once we finally received a clue the clues just kept coming like they were on autopilot. Instead of the game master waiting until we got stuck then helping, or waiting until we asked they would just appear. After the game we asked about the first clue and were shown how it was supposed to work. We were pretty confident that it didn't work the way our game master showed us when we did it. Once we got rolling we found that a number of the clues just didn't make sense, even after we finished. We've encountered a couple of games where the designer just had a different way of thinking and so far both Royal Escape Rooms have been like that. For that reason, we don't intend to waste any more money by returning.