This afternoon my kids and I checked out MISH MASH Adventures at Fox Valley Mall in Aurora. Teams of 2-6 people can schedule either a one or two hour game in which you complete as many rooms as you can. Some of the rooms contain mental challenges and some are physical. You can work at your own pace and try the rooms as many times as you would like.
MISH MASH Adventures gave us admission for the two hour game in exchange for this review, but all opinions are my own.
It would be easier to explain if MISH MASH was comparable to another experience out there, but it really isn’t! Although it can appear to be small escape rooms, there aren’t hidden clues and it felt more relaxed than a game show. You are racing against the clock to traverse walls, find the picture that matches the sound, swimming through large inflatable balls, kick soccer balls into goals, throw balls into rotating targets, follow patterns, answer trivia questions, make it across the room by only stepping on webbing and more.
The rooms can be done in any order and be prepared to fail on your first try. I read reviews saying that people were frustrated with the lack of instructions and we would half agree. We were able to figure out some of the rooms without more direction than what was on the screen when we walked in, which was fun. However, after trying some rooms multiple times, one of the employees had to come to help us with some tips and explanation. If you feel frustrated, you can either choose to skip the room or persevere after getting direction from the staff.
There is a lounge area so you can take a break and relax, which we did after the hour mark.
Please note that MISH MASH Adventures is not sensory friendly. There are a lot of flashing lights, tight spaces, and music. It’s not wheelchair accessible and if you have physical limitations, injuries, or disabilities, you cannot complete many of the rooms.
The rock climbing challenge had a missing bar near the floor and a loose rock. We couldn’t find another route that avoided stepping on it, so we decided to not try that challenge again.
Its a great feeling when you complete the challenges! We enjoyed the mining room where you use coordinates to determine which pictures your team needs to press to move on the teamwork was great! We also celebrated when we threw the required number of balls through the holes with rotating discs, which was the perfect difficulty level.
Unfortunately, they don’t have their scoring system set up, so when we completed as many rooms as we could in the time allotted, we couldn’t find out what score we got! So hopefully they get that working soon.
One hour at MISH MASH Adventures is $25 per person and two hours is $40 per person. Click here for the deal on Groupon. We recommend wearing comfortable clothes, like gym shoes, a t-shirt, and shorts or joggers. Children under the age of 8 years old are not permitted for safety reasons and MISH MASH suggests the games for 10 and older, but we feel the challenges are best suited for older tweens, teens and adults.
MISH MASH is located on the upper level, near JC Penny. We parked in front of JC Penny, walked through the store, past the center court, and found it straight ahead.
MISH MASH Adventures
2402 Fox Valley Mall
Aurora, IL, 60504
(630) 907-7263
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