20 July 2025
Are you ready to escape at one of New York City’s leading escape rooms? PanIQ Escape Room NYC has four exciting themed missions to challenge you, tucked away amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. With family-friendly themes, reasonable pricing, and plenty to keep both experts and beginners coming back for more, PanIQ is one of the fastest-expanding escape room companies in the world.
The PanIQ company has been operating since 2012, with its first location in Hungary. It truly began to establish itself in 2014 after expanding into America. Since then, the company has opened three European locations, two in Asia, and around 20 across the United States. With over 2.6 million players who have completed nearly 400,000 successful escapes, PanIQ continues to grow, bringing its immersive stories and challenging puzzles to enthusiasts worldwide.
While PanIQ has numerous locations across America, we visited the NYC branch during our recent summer trip there. This location opened in 2023 and is home to four distinct rooms: Houdini’s Workshop, Guardian of Gotham, Moonshine Madness, and Pirates of the Bermuda Triangle.
All the games are housed in the same NYC location, though it was our first puzzle to find it! We entered the address into our navigation, which took us to the right street, but we were a bit lost at first. We quickly discovered that the escape room is located inside a shared office building. After heading into the reception area and asking for directions, we were able to take the elevator up a few floors and arrive straight at PanIQ HQ!
As we stepped inside PanIQ NYC, we headed straight to the reception area where a team member greeted and checked us in. Since we were a little early, we took a moment to cool down from the heat, use the restrooms, and relax. The waiting area was well-appointed, with a few games and quirky objects scattered around to keep us occupied.
The mission we chose was Pirates of the Bermuda Triangle, an expert-level game listed on their website. This game costs around $40 per person and can accommodate up to ten players at a time. PanIQ offers a flexible pricing structure based on your team size and whether you book a private or public session. While we haven’t seen many public sharing escape rooms before, it’s a nice option for groups looking to save a little money. However, like many other escape rooms, we personally prefer the privacy of a dedicated session.
The escape room is open every day and has plenty of available time slots. They typically open around 12-1 PM and can stay open as late as midnight, with the last booking at 11 PM. It’s always best to check their booking calendar for a time slot that works best for you, as they have plenty of choice.
Just before we stepped inside the room and the clock began, our host gave us a quick backstory and laid out our mission. We had to journey back in time, retrieve a lost treasure, steer our ship to safety, and then find the right coordinates to time-travel back to the present day. If we failed, we were told, we would be trapped forever and lose our souls to the Bermuda Triangle.
The room itself was filled with a wealth of pirate and ship-themed pieces, including framed pictures, wooden boards and crates, chained and padlocked treasure chests, and of course, a cannon. The game is designed to be non-linear from the start, which is a huge plus for larger teams, as players can immediately spread out and tackle multiple puzzles at once. This meant we weren’t left waiting for one person to solve a puzzle before we could move on. We quickly got to work, opening padlocks and hidden chests using a mix of manual, tech-based, and other fun puzzles. We particularly enjoyed the hands-on nature of the game, using ropes, maps, and even a sword to solve puzzles that kept us fully immersed in the setting. As a team of three tackling an expert-level room, it was a considerable challenge, but thanks to our combined knowledge, we managed to sneak out with almost eight minutes left on the clock!
Some of our favourite moments came from taking control of the ship ourselves, steering our course to land and safety. This was a clever task, seamlessly integrated into the game through the use of audio and sound effects that also brought characters to life. We also loved discovering the “secret cave,” which was a delightful surprise, and we were very impressed by its well-themed lighting effects.
The overall game design was both simple and complex. The puzzles were right in front of us the entire time, but they were expertly hidden beneath layers that only revealed themselves with proper observation. All the puzzles made logical sense, and while we did use one or two hints to help us move forward, we maintained a steady enough pace to succeed.
We want to extend a huge thank you to the team at PanIQ HQ for inviting us to experience Pirates of the Bermuda Triangle. They kindly gave us permission to film a short video and take some photos to provide you with a spoiler-free sneak peek of what you can expect inside. We made sure not to give away any puzzles or codes to avoid ruining the experience if you’re looking to play.
If pirates and ships aren’t your scene, be sure to check out their three other rooms, which we are certain are just as impressive. For more details and to book your own escape room adventure, head directly to their official website!
@thrillnation @paniqescaperoom in NYC is home to this brilliant escape room... What's your favourite game theme? #pirates #nyc #newyork #manhattan #usa #escaperoom #fun #thrill ♬ Pirates Of The Caribbean - Main Theme - He's A Pirate - Geek Music
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