In hindsight, room-escape puzzles are such perfect combinations of storytelling, stagecraft, and giddy theater-school camaraderie that it’s astonishing one of Chicago’s immersive-design-focused companies like the House Theatre hasn’t created one sooner. Nathan Allen’s ambitious 90-minute experience puts four groups of four jumpsuit-clad players together to prevent catastrophe in a scenario inspired by retro video games: Cold War Mutually Assured Destruction. Sander Weisz’s elaborate puzzles are so fun and challenging that it’s easy to overlook how impressive the coordinated arcade consoles, projection screens, periscope viewers, dot matrix printers, fog machines, and live-action Spaceteam walls really are. It’s a logistical and technical achievement that will undoubtedly satisfy even the pickiest problem-solving nerd—here’s hoping these become a trend.—Dan Jakes