Carmine Galante Escape Room: Joe and Mary's

Five Families escape room guide · 1078 Knickerbocker Avenue, Bushwick · July 12, 1979

Carmine Galante's last lunch, and somebody at the table sent the bodyguards away. Joe and Mary's is one of the Five Families escape rooms: a 3D recreation of a real scene from mob history that you walk around as your own mobster, searching for evidence and cracking a four-digit padlock before the clock runs out. This guide covers the real story behind the room, what you'll find inside, and how to get out.

The real story

Galante's party sat down to lunch at about 1pm. They had finished eating by 2:45, when the gunmen walked in.

Galante was found with a cigar still clenched in his mouth. The photograph became one of the most famous mob images ever taken.

Galante wanted the heroin trade for the Bonanno family alone. The other bosses on the Commission decided he had to go.

Galante's bodyguards, Baldo Amato and Cesare Bonventre, walked away without a scratch. Investigators came to believe they were in on it.

Several individuals near the scene were identified and questioned. Most were released without charge. It took until the 1986 Commission Trial for anyone to answer for it: Anthony 'Bruno' Indelicato, whose palm print was found on the getaway car, was convicted.

The FBI was sure the Commission had signed off on the hit, and in 1986 prosecutors proved it: the Galante murder was one of the charges in the Commission Trial. The cigar left in his mouth became one of the most iconic images in organised crime history.

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Setting the scene

It's a hot Thursday afternoon in July. You're at the outdoor table on Knickerbocker Avenue with Carmine Galante and two associates. The cigar smoke hangs in the still summer air.

Then you see them. Three masked men coming through from the kitchen. You know what this is.

Someone on this table set Galante up. The bodyguards disappeared two minutes ago. Someone sent them.

Once they are past you, go the way they came. Clear the garden, slip through the kitchen and out into the back yard. The gate to the side alley is padlocked. Find the four numbers, and the proof of who set him up, before anyone gets a look at your face.

Before you get inside, you make your own way there. Drive down Knickerbocker Avenue on a hot July afternoon to the restaurant's back patio. A green arrow shows you the door.

Getting to Joe and Mary's in the game — The way in.

Three rooms in one

Joe and Mary's isn't one room, it's three, and you only see the next one once you've earned it. Each has three things to search. Search everything in the room you're in and a door unlocks, a glowing arrow shows you the way through, and the next part of the scene opens up. The clock keeps running the whole time: 5 minutes for all three.

Room 1The back garden1 digit of the code

Room 2The kitchen2 digits of the code

Room 3The back yard1 digit of the code

The padlock code is spread across all three, so you can't escape from the back garden. Move fast in the first room: the last room is where people run out of time.

What you'll find in each room

There are 9 things to search in Joe and Mary's, three in each room. 4 of them hide a digit of the padlock code, 2 are dead ends put there to waste your time, and the rest fill in the story. The kitchen order pad, the Chianti bottle and the apron stay locked until you've found 3 clues. The Daily News, the garbage cans and the alley gate stay locked until you've found 6 clues.

First room: The back garden

The Bill in the escape room — **The Bill**Galante's party sat down to lunch at about 1pm.

The Ashtray in the escape room — **The Ashtray**Galante was found with a cigar still clenched in his mouth.

Galante's Jacket in the escape room — **Galante's Jacket**Galante wanted the heroin trade for the Bonanno family alone.

Second room: The kitchen

Kitchen Order Pad in the escape room — **Kitchen Order Pad**Galante's bodyguards, Baldo Amato and Cesare Bonventre, walked away without a scratch.

Chianti Bottle in the escape room — **Chianti Bottle**The owner, Giuseppe Turano, was killed at the table with Galante and Leonard Coppola.

The Apron in the escape room — **The Apron**Joe and Mary's was a neighbourhood Italian restaurant.

Third room: The back yard

Daily News in the escape room — **Daily News**Galante had been out of prison only a few months.

Garbage Cans in the escape room — **Garbage Cans**Knickerbocker Avenue was the heart of Italian Bushwick in the 1970s, full of cafes, bakeries and social clubs.

The Alley Gate in the escape room — **The Alley Gate**Multiple witnesses reported hearing shots but saw nothing.

Searching Joe and Mary's for clues — Anything marked with a question mark can be searched.

Joe and Mary's escape room walkthrough

Take in the room. Drag to look around and walk with the stick or arrow keys. Question marks show everything you can search.
Clear each room. Search all three things in the back garden and the way through to the kitchen unlocks. Clear that and you're into the back yard. Follow the glowing arrow to the next door.
Find the four digits. Each piece of evidence that matters gives you one digit, and tells you which position it goes in. Stuck? The hints below point you to the right room, not the answer.
Ignore the red herrings. Some items look important and aren't. Don't spend the clock on them.
Open the padlock with the four digits in order, before the 5 minutes run out.
Make the call. You'll choose how it ends: Run straight out the front onto Knickerbocker Avenue; Stay at the table — let the shooters leave, then raise the alarm; Take the note from Galante's pocket and leave through the kitchen. Each ending tells you what really happened.

Hint: The back garden

One digit of the code is hidden in the back garden. Read everything you search there to the very last line.

Hint: The kitchen

Two digits of the code are hidden in the kitchen. Read everything you search there to the very last line.

Hint: The back yard

One digit of the code is hidden in the back yard. Read everything you search there to the very last line.

Tips for escaping

Read each piece of evidence to the end: the digit is usually in the last line.
If the clock's getting away from you, a hint costs 25 Mob Coins and an extra minute costs 50.
Holding a drink or a cigar from the Social Club gives you 20 extra seconds in every room.
On a phone, turn it sideways for a wider view. Your evidence, digits and the padlock are in the pull-out case file.

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Questions

Is Joe and Mary's escape room free?

Yes. Free to play, no sign-up needed. It plays in your web browser, and on iPhone and Android in the Five Families app.

How many rooms are in Joe and Mary's escape room?

Three: the back garden, the kitchen and the back yard. You start in the back garden. Search everything there and the way through to the kitchen unlocks, then on to the back yard, where the last of the evidence is waiting.

How long do you get in Joe and Mary's room?

The clock gives you 5 minutes to search the room, find the evidence and open the four-digit padlock.

How many clues are in Joe and Mary's escape room?

There are 9 things to search. 4 of them hold a digit of the padlock code, 2 are red herrings, and 6 only open once you've found enough evidence.

Is Joe and Mary's escape room based on a true story?

Yes. It's set at 1078 Knickerbocker Avenue, Bushwick on July 12, 1979, and every piece of evidence comes with the real history behind it.

More escape room guides

Carmine Galante Escape Room: Joe and Mary's

The real story

Setting the scene

Three rooms in one

What you'll find in each room

First room: The back garden

Second room: The kitchen

Third room: The back yard

Joe and Mary's escape room walkthrough

Tips for escaping

Play Joe and Mary's escape room

Questions

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