Operation NightwalkerMindTrap Escape Room - MurrietaEscape roomIRL𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 �𓅝𓃄 �𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿 𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 𓂨𓅝𓃄 𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿This review contains spoilers.Unscramble𓀗
Winnie The PoohMindTrap Escape Room - MurrietaEscape roomIRLOur group, which consisted of 2 adults and a 10 year old who have all done 20+ escape rooms, loved this room and not only because of the theme! We managed it with no hints and finished the story with a good 23 minutes to spare. Don't let our quick time fool you. Despite being an experience based off of the beloved Winnie the Pooh, this game had a surprisingly enjoyable number of tricky puzzles that kept us all entertained and busy. It was honestly a great mix of story and puzzle as you are essentially working your way through a narration without being outright guided to the answers. This was refreshingly different as it allowed us to puzzle out the next steps and rewarded us with the story as opposed to just giving us narrative instructions. This set up also made it possible to enjoy the amount of work and detail that went into the room and allowed our little one to solve multiple puzzles on her own while still leaving challenging ones around for the adults. Be warned, there is a part that involves a fair amount of reading so be prepared to either slowly read everything aloud or have a speed reader handy to solve the related puzzles. Overall, definitely recommend this room for both experienced and new players alike as it is quite enjoyable and will bring a smile to anyone who is even remotely familiar with Ol' Pooh Bear.
40 ThievesMindTrap Escape Room - TemeculaEscape roomIRLBy far one of my all time favorite escape rooms! Everything from the way the experience is designed, to the smoothness of the puzzles, to the occasional narrators was perfect and I can understand why this game is so highly rated. It is not only unique but well executed to the point where I honestly couldn't find a single thing to improve. Even our GM, Dante, and the rest of the staff were awesome and accommodating throughout our entire experience. My team, which consists of 3 fairly experienced players with 20-25 rooms each under their belts, completed this game with just over 6 minutes left. Despite this, we never felt panicked or pressured and thoroughly enjoyed our time here while only needing 1 hint due to missing a visual cue. The way this game is designed definitely makes it harder for smaller groups, but not impossible, and makes it so larger groups can get multiple players busy with the sheer number of puzzles. Overall, I would definitely recommend this room to experienced enthusiasts with teams as small as 3 but would only recommend to newer players if they have a larger group to share the burden of all the puzzles.
Conspiracy Of Tia Canyons CorpMindTrap Escape Room - TemeculaEscape roomIRLWe hadn't expected this room to be as tricky or enjoyable as it was and were pleasantly surprised by it! Conspiracy does a great job at utilizing technology and codebreaking to really test escape room enthusiasts. Our group consisted of 2 adults and a 10 year old who have each done 20+ escape rooms. We were able to complete this room with just over 15 minutes remaining and 1 hint. We initially struggled due to the lack of traditional elements but quickly fell into a groove once we understood how the codebreaking and technology played in the room. This made for a unique experience that vastly differed from most rooms that rely on riddles or lock and key puzzles. For this reason, I wouldn't recommend this for less experienced players or those who can't figure out technology well as this was definitely a challenge that tested players' ability to connect the dots, recognize patterns, and be observant to the little details stashed around the room. Extremely enjoyable and rewarding for those who love a challenge. The awesome staff at MindTrap only adds to the experience as you can be sure that your GM will let you play exactly as your team desires with as many or as few hints as you want.
Timeliner: Train Through TimeThe Escape Game - GaslampEscape roomIRLThis was my husband and I's first time playing a room at The Escape Game and it did not disappoint! This escape room was quirky, full of character, and legitimately fun! You also get a personalized prop that you keep as a souvenir whether you escape or not. This room is easily doable with 2 people but I don't recommend it for complete beginners as it has some unique and cleverly difficult puzzles that might stump newcomers. My husband and I have each done about 20 escape rooms and opted to do this one with just the two of us as it is ranked amongst the easiest at this location. We escaped with about 18 minutes to spare and had a blast the entire time. We used 2 hints as we did hit a couple of points where we couldn't see how to proceed but our GM, CJ, was quick, attentive, and a wiz at providing solid clues. Overall, this room is a great intro to this company for escape room enthusiasts and has several time travel easter eggs from various movies and tv shows that are fun to catch. At the end of the room, CJ pointed out the ones we had missed, further adding to our amusement and love of this room. Can't wait to do the rest! For those who want to do the rooms in order of difficulty, we would rank this experience as harder than Gold Rush but easier than The Depths.
BeWitchedLara’s Labyrinth - San Diego [prev. Quest Room]Escape roomIRLThis room was so much fun but was definitely more of an experience than an escape room. The live actor is an utter blast and really pushes you to get silly in order to advance. The use of the live actor to nudge you along and give you the story is enjoyable and the overall feel and decor of the room is awesome! My group of 3 did take the full hour and some change to complete this room but that was alright because we were more focused on the banter and having fun rather than escaping. That being said, I wouldn't recommend this for those who prefer heavier puzzled rooms or an experience where you can focus on escaping as this is very story driven and there are points where the live actor will hold you back if you don't satisfy their instructions. Definitely go into this experience with people who have a good sense of humor and be ready to shed your shyness since you will be asked to sing, dance, yell, and make up spells or rhymes on the fly. By far one of my favorite story driven rooms and one I recommend anyone do on the "The Dark Side" or rated R setting.
The Missing SeasonSteal and EscapeEscape roomIRLThis room was super enjoyable and gave us several moments where we were pleasantly surprised or amused. Very creative and gives you some awesome souvenirs at the end. Our group of 3 experienced people completed it in 43 minutes with only 1 hint but the narration itself does provide several hints as part of the story if you listen closely. I don't recommend this for anyone who doesn't like narration or story driven rooms and advise those who attempt it to wear something cool as it can get warm.
Oracle MysteryThe Unlockables - PowayEscape roomIRLThis was a fun escape room for our group of 3. It was well made and the theme was spot on. There were a few jumpscares and tricky puzzles but we were able to clear it with no hints and 30 minutes to spare. Our GM was awesome from the get go and respected our wishes to not get any hints unless we asked or had a technical issue. Overall, I would recommend this room for a beginner or low experience group as those with higher experience may get a bored or not feel overly challenged. Despite our group being fairly experienced and breezing through this room, we still enjoyed it and appreciated the smooth flow of the room and clues.
CannibalLara’s Labyrinth - San Diego [prev. Quest Room]Escape roomIRLOne of our favorite escape rooms to date and the second one I've done at Lara's Labyrinth. This multi-room escape room experience was a blast from start to finish. We picked the regular version instead of the sh*t your pants version but it was still creepy and had a few scares that got our group into a very cautious mindset. Perfect for those groups that think they'd escape the killer in those slasher flicks! Our GM, Josie, was super nice and helpful throughout the entire thing and was sure to explain everything thoroughly before we began. Overall, the experience wasn't overly difficult and the clues flowed well enough that our group of 4 only needed to use one hint to escape with nearly 15 minutes to spare. I imagine this room would be far more fun if you chose to do it with full scares on. I definitely recommend this room for anyone who likes a creepy slasher experience and likewise don't recommend this is you scare easily, even the non-scary version.
Operation GryaznayavodaIn Search Of An ExitEscape roomIRLThis has to be one of the most clever and well carried out escape room experiences I've ever had. Everything from finding the place to starting the game was awesome and utterly unique. Easily one of my all time favorites! While our team of 6 (3 experienced and 3 newbies) didn't solve the room in time, the GM still allowed us to finish the room so we could experience the story and everything. The puzzles themselves are well designed and laid out across multiple rooms in a fairly non-linear fashion but are obvious enough to make you connect the dots. Some of the puzzles are fairly thought intensive so I wouldn't recommend it for those who don't like to think or have a language barrier, but the GM is really awesome at giving you hints when they see you're struggling with something or possibly misinterpreting a clue. Definitely recommend anyone visiting Portland to give this escape room a shot and do so with a group of at least 4 experienced players who communicate well as there are several points where working together is involved.
