The 49 Boxes [Immersive Experience]Cloud EscapeEscape roomOther Great setup with unique puzzles fitting the theme and a final reveal that, well, I won't reveal. Had so much fun, I guess I'll have to come back to replay the other boxes!
Jester [prev. Jester's Revenge]No. 1 Escapes - Main StEscape roomIRLThe design is a little early gen but I think that adds to the old timey feel of it. The puzzles were fun! We were entertained and made it out with 20s to spare.
Masquerade [Immersive Theater]MasqueradeEscape roomOther Hands down the best embodiment of what immersive entertainment can be. I love Phantom of the Opera but I suspect I will never top experiencing it like this. I also lucked out and had a one-on-one with one of the cast members, a nice callback to my Sleep No More days. This is brilliant for not just Phantom/Musical fans!
The Mystery At The Majestic TheatreFind and SeekEscape roomIRLIn Vancouver for a bit and couldn't resist doing the highest TERPECA rated room in the area. We read that this was very busy for a team of two but decided to try anyway. And we finished the room! With a steady bit of assistance from our GM, thankfully. Not super high tech but great ambience and linear flow. We loved the theme and puzzles!
Cold War BunkerWild Goose Escapes - FullertonEscape roomIRLThis was a lot more fun than we expected! It's a cozy space (as one would expect being a bunker) and we finished it comfortably with 2 of us, so I think 2-3 is a great number for this, 4 max. Points for the sound effects, which I think always adds to the experience. It might be an older tech with mechanical puzzles, but we thought that added to its charm, especially the puzzles requiring coordinated teamwork since there were two of us. Thanks Macy for being a cool GM for us!
Loot Wars: The X-TractionKing's Eye EscapeEscape roomIRLGreat immersive room, with some cool high tech/gadgety things we really enjoyed. Like the other Loot Wars room here, there were some puzzles/tasks we'd never seen before, which always makes me happy. I read a lot of dystopia fiction so I really dug this bunker/Anonymous vibe but it might not be as kiddo friendly. Very fun for me, though, and I hope someday there'll be more from this team!
ElixirExodus Escape Room - Anaheim Hills, CAEscape roomIRLReally fun and cute designed room, great for kids and kids at heart who can oooh and aaah at a magical experience. I loved the set design and how well it created an immersive atmosphere. I was a fan of Defrosted that was previously in this space and recognized a handful of puzzles, but not enough to detract from enjoying this new one.
The DogHouseEscape Room 66 - Laguna HillsEscape roomIRLAnother great Escape Room 66 experience. They have such consistently top notch immersive room designs, I wish I could pause a clock and just look at all the art they create. This was so much fun for our group of 4. It's nonlinear, which gave us all something to split up and do. The puzzles were innovative and the Clue "who did it with what weapon in what room" mystery was an added bonus. Best of all, at the end we all laughed and took some goofy pics thanks to our very kind GM Leo.
Christmas Escape Room - CLOSEDEscape Room Era - AnaheimEscape roomPop upIt's March 14, so how better to celebrate Pi Day than by escaPIng a room with 3.14(ish) of your friends? I loved how the mystery was solved at the end. This was such a cute room that was so cozy and Christmasy, we're sad to see it go!
Through The Sugar GlassQuest TavernEscape roomIRLAnother top notch room from Quest Tavern! The set design was like walking into a Willy Wonka factory and the puzzles matched it beautifully. (Also: free candy to munch on along the way, how do you not love that?) The kids and the adults all loved the game, and the teen proclaimed it the favorite of all the rooms she's ever done (n=8). Thank you to our GM Patrick for hilariously making the room fun for all of us. I got to beta test an early version of this and was impressed then but the completed room is a thing of beauty. Great job, Nico!
Devlin ManorNo. 1 Escapes - Sky ParkEscape roomIRLStraightforward linear room good for beginners and easy for the experts. We may have done a lot of rooms but we still loved a few of the surprises. A good room build is always fun! Our excellent GM Joseph said this is the easiest of the three, so we're looking forward to finishing the story with the other.
The NeighborSteal and EscapeEscape roomIRLGreat immersive set design, with some cool high tech puzzles befitting this smart house heist. Sleek modern feel to it. We liked the linear flow of it and the really fun touches at the end to finish the story. Also - we found the lobby puzzle and solved it, too!
London Fog: The Mists of TimeThe EntrapmentEscape roomIRLLike a certain favorite time-traveling UK box, this room was much more fun and bigger than I expected. Fun puzzles of varying difficulty with a great set. I loved the story and the sound of an old school ringing telly. (Rotary phones, you were lovely.) The room is mostly nonlinear with quite a bit to do, so I recommend a team of 4 or 3 very industrious solvers. Allonsy!
The Elevator ShaftTHE BASEMENT: A Live Escape Room Experience - SylmarEscape roomIRLFirst off: favorite room door entrance ever! That was a fun little surprise. This also gets points for how immersive it was, by which I mean it felt like a real elevator shaft and not a set design. This is a shorter room (45min) because there's not a lot of puzzles but you gotta manage your time well. (We finished with 1:18 left on the clock.) I think 2 or up to 3 is a good number as long as one person isn't claustrophobic and on the, er, thinner side. Also, don't be an idiot like me and get unnecessarily wet. Or bring a change of shoes/socks just in case you do.
Pillow Palace - CLOSEDOpen Door Escape Games - Citrus Grove Business ParkEscape roomIRLWe had such a great time here. Really cute room with fun puzzles perfect for beginners. Design is adorably kid friendly, too, making this a perfect room for families or groups with kiddos.
A Christmas Inheritance - CLOSEDOpen Door Escape Games - Citrus Grove Business ParkEscape roomIRLInstantly my favorite Christmas room! This surprised and charmed us with its hilarious references to those goofy Hallmark holiday movies, the top notch set design, the variety of puzzles, the emphasis on teamwork, and the ultimately heartwarming Christmas story. Extra points to our GM Mia who had us smiling and laughing every time. Top notch experience all around.
Wicked WonderlandEscape Room 66 - Laguna HillsEscape roomIRLBrought some escape room newbies with us for this and they were impressed by the gorgeous set design and the intricate clever puzzles. Even as non-newbies, we were blown away, too! There's a lot of puzzles to keep a team of 4 busy. The carnival theme is excellently carried throughout and the homage to Alice in Wonderland is such fun. Another delightful room from consistently satisfying Escape Room 66!
Operation: X-13Trapped! Escape Room - Los AngelesEscape roomIRLThe game didn't flow as smoothly as Trapped's other games, but I liked the immersive scenario use of props and interaction with the GM. (Also caught those Alien references.) With a little puzzle updating, I think this could be even cooler, but it was still a worthwhile room for us.
The Cursed - CLOSEDEntangled - Orange [prev. Code Red Escape Rooms]Escape roomIRLGreat design made this especially creepy fun - a good one to do around Halloween. Puzzles were older tech but that suits the storyline for this one. We had fun! Points to our GM Dylan whose performance added so much ambience!
Senseless - CLOSEDEntangled - Orange [prev. Code Red Escape Rooms]Escape roomIRLOur final of the 4 rooms! The room design isn't as immersive as the other three, but that works for the story and I actually liked how ambitious and also quirky these puzzles were. Two of us solved with one minute to spare, phew. We ended up solving a bunch of puzzles out of order - technically the wrong way but is it truly wrong if we still escaped? Big thanks to our GM Shea who played the AI so well. I laughed so hard at some of the AI comments, especially the one about my Borg comparison. I love that all the GM's we've had here gave performances in the spirit of the rooms, and Shea's was my favorite.