Nightmare Before You Escape ChristmasCinema Escape Rooms - Escondido (Art Hatch)Escape roomIRLSuch a fun room! It is a first generation style room with locks. When done right, I think first gen can be just as fun as high tech rooms. It was so satisfying to solve each lock. They use obvious sign-posting to make sure you’re not just tossing random combos into locks. Great use of lighting and sound. The heart and artistry shines in this room. I loved my visit to see Sandy Claus! I recommend smaller groups for this due to the linear flow. Also Jasper is a great moderator!
Lockbuster Video60 to Escape - SchaumburgEscape roomIRLOne of my favorite Illinois rooms! Love the storyline, atmosphere, and challenging puzzles. Lots of unique moments. A must play! The low lighting in one section did frustrate, alongside a few less intuitive moments coinciding with the low lighting, but it didn’t overshadow the absolute fun of the rest of the game. Don’t play with more than 4. They say 6 can fit in here but it would be incredibly tight.
The X-Tra FilesCinema Escape Rooms - Escondido (Art Hatch)Escape roomIRLDisclaimer: We played this room as Beta Testers. Which means this room will actually be better than this rave review! Even as a test, this room was fantastic! Skeptics and conspiracy theorists alike will enjoy the atmosphere, storyline, creative puzzles, and out-of-this-world customer service. It is a satisfying room with a great blend of technology and physical locks (this is actually my preference over 100% lock-free rooms!). So happy Cinema Escape Room now has locations closer to my house in San Diego. Great addition to the local rooms!
Winnie The PoohMindTrap Escape Room - MurrietaEscape roomIRLFull disclaimer: I am MindTrap’s biggest fan. I wear their branded hat at least once a week. When I meet people who live in Temecula or Murrieta my first question is - do you want an escape room recommendation? All this to say, I am a fangirl because MindTrap creates consistently immersive, fun, interesting, story driven experiences. Winnie the Pooh is a must-play. It is whimsical and truly feels like magic multiple times throughout the game. The puzzles are fun and rewarding. The narrative drive makes it feel like you’re living in a Winnie the Pooh story book. I know some people review games like this as potentially too easy and whine about “not getting their full hour” but I would much rather have a fun game with logical flow than a time-suck game meant to frustrate experienced players for the sake of better Morty reviews. Winnie the Pooh can be enjoyed by anyone of any experience level because it’s just a good escape room. It’s fun. It will make you smile. Although high tech, the puzzles still give the classic feeling of an escape room. It’s not an adventure of putting things where they go. It’s solving puzzles within an immersive story. I recommend this game to you. Whoever you are. Oh bother, I love this game.
Fair GameRed Door Escape Room - San DiegoEscape roomIRLThis game is a blast!!! I love puzzles that fit the story/world and this game has plenty of them. A few puzzles seemed to need logic leaps but not so much that it ruined the experience. Really enjoyed the overall theming of the lobby and hallways in addition to the room itself. Customer service was great. We had a lot of fun! My minor critiques would be some of the word locks were finicky and need replacing, and one room is poorly lit to the point it made a puzzle unsolvable without hints. These felt minor in the context of the overall experience which was delightful.
80's Radical Radio RampageEscape Games at the RiverEscape roomIRL80’s fun! Loved the story and the theming! Lots of cute puzzles with some unique moments. If you love 80s rock, arcade games, pop culture, or just having fun you’ll love this game! Great for a small group too.
Treasure Hunters: Station 13Escape Games at the RiverEscape roomIRLUsually not a fan of bonus puzzle or non traditional games but I LOOOVED this room. Incredible set. Fun mixture of puzzles. seemingly endless things to do. My team of 3 only missed a few puzzles but the moderator was kind enough to show us the solutions to get the full experience. A huge group could fit in here easily. Get your German ready. One critique is I wish we were told how much loot we left with. The dollar amount would be fun.
The Great Candy ChallengeEscape Games at the RiverEscape roomIRLLoved the cute and whimsical theming of this room! Big fan of cute games that are more enjoyable than stressful and this is the perfect example. We were a team of 3 and felt it was a perfect sized group. They also told us they can adjust the game to be a little more difficult which they did for us, so worth letting them know if you’re experienced!
Mission's Breakout: The Ultimate Bank HeistMission Escape GamesEscape roomIRLUh… why don’t I hear about this game more often? My wife and I played this one today and it was so much fun. Felt like being in a movie. Fresh take on a classic theme. Pulled off this wild bank heist. Now I’m scared to go out in public, afraid I may have committed a crime today. What if it really was a bank? What if it was all real? I wouldn’t be surprised. The atmosphere is that believable. The actions you take in the room overall fit the story and theme. The puzzles all made sense. My one gripe is something (an entire puzzle basically) is used twice. They didn’t say “one and done” but let’s just make it a universal escape room thing unless otherwise stated, deal? Besides that, perfection. Every minute was fun. Our game moderator, Eric, had a great energy and was super attentive. Really made us have a better experience just by how engaging and passionate he was.
TakeoverSteal and EscapeEscape roomIRLSuper fun competition game with clever puzzles and great use of tech. Felt good to beat my friends and be a real winner
