The DogHouseEscape Room 66 - Laguna HillsEscape roomIRLLoved the quirky theme and classic escape room feel. I fell in love with escape rooms years ago because I like solving puzzles with my friends and excitedly opening locks together. I appreciate the high tech rooms now in the industry, but there’s a special place in my heart for rooms like this one where you get to use combo locks and keys! A little tech goes a long way in this one. This room is not quite as amazing as the legendary Doggy Dog World (RIP) but brought a similar feeling of fun and cute immersion. Love the DIY feel because love is in every aspect of this room (except maybe the AI art which I do wish they would replace). Other than that, it’s fantastic.
Wicked WonderlandEscape Room 66 - Laguna HillsEscape roomIRLAdored this room and the whole experience! Cute interactive lobby. Fun room with a lot of puzzles. This reminded me of the experiences that first got me into playing escape rooms because it still has physical locks. I personally love the use of physical locks and the satisfaction of a room that flows well. We played as a group of 6 experienced players and got out with 20 mins to spare and no hints. This is a positive to me. If our group can’t get out at all, it usually has been due to tech issues or poor game design time sinks. This room gave us enough challenge to feel like we used our brains, but would still be awesome and fulfilling for a newer group. Highly recommend escape rooms 66 for that classic escape room feel.
Prison BreakRed Door Escape Room - San DiegoEscape roomIRLRed Door is the land of disappointment for me but I’m desperate to play without driving far. Too many poor decisions in gameplay design that made it not flow or made it illogical. Some of the props are used multiple times so it loses the novelty. One particular puzzle is fully audio but i assume they had complaints because there is also a separate transcript of the puzzle in a different place in the same room, with no indication this is a duplicate puzzle. It was a huge time waster and just bad design. Very run down (stuck locks, faded stuff). Didn’t feel like a good story line, just a super basic prison break. Above all, i always find us waiting 10+ mins for hints eachn time we ask. I just didn’t love it.
The Pumpkin King’s Christmas Nightmare BeforeCinema 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!
The GiftRed Door Escape Room - San DiegoEscape roomIRLOverall a frustrating room with a beautiful set. Sometimes with these chains, I wish they would bring in a good self-designed escape room company owner to give them some feedback. Small changes to clarify flow and story would make this a solid game. As is, it’s ok but skippable. There is a part where you put a non phone number into a phone despite having a phone number that is never used. So annoying. Also the final puzzle was frustrating instead of fun. It’s a pretty set though!
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.
Timeliner: Train Through TimeThe Escape Game - GaslampEscape roomIRLOverall, this game is a lot of fun! Cool high-tech take on the classic time travel theme with a good variety of puzzles. I have a few nit-picky moments I didn’t love, but they were overshadowed by the immersive fun of the room. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine giving a “heart” to any game at TEG simply because of their booking system. This room is too small for the amount of people they shove into it. The price is way too high, especially for a public booking system. I only played this room today because it was a friend’s birthday party. It’s the only local company I haven’t played before simply because I don’t like playing with 5* strangers in a tiny room.
BeWitchedLara’s Labyrinth - San Diego [prev. Quest Room]Escape roomIRLReally pretty and immersive theming! Some parts were a little rundown but it was fun.
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.
CannibalLara’s Labyrinth - San Diego [prev. Quest Room]Escape roomIRLFinally did it! Finally met The Cannibal! Lots of fun. See my details for accessibility aspects worth noting. Great game in great condition. Upon reflection, we realized the actor did touch a few of us without warning that touching would be involved. For me, this knocks it down in rating and recommendation. Consent is key to a good spooky time! Or any time! With all that said, this game is a classic for a reason!!
DaVinci ChallengeLara’s Labyrinth - San Diego [prev. Quest Room]Escape roomIRLTons of puzzles! At times obscure and overwhelming, but maybe that’s because it reminded us of every single school subject we struggled in. With that said, the set is incredible. Use of lighting and sound is perfect. Story is cool. Lots of unique wow moments. Definitely a fun one!
Once Upon a TimeRed Door Escape Room - San DiegoEscape roomIRLPoor game mastering moved this down from a decent room to a bad room. It’s a cute but worn down set, decent tech, a few really cool moments. Unfortunately we wasted 20 minutes (not exaggerating) asking for a hint, getting hints of things we already did / no responses, only to find out we didn’t have a key item due to a previous malfunction. Instead of acknowledging the mistakes, it was a hint of “you must have missed…” with the thing that never happened. In the end a different person came to congratulate us and kept saying “you had fun right?” And did apologize once I explained the issue. Even without this part, the game was wayyy too hot, required some outside knowledge, and had at least one thing I would consider a true red herring.
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.
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!
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 13 - CLOSEDEscape 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 Curse / The Curse AwakenedCuriosity Escape Rooms [prev. Clever Fox Escape Rooms - Menifee]Escape roomIRLMy wife and I booked this game super last minute because we were in the area and we had a great time! Very fun room that is worth doing! Just the right amount of spooky to get us screaming but able to solve puzzles. Loved the mixture of puzzles in the room. Story and atmosphere are fun. Definitely leans on stereotypes of Louisiana / Creole culture / Voodoo just to be aware.
Mogollon Monster: Scouting for Arizona's BigfootThe Nemesis ClubEscape roomIRLThe atmosphere is amazing. The story is so good and builds intensity well. There are fun puzzles and unique moments. The only thing holding me back from a heart review was the pacing. We felt pretty rushed throughout the experience with hints, and were surprised when we had ample time to spare at the end. It felt like there was not a good balance of letting the team struggle vs getting us out quickly. I also think with the set design there could’ve been a few more puzzles. It is definitely worth playing.
Cafe Au Lock - CLOSEDSkeleton Key Escape RoomEscape roomIRLDisclaimer: my team beta tested this room for free and gave feedback! Even when it wasn’t quite finished, this game was a ton of fun. Satisfying puzzles, very charming atmosphere, wonderful customer service!
Irvine School Of Wizardry And The Dragon WandHidden DonkeyEscape roomIRLYou’re a wizard, donkey! Beautiful room that stands out in a sea of HP knockoffs. Truly magical with unique puzzles and an immersive set design. Played it with a group of 3 experienced players and wished we had 1 more for the sweet spot. Such a brilliant game though, would recommend for anyone that loves magic or wizards or feeling like a powerful spell caster.
