deniecee

Reviews

@deniecee
Morty score183
  • Escape rooms181
  • Haunts2

deniecee

Denise Panaligan (she/hers) | Arcadia, CA

@JoshWG@scottwhead@bennyboo

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The Last Job

The Last Job

Confusion Escapes

  • Escape room
  • IRL
This room felt very heist-like and I’m always down for a good heist. At the start of our game, the game master asked us if we wanted the easy or challenge mode and we opted for the challenge. My review will be based on the challenge mode! Let’s talk about the truck. The truck is a pretty unique set piece and the fact that we actually use a truck as part of an escape room already sets up this room for high immersion. The story got lost on me during certain parts and there was one puzzle that was just unnecessarily difficult but the theme stayed coherent throughout. I would recommend four to five people for this experience. While this room is linear, having more people think through the puzzles helped us overall. Towards the end, one of the puzzles did not end up being part of the experience and I wish they had a way to indicate that this was for the easier mode. I could imagine a group losing time on this puzzle, not realizing that they didn’t need to be working on it! Great set, could revamp some of the puzzles to be less of a time suck and more of a brain challenge! Also, the audio could use some work. It was hard to hear the video and some of the audio cues because the speakers were raspy. All of these things considered, I loved this room and I’m excited for other folks to have a good time here!
The Treehouse

The Treehouse

Confusion Escapes

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Imagine being transported to a whimsical fairyland. That is the feeling captured by Treehouse! It’s a nonlinear room, which means that you might not see all the puzzles since others will be working on them at the same time but I particularly liked my set of puzzles, hence the heart rating ❤️ My puzzles were not as challenging as they were tactile, but there is a diversity of puzzles for everyone to enjoy. It’s a mix of carnival games with scavenger hunts and more. We were told by previous groups that have done this room to enlist more people because there were a lot of puzzles. I’m glad we had five in our team and I would recommend around that number when tackling this space. Lots to do and get ready to move around and climb. I also wanted to shout out our game master! I was in awe of the space and even the “bad guys” because they were so cute! Our game master was like, don’t awwww them! We found that really funny. Thank you Confusion Escapes for hosting such a great experience!
Stash House

Stash House

Stash House

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Squirrelor's Tavern Experience

Squirrelor's Tavern Experience

Squirrelor’s Tavern

  • Escape room
  • Other
I wanted to drop by and give this review to show Squirrelor’s Tavern some love. This is not your typical escape room. Think of Dungeon and Dragons with dinner and immersion and puzzles. My group and I were able to snag some final week seats and right away, I was impressed with the atmosphere and the set. They had food for us a la carte but the ticket came with two drinks. During the dinner, guests were welcome to roam around and follow the main quest or to do some of the side quest puzzles. The main quests were heavy on the word scramble, riddles, and cyphers and I would have liked to see other types of puzzles! The side quests were more of the wooden blocks and tactile. I was only able to experience Season 1 but I heard there was a Season 2. I hope that the tavern gets reincarnated in some way so that everyone can enjoy. This is the type of experience that the more you put in, the more you get out of it!
Rita's Relics

Rita's Relics

Escape! at Margarita Adventures

  • Escape room
  • IRL
I’m going to give this location a heart because this room exceeded my expectations. Usually, when there is an escape room housed within a larger operation, I worry that less care has gone into designing the escape room but I can confidently say that I was wrong! I’m curious now about the other excursions in Margarita Adventures and I can’t wait to come back when their other rooms open up. Rita’s Relics as an experience was a rollercoaster ride throughout. There was that feeling of the satisfied “ah”after solving a puzzle, production value is a 10/10, and the rooms really made use of the space. Our game masters were all wonderful as well! The room could be tackled nonlinear at times but it was mostly linear. My hubby and I did it with just the two of us, but I can see a group of 3-4 breeze through this room. Parking is not a problem at this location. This is a gem of a stop if you’re in the San Luis Obispo area!
40 Thieves

40 Thieves

MindTrap Escape Room - Temecula

  • Escape room
  • IRL
40 Thieves is a masterclass in escape room design. From the minute I walked in, I felt like I was about to experience something incredible. And I did. From the intro “cut scene” to the interactions with the shopkeepers to the collaborative puzzles that get your party to look around the premises and communicate, they did such a good job with everything. I could see why this room earned its spot in the TERPECA awards. This is worth the drive if you’re coming from LA like we were. I would also recommend getting a bigger group because there are so many puzzles to do!
Winnie The Pooh

Winnie The Pooh

MindTrap Escape Room - Murrieta

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Let me start this review by sharing that I am the biggest Winnie the Pooh fan. This version is based on the A.A. Milne book so don’t expect to see the Disney version here. I loved the experience and I wish I could bring back some of the honey with me. As for the room itself, the puzzles were on the more difficult side but the flow felt balanced - with groups being able to tackle medium and harder puzzles at the same time. The snuggly characters might distract you from the puzzles themselves but you have to stay focused. You are helping prepare a surprise party for Winnie the Pooh after all. There was a physical activity in the beginning that had us laughing but it’s very doable and does not require too much exertion.The storm simulation and the ambiance does make you feel like you’re in the Hundred Acre Wood. Great production value. I would recommend doing this with a group. It’s family friendly fun with a surprise challenge of the puzzles. On a side note, I find it funny how this room is right next to one of MindTrap’s scarier rooms - Taken! They’re completely different in terms of the vibes. This room will leave you with the warm fuzzies.
Cold Case

Cold Case

Clever Fox Escape Rooms - Menifee Cherry Hills

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Cold Case is the peak scariest room I’ve ever experienced. In the description, it looks as if you are stumbling upon a cold case but expect more of a hostage breakout situation. Lucas, our game master, gave us the fright of our lives. He spent a long time explaining the rules - but I think he accomplished his goal of setting the stage and hyping us up for the adrenaline rush. I was pretty convinced that I will not make it out alive after the orientation. We were chained up and they put bags over our heads. If you love puzzles, this room has more of the live actor interaction than the puzzles themselves. They have a well oiled machine so that groups get the most out of their hour. They will come in more frequently if your group is solving the puzzles too quickly. So just know that coming in - 70% live actor immersion, 30% puzzles. Clever Fox Escape Rooms would easily be one of my favorite “horror” rooms - and I’ve done the classic scary ones (Zoe Reborn, Project Minotaur, Resurrection, etc.) You can tell that the game masters and the owners really do care about their rooms and they are proud of what they’ve designed. It’s not a high budget room by any means but you will get your monies worth in scares. I’m excited to come back and try their other rooms. Again, shout out to Lucas for helping us celebrate our friend’s birthday with a memorable experience!
The Mad Scientist [prev. The Laboratory]

The Mad Scientist [prev. The Laboratory]

Brain Games Escape Room

  • Escape room
  • IRL
This was such a fun room and the hype lived up to my expectations. We were told that this was a puzzle-centric room and it was! We had a group of seven and we all had something to do the entire time. My highlights for this room were the diversity of puzzles and there was a uniqueness in the execution for select puzzles. I also appreciated the track visual so you could see which puzzles were dependent on each other. I could imagine that without the track visual, folks could split up and get too confused if they are not communicating correctly. Finally, I believe that they adjusted the number of puzzles and that is very much appreciated! Highly recommend this room for puzzle lovers
The Ghost Of Mentryville

The Ghost Of Mentryville

Arcane Escape Rooms

  • Escape room
  • IRL
This experience is hard to put into words because it raised the bar and blew away all my expectations. Coming in, I knew that we were going to do puzzles with a story as well but the way that this was executed, it was *chef’s kiss*. This room is a masterclass of how you can do so much with a small space, low budget, and limited tech. The entire time, as we were following along with the story, I had a sinister feeling that I was participating in something that I shouldn’t be and I haven’t really experienced that tension before with other live actors. The clues provided to us were also carefully shared in a way that led us to the right direction, while still challenging us to look at the puzzles differently. I wish I could forget (haha) this room so I could play it again! We had a group of four, which I think is the maximum number of people and they tell you right away to immerse yourself in the story. I think a group of 2 could work also! It really depends on who you could be trapped in a small room with and not feel claustrophobic. There is no time limit but most groups finish in 70-90 minutes.
Warlocked

Warlocked

Quest Room - Redondo Beach

  • Escape room
  • IRL
This room is quite immersive and I could see why it was nominated for TERPECA in 2024. There is so much to do and they also have “side quests” in addition to the main quests so I would recommend bringing 4-6 people. My only thing though is that I wish our game master gave us more time to actually accomplish the side quests since we had 8 people and I felt like some of us were just standing around doing nothing. Overall, after the puzzle walkthrough, I was impressed with how to solve some of the puzzles. The puzzles, at least the ones we did, were fun - there was a good mix of tactile, collaboration, and logic puzzles. The ending was quite a surprise and it was a fun reveal. Not scary at all but could have a couple of jump scares. Would recommend for a fantastical time.