The Diner

Fun room with a nice setting where it actually did feel like you were in a 50s diner. Lots of locks and figuring out what code went to which lock. I feel we were “cheated” out of part of our game because one puzzle had already been solved (written on a whiteboard that hadn’t been erased). Gamemaster seemed like maybe he was distracted while we were playing.

What an awesome room! The diner was a great set with a lot of fun puzzles that were unique and had a really fun twist. After doing the family cabin we had to come back and glad we did. We will for sure do their other rooms!

A fun set and cool sense of progression. One standout puzzle that I really enjoyed. A cool theme and environment made this room a standout for me, probably my second favorite at this location. Bit of wear on props and puzzles, but nothing major. I wouldn’t go out of my way, but if you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth a play!

The set design is on point. I wanted to order food for dine-in upon entering this experience. They even had the booth, the jukebox and the swively chairs. As for the puzzles, I am particularly proud of solving one of them because it was one of those things where I tried it - and it actually led to something! This room could be more math-heavy than most and measurement but nothing that a group couldn’t handle. We came in as a more experienced group and we came out with no hints and plenty of time to spare. It was strange that our game master told us we couldn’t take photos inside the room for our victory pose but another game master was okay with it. Most of the reviews have that final victory group photo and I’m so glad we asked for a second opinion. There were a lot of groups going through this room that day so I’m going to give our game master some grace. Overall, a great room that I would rank just a little bit higher or comparable to Chinatown in this location.

The room was just fine nothing to write home about. It was all locks and didn’t flow super great. Make sure you can do quick math and be ready to feel a little frustrated

Overall we liked this room and would recommend it as worth doing in the SD area. It’s a bit older, but everything works and it isn’t worn out. Pros: LOTS of puzzles, especially for a team of 2 to conquer! We definitely got our money’s worth for nearly 60 mins of play. Typically we finish rooms in ~40 mins without rushing, but this one we rushed (bc we started a little late—our fault) and we still only got out with 10 mins to spare. We also enjoyed a couple of puzzle types/mechanics we hadn’t experienced before after 250+ rooms, which is rare and wonderful. And the theming in this room was pretty spot on. We also loved the multiple spaces to explore. Cons: There were 2-3 puzzles that just didn’t make sense to us and were on the tedious side. That’s a huge reason why this room gets only a 👍. There were also a lot of physical number locks, which by itself isn’t always a bad thing, but there was often no indication which code went with which lock, so we had to try the same code on multiple locks, which was annoying. Another major con for us was that the room was actually super linear even though at first it appears like there are a lot of puzzles you can work on at the same time. Actually, you just have access to a lot of partial puzzles that seem like they’re solvable but really they’re not bc you have to wait for more pieces/info that’s locked until you solve another puzzle. This can lead to a lot of wasted time trying to solve things that can’t be solved. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons, so go do this room if you like rooms with lots of puzzles to solve! But I wouldn’t recommend more than 2-3 for experienced escape artists. The staff here was very helpful and accommodating. Parking can be very difficult in this area, and paid parking is expensive, so plan accordingly.

Love this room style. Awesome set design and puzzles all made sense with the story. Quicksand has been one of my favorite locations so far!

Fantastic atmosphere. Wide variety of clues and different forms of hints. Heavy on locks but the methods to finding the codes vary so it didn’t feel redundant.

The Diner: Tasked with the criminal task of robbing the local diner, we had 60 minutes to get in, get the goods, and get out fast. Pros: Our plane into San Diego was delayed by over an hour and so we rushed to Quicksand as quickly as we could, nervous that we would miss our game. Luckily for us, the gamemasters were very kind and accommodating. They were not the least bit frantic about our late start. We were escorted into the diner where we were immediately awed by the set. We felt like we were actually in a diner with all the props and puzzles set to theme. The only thing missing was a hamburger and chocolate malt. We began playing the game, despite the lack of food and our growling stomachs. After several false starts, we moved through the puzzles at a good clip. We especially enjoyed the last room where the puzzles required we increase our pace in order to get out on time. Cons: A few of the puzzles were counterintuitive and sign posts could have helped guide us to the solution without the need for help from the gamemaster. We recommend that if there are common problems that all players have, the game designers consider revising the puzzles slightly. The Diner was so much fun! We wish the other games had openings while we were there. We cannot wait to return and play the other games at Quicksand Escape Games!

I really wanted a milkshake when I entered the room. The production was simple but it worked for what they were going for. The puzzles made sense and they were quite challenging but satisfying to do. You definitely have to have good eyes for some puzzles.