Black Dragon

Could’ve been an all timer but some things made this a good but not great room. Our starting point was unclear and we wasted some time in the pre-room when we thought it was still the pregame briefing. The actor is annoying and totally unecessary. More a flaw of the system than the GM himself. This system is just worse than the normal camera system. Best done with 4-6 people. We did with three and was a bit challenging to finish on time with the amount of time we wasted in the preroom. 7/10, but could’ve been 9.5/10 with some easy fixes.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this game. A lot of the puzzles were not reset correctly and so it caused a lot of confusion. Plus, two of the puzzles were broken and so it caused even more confusion. One of my biggest pet peeves with an escape room though is when someone says “most people need a hint with this puzzle” which basically means the logic of the puzzle is too messy for people to piece together. If that’s the case, revisit the puzzle and make changes. I’m glad I did the room, but four people minimum is needed. Also, the room is VERY busy and a lot of unnecessary features.

I really enjoyed this room, right from the beginning when you have a rather unique interactive introduction, all the way through the large number of well-constructed puzzles. The set design is also excellent. Highly recommended.

I played my first escape room here back in 2016 so I thought it would be full circle to play my 50th escape room here. I was in the promo video for Black Dragon last year so I came back with two friends to finally play the room. Our game master was nice but seemed inexperienced. We explained that we wanted to be paced and to escape so if she saw us struggling, she could give us clues. We got stuck after the first room and I was in one room waving my hands and asking for a clue and we never got any help. Only when we were down to three minutes did she come around and try to give us a clue but it was too late. We were two puzzles away from finishing when time ran out. It was really disappointing. So I’ll say the experience was subpar but the set and puzzles were done well. Step into 1960’s Hong Kong and stop the black triad gang from taking over the city. When you enter the first restaurant, you start by eating real fortune cookies and piecing together clues from inside them. The set is massive so a large group will help divide and conquer. There are a wide variety of puzzles that involve staying on your toes (literally). Keep your eyes peeled and read wisely.

This was a unique theme that you don’t see at a bunch of other escape rooms, so I appreciated that. It had a unique start and some unique puzzles. It was definitely a little less straightforward than most rooms, which I liked.

Really fun room with multiple puzzles that was non linear so it was fun to divide and conquer. Set design was well done and immersive

The atmosphere was great, set was built very very nicely. The puzzles didn’t make much sense and it was non-linear overall. The puzzles were creative but the biggest gripe was the GM’s hints. Maybe we should’ve asked for nudges instead of just going for it but at one point the GM kept repeating something about the set when we had asked for hints repeatedly. There was one puzzle in general that was not….easy that cost us the game. Not trying to be a bunch of sore losers as ultimately it is what it is. For being paying customers we would’ve liked to get a chance to actually play the game vs being told to leave. We understand that we weren’t breaking records obviously but for the $44 price tag, it would’ve been nice to keep playing.

Black Dragon was simply a stunning room visually. From a quaint star, very quickly transitioned to a breathtaking facade that transported us into the setting. This game focused on polish over showmanship, and beyond the set was an equally compelling group of puzzles that kept our group of enthusiasts running back and forth down the hallways. Unfortunately, our fortune cookies may have been real magic, as we managed to accidentally solve two different puzzles, which killed some of the momentum towards the end. If the theme intrigues you, black dragon is absolutely a worthwhile play for LA locals and anyone who finds themselves traveling downtown!