Pandora’s Box

Full transparency, I am an escape room novice. As usual, I’ll have a TLDR and one with more details. Please note that your miles may vary of course. Sal, our game master, was incredibly patient with us. TLDR: Pandora’s Box is an underwhelming escape room with frustrating puzzles, made even more disappointing by an unorganized structure to the game play and story. There is no real immersion into the world nor with any characters. This is not a scary escape room though, because sometimes it just gets dark, or things startle us. Here’s the longer review: My friends and I decided to look at some reviews on Morty and try an escape room while we were in Vegas. Based on the positive reviews, and this being listed as part of the “Top 12 Best Escape Rooms in Las Vegas” in the Morty App., we chose Pandora’s Box at Trapped Escape Room. Unfortunately, we were super disappointed. Your miles may vary. This room is 1 hour in game time. The mission is to figure out of the mystery of Pandora's Box before the archnemesis gets to the box to unleash havoc. When we first arrived at the establishment, my friends and I rung the doorbell, since we assumed the doors were locked as some other escape rooms do. A staff member came out to open the door for us and let us know that the doors were not locked. Oops. Once inside, we signed waivers and then watched a video on the safety measures we should practice during the escape room. Lockers were also provided for personal belongings, since cell phones are not allowed unless it’s needed for medical reasons. Tickets are about $43 to $48, and personally for me, this was not worth the cost for me. We entered another room where we were told we’re traveling by plane to be given information to our mission. I felt disappointed because this room had so space for the creators to immerse the participants into the world of Pandora’s Box, which is described by some as having influences of Indiana Jones and The Mummy. The narrative of the story was quickly lost as the game continued where we entered a room filled with crates and other things. One of the characters we had to interact with in the game was disappointing, because I felt the company did not take much care into the costume, makeup, or character of the story. Our game master was incredibly patient with us, but honestly, the structure of this escape room was super unorganized. There was no real sense of direction to the story the game room wanted to present, and for novice participants, that was so frustrating. My friends and I had to constantly ask for hints, and we were quite frustrated with the majority of the puzzles since it felt like we were reaching blindly around in the dark and got through on sheer dumb luck. Some technical stuff: At one point, we found a floor board that was loose with no screws, so we thought it was part of the game…only to learn it was not, and a staff member had to come to fix that. We also struggled to see clues on the projector as well, and at times, it was hard to hear the character. There is potential because the company has so much to work off, but here we are. I later learned that this escape room is not a small business. It makes sense seeing this, but I am learning more the more I dive in to explore escape rooms. For this reason, I believe this might be why the attention to detail and care is so lackluster here compared to ones that have a creator who pours their heart into their escape room. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this escape room if you're looking at a combination of immersion and puzzles. I prefer an escape room where I am drawn into the world of the story and there is a strong narrative that keeps me engaged and weaves in the puzzles as part of the story.

The room is very linear. Almost too much, but the effects make for a fun time. Our 11 year old thought the room was scary at points but made it through. The variable difficulty could be adjusted by the GM which works out great. Overall a room worthy of being a TERPECA finalist

Theme was great. Lots of puzzles. We solved the initial puzzle quickly so they let us play it out for additional puzzles. It was an cool experience.

We played this almost two years ago, but I remember it being fun with some really cool puzzles! A bit spookier than I prefer, but we had a good time and did well with our group. :)

A great room, I loved the thematics and the use of almost all senses. It’s a small room but there is a lot jam packed into it. The Pandora’s box theme is carried out very well and even the employees stay in character. This room is not scary or spooky. It looks like an old attic. There are a lot of loud sounds, lights and thematics but it’s not scary or spooky. If you are worried about it being scary, then you shouldn’t be doing a room about mythological curses and evil..just saying…it had some puzzles I have never seen before and the immersion and puzzles felt archaeological. While the staff was amazing and kept us flowing, I’m not a huge fan of linear rooms nor am I a fan of constant guidance (even if it is part of the storyline and immersion. Still doesn’t make my top 10 but it was a very well done room. Imaginative, high tech, great set design and unique puzzles.

This was one of my top ten games ever. Of 250+

Wow! The production in this room was impressive. Makes very good use of the space and feels like a lost episode of Indiana Jones. Our host, Sal, was legit and kept in character from the start. I love it when they do that to keep the story and immersion throughout your experience. We did this room as a team of 2 and it was in that perfect sweet spot of not too easy, but not too hard as well. I'm sure it helped that we've done a number of escape room before so some puzzles felt familiar. However, there were a number of unique ones that brought this to another level. A well tech room for sure. I think a team of 4 would have a blast and rock through this. Highly recommend!

Room was awesome! Great staff!

The special effects they warn you about are very subtle so don't let them deter you from going.

I get why people like this game, but it's not my favorite. We solved a puzzle but didn't know we did, had to be told by gamemaster that it was solved.