Lab RatHatch EscapesEscape roomIRLWow! What a one of a kind room! There was obviously a TON of thought, care, wit and humor put into this room and I'm still buzzing from having completed it. The puzzles were challenging in the best way; not impossibly hard but if you've done escape rooms before you can understand the logic of the puzzles in the room. Our GM was astounding. She was super attentive and helped nudge us when we were off the path without being too imposing or obvious at all. She was a stellar GM who is obviously enthusiastic about escape rooms. The setting is SO immersive. If you can afford it, take a minute to take in the art on the walls. Very punny and clever. I hiiiighly encourage those of you who are looking for unique escape rooms with a thoughtful yet fun/funny concept to give this escape room a try. You won't regret it.
13th BasementExit Game OC - AnaheimEscape roomIRLThis escape room was awesome and really is an ode to escape rooms. The theme is dark, in that there's horror movie elements, but as a bonafide chicken the room itself isn't scary. I braced myself to be scared and felt comfortable. All of the puzzles were unique from one another and we're very clever. I think if you've done escape rooms you'll find the room engaging but not too hard. We went with a group of people who had done maybe one escape room and it was fun to watch them figure it out. It's high tech and immersive, and I greatly enjoyed chatting with Jeremiah who is the owner. I love it when we get the behind the scenes details of escape rooms from owners, especially when they're enthusiastic players of rooms and have insights on the escape room world. All in all we had a blast and would highly recommend this room to anyone, experienced or novice, to the 13th Basement.
The Magic CottageInfinity EscapeEscape roomIRL𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 �𓅝𓃄 �𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿 𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 𓂨𓅝𓃄 𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿This review contains spoilers.Unscramble𓀗
Squirrelor's Tavern ExperienceSquirrelor’s TavernEscape roomOther THANK YOU MORTY for making me aware that Squirrelor's Tavern exists! As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to go. We tried to go same day and they were sold out (get tickets asap) so we came a week later and man oh man I am still buzzing from the experience. If you are a fan of fantasy, medieval vibes, Ren faire, cosplay, DND, baldur's gate, the Witcher, you have to come here. I had high hopes but was nervous about how immersive it would be--we've done a ton of escape rooms with varying production levels--and Squirrelor's Tavern blew me away. It feels like I walked into a quaint medieval tavern, with charismatic characters, spot-on music (fetch a coin for the bards downstairs), in-theme puzzles, and a quest you can follow to your own enjoyment. I should clarify this isn't an escape room, it's like immersive theatre, dinner, mixed with the puzzles and strategy of an escape room. But you won't want to escape. I'm ready to move in (looking forward to when the tavern becomes an inn and I can stay lol). You get drinks and food with the cost of your tickets, and are encouraged to explore at your own pace to solve puzzles and follow the storyline of the tavern and surrounding villages. We had so much fun with this; the room has so many hidden details and at the time of our event there were two seasons of storylines we could follow. We opted to do season 1 since we hadn't been there before but look forward to going back for season 2 with friends and family. The drinks were super on theme. I had more mead than I should have, and the ale was surprisingly delicious for a medieval tavern. The food was also delicious, I had the potato soup, meat pies, and bread pudding (omg). I'm hopeful they can add a few more on theme options, but I don't know what the kitchen situation is like and was pleased by how delicious the food is. I would recommend going with friends or--more enjoyably, collaborating with the other patrons. It's helpful to put your minds together and solve the storyline together. But if you're introverted (hi, it me), you absolutely don't need to. The characters float attentively around making hilarious banter and checking on your meal, so they are more than enough socializing if that's all you want. The characters, in my opinion, were the highlight. Playful yet attentive Squirrelor, Nettles the delightful and charming barmaid, and Vash the hilarious and so helpful resident of the tavern made this experience SO entertaining. Genuinely and emphatically, we cannot wait to come back. I have always wanted to get lost in a medieval world and live out my nerdy fantastical fantasies, and I was able to immerse myself so effortlessly into Squirrelor's Tavern. We will follow the saga and make our pillgramage back to the tavern as often as they'll have us. We cannot wait for what else Squirrelor and his hilarious, talented friends have in store for the future.
The QueenEscape Long BeachEscape roomIRLNina was amazing and the gameplay was so fun! Very straightforward and clever.
The ManorThe RoomEscape roomIRLThe rooms were beautifully designed and the puzzles themselves were great and straightforward in a good way, but I think this story had a little bit too much plot to the point that it became a little convoluted for an escape room. I love a well crafted story but reading letters just for backstory can steal time in an escape room.
Armory AmbushBreakout WaikikiEscape roomIRLSo I've done about 30+ rooms at this point, and this was the first room where we failed. I wouldn't be frustrated with failing a room if it was due to extra challenging puzzles, but we got stuck on a puzzle that was not remotely intuitive (if anything, it goes against what you may presume from having done prior escape rooms), and admitedly our GM even said he got stuck on the same puzzle, yet when we asked for hints for the specific puzzle in question (3 hints!!! For one puzzle!) we weren't given adequate information to help us figure it out. We're a smart bunch. We've done some more intense, logical games and have come out with time to spare, but with a game like this where the puzzles are a little all over the place, the hints aren't that useful, and they have a challenging puzzle that doesn't make sense, it's hard to give this room much credit. Additionally, there was another puzzle after that which is a little messy and makes solving it more confusing. I'm speaking in vagueries so as to not give anything away, but all in all, I was unimpressed and actually quite disappointed with this game.
SpellboundEnchanted Escape Room - NorthridgeEscape roomIRLVery easy escape room. Great for beginners. The theme was fun and the puzzles were linear.
