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deniecee
Reviews
Morty score
181
Escape rooms
179
Haunts
2
28
Wishlisted
170
Reviewed
deniecee
Denise Panaligan (she/hers) | Arcadia, CA
followed by
JoshWG
scottwhead
and 41 others
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Experiences (181)
Wishlist (28)
Reviews (170)
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All (170)
Escape rooms (168)
Haunts (2)
Date experienced
The Temple of Lost Gold
Maze Rooms - Robertson Blvd
Escape room
IRL
This room makes you feel like you’re in the set of an Indiana Jones movie. The set is ambitious and the puzzles were thematic. They had some puzzles that forced collaboration, which I appreciate - and they used the space to do so. However, with the amount of space that they had, I keep wanting there to be more puzzles within each room! The ending felt lackluster also and my group ended up bypassing one of the magnets by accident. Overall, still a very good game, a fun time, and I’m so impressed with their production that I’d love to come back and try out the other rooms. Parking can be quite difficult in this area so I would allot plenty of time to find the rooms and get situated.
Grandma's Surprise
Trapped! Escape Room - Los Angeles
Escape room
IRL
This room reminds me of “Whatever Happened to the Garrett’s” - same aha moment of what has grandma been up to? Nonlinear in flow for some moments so folks can start to work on different puzzles but there were also puzzles that needed to be complete to activate the next thing. So there is that flow going from nonlinear to linear. We finished a little bit earlier than expected and something I’ve come to love about Trapped! is that they will have additional puzzles for you to do if you finish the main story line with time to spare. There was a dexterity puzzle that made me laugh and another puzzle that feels all too familiar if you’ve ever been a caregiver. Overall, the storyline got wonky on me but the puzzles were generally solid. This was a good time and it gets better the more rooms open up!
Resurrection
Quest Room - Redondo Beach
Escape room
IRL
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
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!
Renegade Episode 1: The Retrofit
Escape! at Margarita Adventures
Escape room
IRL
Let me preface this review by saying that this room had so much potential and I wish I walked in knowing that there will be some puzzles left unsolved. Coming from Rita’s Relics, I was very excited to hear that they had an opening for Renegade’s Episode 1. I walked in the room and the technology here is quite impressive. However, a few things took away from my experience. First, there is a checklist that tells you exactly what to work on next. This is a linear room and it is recommended that you work on the puzzles in order. That in itself is not a bad thing but with all of the different puzzles that may or may not be part of Episode 1, I think it would be helpful to have some marker that says - this is for Episode 2! The second part that took away from this experience is the connection between the story and the actual puzzles themselves. There were certain puzzles that I understand in hindsight but it was not as intuitive and the pattern felt like a reach. That feeling of “aha” was less so in this room. Finally, the ending felt anticlimactic - I would recommend reworking the end a little bit even though we know that there is an Episode 2! A cliffhanger is fine but the ending needs to be so good that people would want to come back. Overall though, service is wonderful. Shout out to Neil for being our game master for both games. If I’m in the area, I would still want to check out Episode 2 and I hope they take the recommendations into consideration!
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!
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!
Gold Rush
MindTrap Escape Room - Temecula
Escape room
IRL
Gold Rush was the second room that we did in this location in one day. I think this was my least favorite. The puzzles were of medium difficulty and the storytelling makes sense with the theme overall. I would just rank it lower overall because there were so many nonlinear puzzles presented and the puzzle that tripped us up was linear. Because of its linear nature, even though we already solved another puzzle, that puzzle depended on this puzzle and the trigger was delayed for a couple of seconds. This is still a good room and if you are a fan of Westerns, I would recommend doing this. A group of four would be ideal for this experience.
Conspiracy Of Tia Canyons Corp
MindTrap Escape Room - Temecula
Escape room
IRL
My group enjoyed this room overall and I would think that this is because of certain puzzles in the room. I was pleasantly surprised to have walked in and to see so much space for our group of six to split up and do different puzzles at the same time. However, in hindsight, this won’t feel as memorable for me as the other MindTrap rooms. Conspiracy rooms tend to lose me with their storytelling. I would have wanted this experience to be longer but we made out in good time. This room is higher in production value - there were barely any locks and keys and there were more of the technical trigger puzzles. I also really liked a few of the tasks and the whiteboard helped with just making sense of the puzzles overall. The difficulty rating on their website feels true to my experience.
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.
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