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nonfoodpics
Reviews
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Morty score
260
Escape rooms
260
273
Wishlisted
56
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nonfoodpics
Orange County, CA
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followed by
dpjohnson
BestEscapeCritic
and 6 others
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Experiences (260)
Wishlist (273)
Reviews (56)
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All (56)
Escape rooms (56)
Date experienced
The Family Cabin
Quicksand Escape Games
Escape room
IRL
This was a fun throwback to the 90s that we really enjoyed and would strongly recommend especially for SD. We also did The Diner at Quicksand but liked this room more because it didn’t have any illogical puzzles and it had a bit more tech. We especially appreciate how many puzzles Quicksand includes in each room—you really get your money’s worth in puzzle solving! That’s why we’re giving this room a ❤️. We were a team of 2 enthusiasts, and we got out with 1:26 left on the clock. That made us so happy bc it meant the room was a bit of a challenge and filled with enough puzzles to keep us quite busy the entire 60 mins! The only cons with this room are the same we found with The Diner: A lot of physical locks requiring 4-digit codes, but it often wasn’t clear which code went with which lock, so you had to try the same code on multiple locks, which wasted time. Also, you have access to a lot of partial puzzles, so it seems like the room is non-linear but actually it is super linear bc you can’t complete most puzzles at first as additional info/pieces are locked until you solve another puzzle. For that reason, we don’t recommend more than 2-3 for enthusiasts or people will just be spinning their wheels trying to solve things they really can’t, and it doesn’t make sense for more than 2-3 people to work on the one active puzzle. Again, the staff here is great and very accommodating. Parking is hard and/or expensive in this area, so plan accordingly!
The Diner
Quicksand Escape Games
Escape room
IRL
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.
The Isle of Wonder
The Greatest Escape
Escape room
IRL
Battleship - The Pirate Edition
No. 1 Escapes
Escape room
IRL
100% agree with another reviewer that this latest version of one of our favorite puzzle-grind rooms is definitely worth doing even if you’ve done previous versions at Not Another Escape Room (still the best version) and Deceptive Games because No 1 Escapes has changed out/added more puzzles. But we also don’t like how much time is allocated to the two rounds of battleship in between the puzzle solving. It feels like we have much less time in this version to solve puzzles in the main room, which is the whole appeal of a puzzle-grind room. We appreciated that our GM gave us 5 extra minutes of puzzle time bc we rushed through the battleship portion to get it over with, but overall we still got less than 60 minutes of our paid play time which is frustrating for a puzzle-grind room. Nevertheless, I’m giving it a ❤️ because I appreciate that No 1 Escapes has preserved this gem of a room, and puzzle-grind rooms are relatively hard to find. And I do appreciate the new puzzles to refresh the room. This game is also replayable bc you won’t get through all the puzzles in one run, and inevitably your teammates will solve puzzles you never get to see. And we appreciate that they’re offering a good discount to re-do the room. But it sucks that only about 30 mins are allocated to the main puzzle solving, which makes it less appealing to return.
The Asylum: Playtime
Lost Games
Escape room
IRL
Much much better than Chapter One (Doctor’s Secret) on all counts: lots more puzzles, puzzles were substantially more challenging, and there were a couple of interesting mechanics we hadn’t quite seen before. We are so glad they were upfront with us that there is a character in the game that would usually guide us through the game—because we were able to instruct them not to do that. We never want nudges but prefer to figure things out on our own. And we’re so glad they obliged. We appreciated being able to ask questions when we felt like we needed to verify what to do next without breaking something in the room or engaging in unnecessary tedium, but we never want to just be told what to do next. That self-discovery is a huge part of the fun of escape rooms—and there was a LOT to discover in this room! Don’t let the “spooky” rating deter you. Other than at the beginning as part of setup, there are no live actors in the room, and nothing will jump out or touch you. We did this back-to-back with Chapter One and really enjoyed the flow from one room to the next. Highly recommend this room—it is definitely a top choice for Vegas and beyond!
The Asylum: The Doctor's Secret
Lost Games
Escape room
IRL
Good room for 2 with some fun puzzles. But we got out way too fast (about 30-35 mins), and we weren’t rushing at all. The only saving grace was that we did this as a back-to-back with Chapter 2, so the brevity of this room wasn’t quite as noticeable. Definitely recommend the back-to-back experience if you have the time so spare! The live actors at the beginning did a great job setting the scene and really created a positive interactive experience, but I’m glad they were not there throughout the whole experience. We liked being able to just do our own thing, and it was great that they honored our wishes to have zero hints.
Moriarty's Manor
MindFox Escape
Escape room
IRL
Great room! We enjoyed the number and variety of puzzles, especially ones that involved dexterity and team work. There was one mechanic we hadn’t quite seen like this one before, so that’s always fun. The progression flowed well through multiple spaces. We were entertained for about 50 minutes as a group of 4 (2 enthusiasts and 2 smart recreational escape artists) who did not rush and tried to stick together so none of us missed any puzzles.
Black and White Cafe
MindFox Escape
Escape room
IRL
Good room for 2. Small space, but a good number of puzzles to work on together. A couple of puzzles bordered on tedious tasks; and sometimes you had to overthink, while other times you didn’t. A little uneven, but overall we enjoyed it. The atmosphere was spot on for what they set out to create. We were a team of 2 enthusiasts and got out with about 8 minutes to spare without rushing.
Fair Game
Red Door Escape Room - San Diego
Escape room
IRL
To be honest, I wanted this to be so much more than it was. There were some, but not enough, carnival games and puzzles to keep the 4 of us (2 experts and 2 intermediates) fully entertained—especially since quite a bit of this room was or felt linear. One puzzle was also out of commission, but they didn’t tell us in advance, and it doesn’t sound like it will get fixed anytime soon. Overall, the room was fine, and I’d recommend it for a group of 2-3. We all wanted it to be more fun/whimsical than it actually was given the theme, so I think that affected our enjoyment of this room. Plus it felt like at least some of us always had downtime because there wasn’t enough for everyone to do.
Captain Maniacal's Lairboratorium
Red Door Escape Room - San Diego
Escape room
IRL
A bit too easy, and there were a few “tasks” rather than “puzzles,” but we enjoyed ourselves. I don’t recommend more than 2 enthusiasts or beginners in this room, just because space is tight and there aren’t enough puzzles to keep everyone busy. We were 2 enthusiasts who had to rush through the room as quickly as possible to stay on schedule due to their mistake in making our booking, and we finished this 30-min room in just 12 minutes. Had we had the luxury of 30 mins, we would’ve slowed down and enjoyed the room more. But being able to get out in 12 mins is also not a great sign. This is a fine and enjoyable time filler if you want to do 2 other rooms here but have a gap in your schedule. But I wouldn’t go out of your way to come to this location just to do this room.
Big Top Blast
It's a Blast
Escape room
Other
I knew going into it that this wasn’t an escape room but a series of mini games/challenges that can get progressively harder as you go. But It’s a Blast’s execution of this concept leaves a lot to be desired. My biggest issue is that several components were broken—and we did this experience in late February when they’ve only been open for 3 months. If your game is already so worn and you know about the issues but haven’t fixed them, that’s a huge negative and makes it so I cannot recommend this experience to anyone. Another major issue is that some of the games just aren’t much fun but felt tedious. Also, the point system makes very little sense and seemed arbitrary. There’s no real way to tell how well you did or what you could’ve done differently. I definitely wouldn’t go back, and if we hadn’t gotten 50% off to go in the first place, I’d be pretty upset about how much this experience cost.
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