Black and White CafeMindFox EscapeEscape roomIRLLoved this room! It had a charming and friendly vibe as soon as we walked in and we took a moment at first to just enjoy the surroundings. The puzzles were engaging and took some thought, it didn't feel like they were just giving things away. We did this as a team of 2 and I think it's a great choice for a fun, playful date. Joyce was an awesome gamemaster! She gave us nudges at the right times and you could tell she was really paying attention. The workers overall were super friendly and approachable from beginning to end.
The Mush RoomEscape Room 66 - Los AngelesEscape roomIRLHonestly I can’t recommend this location highly enough! Inksidious was one of my first rooms and it remained my gold standard for how fun, joyful, and collaborative escape rooms can be. I’m happy to say I enjoyed The Mush Room just as much. No fancy tech needed, just great vibes, adorable set design, and satisfying puzzles. I’m a big fan of this visually dense, puzzle-focused style of room where all the information appears available to you at first and you have to tackle the different pieces one by one. It’s so satisfying to recognize when the prop you’ve been curious about the whole time becomes a relevant clue. I think the whole team gets to have fun pointing out details together, making connections, and seeing everything in the room start to make sense. It makes for a really playful, engaging experience as you explore the room and appreciate all its charm. I loved how the puzzle design gave everyone a chance to participate -- there’s a lot of communication involved, and so many locks to open and components to work with. In my experience, it felt like we naturally became a well-oiled machine. I think the pacing worked out great and there was great use of music to keep the energy up the whole time. *Minor spoiler* Heads up, you might want at least one person in your group to be comfortable solo for a short period of time (but still able to communicate). In my case, I heard about this ahead of time and I was glad it ended up being me rather than one of my teammates! I enjoyed this moment, but I can see how others might have felt differently. Our GM Tuesday was the absolute best -- she is so kind and you can absolutely tell she wants every team to have the best experience possible. I was celebrating my birthday and she made the experience so special for us! I appreciated her stories about some of the wildest things she’s seen happen in this room, that needs to be one of my go-to questions for GMs in the future lol. Thanks so much for the great memories!
One Eyed JackTrapped! Escape Room - Las VegasEscape roomIRLI liked how this room incorporated a mix of lock-and-key puzzles and creative physical tasks that gave a sense of a real "escape" experience. I also enjoyed the spooky atmosphere, which was mostly created by darkness and occasional noises, but I wish they committed more to the scares and the story. It felt like the spookiness petered out rather than escalating. (Serial killer abducts us, then leaves us alone for an hour... I couldn't feel his presence after the beginning, and I found myself wanting more developments so there was more urgency.) By the end it started to feel more like solving random escape room puzzles than being part of a story with real stakes. I also thought the low lighting was frustrating at times, especially when combined with the small visual clues. We ended up solving one puzzle by accident before the solution was clear to us. We asked our GM about it afterward and she said there should have been a visual clue somewhere, but we weren't able to find it with her when we went to see the puzzle together. She ended up saying she would have to check the guidebook, so I left feeling confused about that part. Overall, I preferred Pandora's Box at this location and I think that room provides a slightly better puzzling experience.
