CONDEMNED2: The Box

While NorCal Escape's other games are on the easy side, this swings the other direction and is one of the hardest games I've ever played, anywhere. Our team of 5 enthusiasts barely finished (including the optional extension) and had to take a few hints to get there. I like the idea of optional bonus content as a way to give strong teams lots of content while allowing weaker teams to have a sense of accomplishment. The set is appropriately creepy and unusually large, I would have easily believed we were actually in an abandoned basement of a warehouse or something; the creators clearly spent a lot of time on it. A good chunk of the game is a split start, though not enough that I feel the need to replay the other side. I suppose it might work out well for teams that don't finish and want to rechallenge. After some initial teamwork, there's no interaction between the sides, which feels like a missed opportunity. There's also a bit of awkwardness after rejoining - you have to communicate what, if anything, is still unused in the pre-split areas, and if both halves don't get to the merge point at the same time, what has been done in the common area; this definitely wasted some time. I prefer split starts that don't have this ambiguity. There were some rough spots that could be sanded down - a couple places where we did the right thing but needed better feedback to encourage us to keep doing it, or where we found a reasonable interpretation of a clue that didn't work at all.

This was the best escape room I’ve done to date. All of the puzzles were original and engaging. This room is extremely challenging. We had a group of 8 and opted for the hard ending but failed on the final puzzle. Can’t recommend this one enough, even if it’s a bit of a drive it’s well worth it if you’re an enthusiast. Definitely not a beginner friendly room.

This room is way to hard for even 6 people. Way too dark inside with only 1 flashlight.

A top 5 room for me and I REALLY want to go back and play the west side (we played east). The set design is spectacular. Yes it’s dark BUT it adds sooo much to the spooky factor and dark rooms don’t bother me. I’m all about the set design and immersion, without that I just can’t get into the puzzles. With that said the puzzles were also amazing and were appropriate for the storyline. There were A LOT of puzzles and a few of them I had never seen before. We are a group of 4 enthusiasts and we would have escaped if we chose the easy exit, BUT we were stubborn and chose hard mode and unfortunately did not escape, which just makes me want to go back and play the other side that much more. There were a lot of surprise elements that I didn’t expect which just added to the immersion. Teamwork and communication is an absolute must in this room.

This room definitely goes on my top 10 list. The split start was unique in that the two groups were not in the same space, but had to effectively communicate to progress. The set is second to none. I was really impressed. The puzzles were diverse and challenging and once the two groups reconnect, there are a couple of nice surprises. Our GM, Jamie, who is one of the owners of, is a great host. It even has some replay-ability as you can start on the opposite side the next game and see a whole new set of puzzles from your first play. There’s a reason that this is a Terpeca finalist. It really is an amazing room.

This was a great game, wonderful split start, a beautiful set, lots of innovative puzzles, just everything done exactly as it should’ve been. I have nothing but good things to say about this game and about NorCal as a whole.

This game is phenomenal. For anyone who wants plenty to do, a challenge and a little scare this is your adventure. The room is huge, it has traditional escape room vibes but it’s just really fun and challenging. Well layered and really forces you to work together. Has a unique wrinkle which I recommend you try and complete if you can. Wonderful service as well. Go play this game.

Great over all. Super fun. Almost got out. Biggest take away is Don’t assume anything.