![Outdoor Murder Mystery [Outdoor]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_964/f_auto/v1/store/s/c55b5927-4622-4400-bea5-c52465211626.jpeg)
Trickstermac
57 escape rooms
Out in Northridge, in a Faux Tudor building, up two flights of stairs, is a land of magic where a murder has occurred. When we parked and walked up to the building, we were nervous. It was dark out, we didn’t know the neighborhood, and there was a smelly air conditioning unit dripping next to the door. As we walked up the two narrow flights of stairs to reach the third floor, we were prepared for disappointment. Instead, our game master, Francesco, gave us a delightful puzzle-solving, murder-mystery experience. Originally designed during the height of the Coronavirus, as a way for people to do an escape room without actually being in a closed space for an hour breathing other people’s germs, this mystery/escape room has the feel of people trying to entertain each other. It’s low-budget, and low-tech. And 100% personality and quirky individuality. In an era of mass chain franchise escape rooms, which crank people through and reproduce designs created by someone else to be easily duplicated, this Outdoor Murder Mystery was a breath of fresh air. If you need high tech puzzles, or you really just like immersive sets, skip this one. But if you enjoy solving puzzles and mysteries, if you enjoy storytelling and world-building, set a Monday night aside for this one
Gameplay
It really is a murder mystery and your focus is on working out what happened. There are still hidden clues, and puzzles, like in other escape rooms, but the characters in the story become more important. And all the puzzles make sense in the world
Atmosphere
It’s a converted rooftop patio. It’s not going to fool you into thinking it’s not. But by the end of the game, you’ll appreciate all the touches and work that went into it. And being under the actual night sky is a heck of a special effect.
Customer service
Francesco was terrific. He made it feel like we were living an episode of a crime drama set in a fantasy world.
Particularly interesting or different
Yes
Extremely low tech, and all outside. This is almost more of a cross-breed of an escape room and cooperative storytelling. Definitely engage with the game master - they are a character and will bring the imagined world to life.
Story
Difficulty
Hard
It doesn’t rely as much on typical escape room dynamics and often feels more like a murder mystery than an escape room. Which is great!
Game tech
Mechanical
All extremely low tech
Ideal number of players
4
Scary
Not scary
Minimum age
9
Was anything broken?
No
Live actors
Yes
Physically active
Somewhat
You have to walk up two flights of stairs just to get there. And then there’s a lot of going back and forth, and crouching to look at clues.
Accessibility
Not at all. Two flights of stairs and no elevator before you even get to the room.
Easy to find location
Yes
Parking
Easy
There’s a lot right behind the building
