60 Out Escape Rooms, Escape Room Review

60 Out Escape Rooms

Los Angeles, California

Ghost Ship - Held against our will on a cursed ship of angry ghosts, we hand to find away to escape fast.

Grandma's Master Plan - Granny had left cryptic clues about our inheritance. If we wanted to cash in on the deal we had to discover Grandma's darkest secrets.

Wizard's Workshop - As students of a talented wizard we were tasked with helping our scatter-brained teacher reunite his soul with his body. 

Titanic - This ship was going down. Our goal was to save the sinking crew.

P.U.T.I.N. Bunker - A dictator sent us on a crash course toward a nuclear holocaust. Our mission was to stop the launch sequence of the nukes before it was too late.

Dr. Psycho - Trapped in the room of a psychotic doctor/serial killer, we had to solve the case before we became the next victim.

Pros:  The rooms at 60 Out vary quite a bit making it difficult to talk generally about them as a group. The set design on some of the rooms (Titanic for instance) is stellar and far exceeded our expectations. Others are more typical of middle-of-the-road escape rooms. The puzzles are all generally logical with some games being more physical than mental. Yet, all the rooms were enjoyable to play and the puzzles mostly solvable. We had a great experience with all of the game masters who monitored our progress closely and provided assistance when needed. Overall we enjoyed our games at 60 Out and highly recommend visiting all of their rooms in the various locations in the Los Angeles area. 

Cons: We had a few mechanical difficulties in some of the more technologically complex rooms and at least one or two puzzle fails in games where poor puzzle design hindered our progress. These rooms were excellent overall. We found 60 Out, specifically Titanic and Grandma's MasterPlan, to be among our top ten favorite escape room experiences. Do not pass up the opportunity to play their games if you are in Southern California. 

https://www.60out.com

               

               

Fox in a Box: Orange County, Escape Room Review

Fox in a Box: Orange County

Fullerton, California

Mr. Fox's Secret Study: Recruited as special agents, we had to pass one final test before gaining Mr. Fox's approval.

Pros: The puzzles were very logical and fun to solve. The game master followed our game closely and intervened to assist us when necessary. We made excellent progress and needed only a nudge here and there to keep us on the right track. We successfully escaped with time to spare. 

Cons: Simple set design, basic storyline and straight-forward puzzles. This experience was certainly nothing to write home about but we had an excellent experience regardless. This was a good middle-of-the road escape room. Recommended for first-timers and enthusiasts. 

http://oc.foxinabox.us/?lang=eng

Escape Hotel Hollywood, Escape Room Review

Escape Hotel Hollywood

Hollywood, California

Cocaine: We found ourself in the office of a mob boss and soon had to solve a murder mystery in order to escape with our lives.

Zombie: A zombie apocalypse was underway and we had to track down the cure to save the human race from extinction.

Pros: The lobby was designed like a 1920s-era hotel complete with zombified bell hops and hotel staff. From the moment we walked in, we were excited to begin our adventure. The clerk took our photo and created passport books for us which further added to our excitement. We anticipated a great experience based on the initial hubbub in the lobby. Once we exited the lobby, our excitement, unfortunately, permanently checked-out of this hotel.

Cons: Once we were escorted to the escape rooms (we played two back-to-back: Cocaine and Zombie), our experience quickly degenerated into frustration and annoyance. The rooms were dark and full of clutter in the form of tools and other props that we were hesitant to touch for fear of getting our hands dirty. The puzzles defied logic and were often either overly complex or utterly incomprehensible. Our frustration was further exacerbated by game masters who were slow to respond and mostly unhelpful in providing hints or clues. In Cocaine, we stumbled our way through the awkward puzzles but had substantial difficulty solving the last puzzle because pieces were missing since the room had been improperly reset. Instead of apologizing or offering to refund our money, the game master insisted that the fault was in our game-play. When he finally agreed that the error was on the part of the staff who reset the game he simply shrugged it off and continued to remind us that we had failed to escape the room. 

Don't be fooled by the glitzy lobby. Save your money for some of the much higher quality escape room experiences in So Cal. 

http://www.escapehotelhollywood.com

Roundabout Canada, Escape Room Review

Roundabout Canada

Toronto, Canada

Final Destination: The complete collapse of both engines had our plane hurling toward the ground. We had to figure out how to pilot the plane and save our lives. 

Butcher's Basement: Tony's Butcher Shop hides a horrible secret. We had to locate our kidnapped friend before we ended up on the chopping block.

Back to the Mummy: Trapped in an ancient Egyptian tomb, our demise seemed eminent as the roof threatened to collapse on top of us.

Diamond Creed: A diamond, a guarded vault, a ticking clock. We felt like we had been here before, but stealing this diamond was no easy task.

Pros: We enjoyed the first game so much that we ended up playing four out of five of the games at Roundabout Canada. We tried to play the fifth game but they were not able to fit us in to their busy schedule. These were excellent high-quality games with fun, immersive set designs and storylines. Each game was quite challenging but not impossible to solve. We asked for hints when we needed them, which was more often than we would like to admit, but still enjoyed every minute of every game.

Cons: The hint process was cumbersome and cost us quite a bit of time. After calling the game master via a walkie-talkie we had to wait for the game master to enter the room and then catch them up on our progress before they were able to help us out. This happened each time we needed hints (several times per game). It seemed onerous for both players and employees. We hope they invest in cameras and audio equipment to monitor game progress. Computer monitors are our favorite way of receiving hints. 

We loved Roundabout Canada. We will be back and that's a promise. We hope. When we can afford to visit Toronto again. Someday. Maybe. But trust us, Roundabout Canada will be our first stop!

http://www.roundaboutcanada.com

PanI.Q. Escape Room Review

PanI.Q. Room Escapes

Mississauga, Canada

The Ward: Stricken with mental illness, we had less than an hour to locate the pill to restore our sanity.

Pros: The game master was very kind and accommodating. She assisted us with our requests for hints even when the answer turned out to be quite obvious. We were having an off day and asked for hints twice on puzzles we should have easily been able to solve. In both cases, we simply overlooked the obvious. We appreciated the very logical and linear puzzle design. Quite challenging and solvable for two people even though a third person could have helped us. 

Cons: Extremely simplistic set design that deluded us into underestimating the complexity of the room. 

We recommend PanI.Q. for a simple and fun room escape experience. We will visit again next time we happen to be in Mississauga.

http://paniq.ca

Trapped, Escape Room Review

Trapped!
Real Life Escape Games
Toronto, Canada

Diamond Heist: A 250-carat diamond is the prize. All we had to do was break into the auction house and steal it. 

Pros: The set immediately immersed us in the storyline and drew us into the game. The technology heightened our experience. We had a great time in this room navigating the physical and mental challenges. The puzzles were all cleverly designed and challenged us in new ways. We enjoyed solving each puzzle and in the end narrowly escaped with the diamond!

Cons: A few mechanical difficulties hindered our progress but the game masters quickly intervened and moved us right along.  

Overall a big thumbs up for Trapped. We wish we had time to play more of their games!

http://www.trapped-toronto.com/rooms.html

               

Riddle Room, Escape Room Review

Riddle Room

Toronto, Canada

Framed: We had been framed for the murder of a cop friend. Our goal was to break out of prison and prove our innocence.

Pros:  The puzzles here were easy to solve and left us feeling overly confident in our abilities. The game masters were nearly completely hands-off which we generally prefer since we like to be free to do our own thing. We also enjoyed the photo booth upon the completion of the game.

Cons: The set design was very simple but nothing to write home about. The puzzles were easy and consisted mostly of finding items rather than solving complex puzzles. Flimsy materials and illegible writing made some nearly impossible to figure out. We eventually muddled our way through it and still escaped in record time. We walked out the door only to be greeted by silence and an empty hallway. We wandered into the photo booth and let ourselves out. Fanfare is clearly not their thing. We walked out feeling cheated and wanted our money and time back. This was our least favorite room in Toronto. We recommend you skip it and enjoy some of the AMAZING escape rooms down the road.

http://www.riddleroom.ca

Secret City Adventures, Room Escape Review

Secret City Adventures

Toronto, Canada

Red Room: Red walls. No doors. That is all. 

Pros: This room was definitely quite creative with some real "out of the box" thinking required to successfully escape. 

Cons: This room was typical of what we have come to expect from playing Real Escape Games (SCRAP) and their affiliates. They break many of the rules of conventional escape rooms. While presenting a good challenge, this is not always a good thing. Don't use excessive force. Don't climb on things. Don't touch things that say "don't touch." Don't mess with electrical outlets. All of those rules go out the window here. Puzzles are rarely logical and typically overly convoluted. Their goal seems to be to make it impossible for you to escape at all and then to make it appear like it was all your fault in the end (instead of poor puzzle design). A less than 1% escape rate means that you need to seriously reflect on what is wrong with your room. If this was our first time playing an escape game we might have attributed our failure to our inexperience. But after 150 escape games we can truly say: don't waste your time or money on Real Escape Games or their affiliates.

Lost and Found in Chinatown: As a scientist in a memory lab we find ourselves suddenly pulled into a complicated mystery where we have lost all of our memories. Retracing our steps is key.

Pros: We liked the idea, in theory, of combining a scavenger hunt with an escape room. This could work well if executed correctly. 

Cons: See all of our comments above for the escape room portion of the experience. The scavenger hunt was way too simplistic and added little to the experience. We would stick with escape rooms if we were them. But then again their escape rooms are not good at all. So maybe just don't. Just don't.

Please note: We have heard that their Casa Loma escape games have rave reviews. These were all booked so we could not check them out. We recommend you judge for yourself. But no guarantees based on the above. Location isn't everything.

https://www.secretcityadventures.com

Captive Escape Room, Escape Room Review

Captive Escape Room

Toronto, Canada

Dracula's Library: Trapped in the library of everybody's favorite revenant, we had to find out before he awakened from his deep sleep and made us his snack.

Pros: The set design here was aligned to the theme and helped set the mood. Spooky but not too spooky. Mysterious and dark ambiance. The puzzles were sufficiently challenging. The game flow was smooth, logical, and scaled for complexity. The friendly game master was on hand to help us when we needed it most.

Cons: The last puzzle confused us quite a bit and we thought parts of it were unnecessarily convoluted but a hint in the final minutes ensured our escape. 

A good, solid room escape experience. If you visit Captive Escape Room, you won't be disappointed. We wanted to play more rooms, but this was a very popular place.

http://captiverooms.com