Unlockables: The Informant & The Escape (San Diego, CA)

This post was written by Mio! The Unlockables is a relatively new set of rooms in San Diego with a very friendly owner/operator who is himself very well versed in playing escape rooms (+100 rooms). He actually took over part of the space from a previous operator so his own "The Escape" room was added in addition to the existing "Informant Room". As a result, the Informant Room makes for a pretty good introduction room for beginners, but will likely be a breeze for more advanced players. Even though it was your typical investigate a murder scene setting, it still was an above average game. "The Escape" room, on the other hand, is a great deal more immersive and challenging – one that our crew enjoyed a lot and kept us well occupied.

The Basement: The Study (Las Vegas, NV & Los Angeles, CA)

The Study, Seriously, go play this room right now

"The Study" is the newest room for the much talked about location,"The Basement". The storyline revolves around a cannibalistic killer who captures you and locks you in his basement. After you escape "The Basement", you end up on the first floor of the house and have to find your way out of "The Study". While the continuity of the story is great, we played them in the reverse order and it was perfectly fine.  The BIG difference with this room and others of a similar "Psycho killer" theme is the immersiveness and in-game actors which make for an amazing escape room.

The Basement: The Basement Room (Las Vegas, NV & Los Angeles, CA)

The Basement (room), the original room

For those easily scared - be warned!  This room is not for the faint-hearted ... but this is mainly because it is so very immersive - impressively so.  Our group of half boys - half girls did well to upkeep those gender stereotypes with many a high-pitched scream emanating from the girls while escaping this room.

The Basement is the original room from this chain - rooms such as The Study (see review) and The Boiler Room follow on from this story.  In The Basement, your team is kidnapped, taken to an underground lair, and threatened with death by notorious serial-killer, Edward Tandy.  You have 45 minutes to escape a terrifying and gruesome death.

Kuma Escape: Detention (Santa Clara, CA)

Michael (second from the right) was a bad boy in detention

Kuma Escape's "stage 3" room, Detention, opened in May 2016 and even though it touted the highest escape rate (20%) out of their three rooms, it was actually the most difficult one. Keep in mind that "stage" simply means room and you don't have to do "stage" one or two to play the third one. It seemed that a lot of enthusiasts played this room and given that the record was only 45min, it was no surprise that this was a challenge. We were six people in the group with two people who were new to escape rooms.

Palace Games: Roosevelt Room, San Francisco (CA)

Team Commonwealth
The Roosevelt Escape Room at Palace Games is one of the highest rated rooms on most review sites. While it is one of the greatest rooms, the cost is pretty steep and a few puzzles are repetitive. In the final room, a few of us had to sit out and wait in another previously explored room as there was no space for us and nothing for us to contribute. Nonetheless, expect some great "eureka!" moments and exceptional grand reveals.