California State Escape: Wizard's Redemption & Trespassed

(Right to left) The Red Wizard, The Purple Sorceress, Cory in blue bathrobe

It had been a few years since we played any rooms in Sacramento and it was due for us to revisit the area. One of the locations that we visited was California State Escape which had quite a few games to play. We played Space Sector the last time around and this time we played Wizard's Redemption and Trespassed. From their site:

"Wizard's Redemption
Welcome future apprentices to the Thaumaturgy Preparatory School of Magic! Upon entering for your tour of the grounds, the institution falls under attack by evil sorcerers, determined to breach the walls and break the protective enchants. It is now your job, along with your fellow apprentices, to make a passage through the halls, communicate with the outside world to get more aid, and find your way to safety!

You will have many tasks that challenge every aspect of what is to come of your time at the school. From geography, potions, and alchemy to history and much more. This will be your greatest test as magicians and it’s only the beginning!

Trespassed
You haven’t participated in Devil’s night since you were a kid, but your roommates haven’t stopped with the rumours of this old mansion on the outskirts of the city that they found geocaching – let’s do it! Laughing and steering per the GPS along the side roads, you look to find the vague break in the bushes, and a sign catches your eye, “Pembroke Dr.” This house, it has to be the Fitzgerald’s. Your nerves begin, it was only a myth. After all, nothing was ever found."

Set Design, Technology & Puzzles 

Wizard's Redemption
People who like Harry Potter would definitely appreciate this 90 minute game. The set was a well done Wizard's study and definitely a step up from the set of Trespassed . In terms of footprint, this game (and Trespassed) was above average in size. It was also a linear room so small groups would be best and three players felt like the perfect size.

Puzzles revolved around finding and associating elements. There was a lot of reading and puzzles more than often unlocked laminated hints. Out of all the rooms we played, this was one of the games where we had to do the most reading.

Trespassed
This game was billed as a horror experience but there were no jump scares at all.  There were creepy props and blood on the wall but nothing scary at all. This escape room was not for kids but one of our players who jumps in Disney movies didn't flinch at all. The set design was fine for a creepy home.

The puzzles were search heavy and involved unlocking padlocks. Standard first generation escape room puzzles were executed appropriately and good for entry level players. Seasoned enthusiasts will likely play through this room quickly.

Memorable Moments 

Wizard's Redemption was more memorable and there were some nifty  effects that made the setting magical.

Also, the celebration that this location gave after completing any of the rooms was probably one of the most exciting post game experiences we have lived! We didn't see it the first time we played a few years ago so it might have been a recent addition.

Room For Improvement

Both rooms relied on laminated paper with a lot of text and there were some parts where no one on the team wanted to read or review them.

Less reliance on padlocks, especially for Trespassed, would have been more interesting. In Wizard's Redemption, black light was extensively used and it would have been more convenient if everyone had their own light.

Overall Thoughts

Both the games we played were great for beginners as the set designs were high quality and the puzzles had single level complexity. There were a few things that stumped us in the Wizard but asking for hints at the right time should be enough for most people to make it through.

• Set design: Good
• Difficulty: Wizard's Redemption: Above Average, Trespassed: Easy 
• Price: $35-$40/person
• Number of players: Wizard's Redemption: 3-6 (we recommend 3-4), Trespassed: 4-10 (we recommend 3-4), private
• Duration: Wizard's Redemption: 90 minutes, Trespassed: 60 minutes
• Overall Rating: Wizard's Redemption: ★★★★, Trespassed: ★★★

See their website here: https://www.californiastateescape.com/

Disclosure: California State Escape graciously comped these games

Boxaroo: Conundrum Museum & Magician's Study

We were fortunate enough that the timing of our Boston trip coincided with Boxaroo's reopening of  their room, the "Magician's Study" after being closed for about a year. In this new location, they also opened up a second adventure, the "Conundrum Museum". We were going to play these rooms as a duo, and given that the max number of players was ten, we knew it would be a challenge. From their site:

"Conundrum Museum
You and your friends take a trip to the museum when something goes amiss... it seems like you've been framed! Lucky for you, you happen to be the world-renowned local detective-in-training. You'll have 60 minutes to solve the mystery and clear your name

Magician's Study
You're invited! Yes, you. Investigate the study of a once-legendary magician Viltore Madom. Your goal is to discover the secret of this mystical place... or at least as much of it as you can before time runs out."

From the Boxaroo website

Set Design, Puzzles & Technology

Conundrum Museum
We played a lot of museum themed rooms and set designs were typically a normal white-walled room with some portraits and antiques. While this held true for the Conundrum Museum, there was a fun centerpiece that came into play in the late stages of the game, which was pretty obvious from the start. There was a fun actor driven intro with some nice effects that set the mood and went to show that the little things go a long way.

The puzzles were clever and utilized the surroundings in an intelligent manner. We enjoyed the overarching cohesion between all the riddles that is often not found in many rooms. There was also a "eureka" moment for a late game solution that we had never seen before that delighted us. The technology didn't feel like it was a primary driver but that was because it was so well hidden. We had the chance to have a behind the scenes look and given that everything was automated, there was ten times more tech than I thought there would have been.


Magician's Study
Again, the theme of a study made it easier to create a believable set. There were quite a few nice well hidden surprises that sets this study apart from many other escape rooms out there. We don't mind recurring themes as long as there are surprises or clever devices that spring up along the way and Boxaroo had a lot of surprise elements.

The puzzles were fun and a lot of times we felt we knew exactly what we had to do, to only be fooled but our previous experiences. The game must have been designed to fool enthusiasts because it used common elements that you would find in many rooms but with a different twist on how to use them. We appreciated one of the reveals because of how it changed our perspective on how we saw things. The technology, like the Conundrum Museum, was seamlessly blended into the setting.

The staff was great and friendly!

Memorable Moments 

Conundrum Museum
The late game puzzle that opens up the final stage of the game was unique. At first we thought, "this probably isn't it" but of course it was.

Magician's Study
All the puzzles that looked basic but actually had a second level solution to them.

We also got a cool scorecard that we loved that mapped out our progression vs. other groups :)

Room For Improvement

There was at least one puzzle in Conundrum Museum that was tricky because of the use of a very uncommon word. Also, the setting for both rooms were perfect for the theme and well done but they were still simplistic in the grand scale of escape rooms we have played. Also, the scorecard we got had a bug that threw off the stats.

Overall Thoughts

Both the rooms were incredibly fun and we were lucky enough to play them as a duo. We highly recommend playing these rooms as Boxaroo is one of our top recommendations in the Boston area!

• Set design: Good, fits the theme perfectly
• Difficulty: Medium-High
• Price: $29/person
• Number of players: up to 10, private (we recommend 4)
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Overall Rating: Conundrum Museum ★★★★★, Magician's Study ★★★★½

See their website here: https://boxaroo.me

Maze Rooms: Magic Kingdom (Los Angeles, CA)

The magic is real

After playing Maze Rooms' "Lunar Mission" at the S. Vermont location, we immediately played a second room at the same location. We jumped into a magical world that took place in a colorful, fairytale like environment that was intricately designed. The Magic Kingdom turned out to be heavy on the immersion side with some great use of tech and fun puzzles. From their site:

"The Magic Kingdom: a place of wonder where all things are possible and magic is real. Join this fairytale adventure and save the Magic Kingdom before time runs out, and the magic is gone forever."

49 Boxes: Evening At The Houdini Estate (San Francisco, Los Angeles, CA)

Evening At The Houdini Estate

After not being able to find any enthusiast reviews for 49 Boxes, I decided to post about my experience at 49 Boxes San Francisco showing in November of 2017. At the time of this writing, there seemed to be limited showings of "Evening At The Houdini Estate" in both San Francisco and Los Angeles with costs ranging from $100 for a normal 90 minute session (my ticket) to $650 for a session and accommodations. From their site:

"The 49 Boxes is an episodic, story-driven experience where audience members play a role in solving mysteries that have been kept secret for more than half a century—all while interacting with artifacts from the Golden Age of Magic. This is not an experience that unfolds around you…it unfolds because of you.

Entry into one of the world's most exclusive and private members only club [The Battery]. An exclusive, intimate performance of the most buzzed about immersive storytelling puzzle experience: 49 Boxes—"The Magic of Thayer."

Reviewing this event was not a simple task as the designers do not see this as an escape room (more as immersive storytelling) but from an enthusiast's perspective, the format and experience is on par with any large format escape rooms games that a company like SCRAP commonly holds. There are 10+ tables with 8 people per table all solving puzzles with an overarching storyline.

Palace Games: The Great Houdini Escape Room (San Francisco, CA)

We finally got around to playing Palace Games' original game, "The Great Houdini Escape Room". We played "The Roosevelt Room" last year and despite the puzzles being average, the automation and grand reveals were enough to hype us up for their first room. We knew that The Houdini Room would probably be less advanced as it was older but we had to experience it for ourselves.

The storyline has Houdini building the world's first escape room a century ago and he challenges eight innovators to escape the room. These innovators include famous icons such as Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Charlie Chaplin. There was quite a lot to do so eight is a reasonably good number of people to take on the tasks at hand.

Locurio: The Vanishing Act (Seattle, WA)

One Wizard to fight them all

"The Vanishing Act" is consistently highly rated by escape room enthusiasts and we headed over to Seattle to play it for ourselves. We were five people, which turned out to be a good number and most of us had some decent escaping experience. The story centers around the magician, Noximillian and the disturbing disappearances of his assistants. His latest assistant, Casey, asks for your help in uncovering the truth behind what's going on and sends you into Noximillian's private dressing room while he is performing on stage.

The immersiveness of The Vanishing Act was second to none. This escape room had an actress that help set up the story well and also provided hints with one of the best (seamless) hint mechanisms we've experienced to date.