Rating: 4/10
Theme/Ambiance – 4/10
Puzzles – 6/10
Difficulty – 6/10
Excitement/Fun – 4/10

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Company: Quest Room
Website: https://questroom.com/

My friends and I were in L.A. for the weekend and we were looking for escape rooms to try out. In the end we settled for Da Vinci’s Challenge at Quest Room because some of us had done other escape rooms by the Quest Room company. We had a really large group so we opted to book two time slots, one after another and try to “race” to see who could have the better clear time. The premise was that we are in Florence studying under Leonardo Da Vinci and he has given you and your team a test to clear!

Da Vinci’s Challenge is an older generation escape room where there is less of an experience and more of a puzzle heavy themed room. If this is something that you are looking for then this room is for you! For me, I would have preferred if there was something more to the experience. The puzzles were not difficult and in fact my group ended up being the group that solved some of the puzzles not the way it was intended, so it probably lessened the experience.

Quest Room has some really cool rooms, but this one could probably be skipped if you are looking for more of a story-based experience!

Rating: 5/10
Theme/Ambiance – 6/10
Puzzles – 6/10
Difficulty – 5/10
Excitement/Fun – 3/10

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Company: Maze Rooms Los Angeles
Website: https://la.mazerooms.com/

Your uncle is missing and was last seen in the Andes Mountains on a mining expedition. You and your team find yourself in the Dragon’s Lair at Maze Rooms Los Angeles in search of the missing uncle.

I am a sucker for fantasy themed escape rooms and this one was a huge disappointment for me. Overall Maze Rooms Los Angeles dishes out average to above average escape rooms, however the Dragon’s Lair was a miss for me. It may be because this room is an older generation escape room, but even for it’s time there was not much to the experience. The rooms were decorated, but it was not done in a way that felt immersive. It literally felt like we were moving from one room in a warehouse building to another room versus what other escape rooms are like. The puzzles fit the theme and they tried to add little Easter eggs to appeal to nerd/gaming culture. Finally when you reach the end, the storyline never really takes off and leads to a flat finish.

The Dragon’s Lair tried really hard to provide a fantastical experience, but it just did not reach it for me personally.

Rating: 6/10
Theme/Ambiance – 9/10
Puzzles – 5/10
Difficulty – 7/10
Excitement/Fun – 4/10

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Company: Maze Rooms Los Angeles
Website: https://la.mazerooms.com/

Sky Odyssey at Maze Rooms Los Angeles brings you and your friends on an adventure to the famous Mount Olympus. There you will interact with the gods and be sent on quests to assist them with whatever it is that they might need!

I had very high expectations for Sky Odyssey, purely due to the theme itself. The Greek mythology world was always a place that I have been drawn to and of course I was very excited to partake! The decorations and ambiance did not disappoint. The room was well decorated and very calculative on where things were placed. The puzzles were themed appropriately to their Greek Gods which made it exciting! The reason why I would put this room so much lower than what I wanted it to be is due to the fact that a couple puzzles just were not working properly when we did this escape room. Not to mention one of the clues was left out of the room so we were not able to have a proper attempt of one of the puzzles since it was not set properly.

Unfortunately, since I put experience as a huge factor on whether or not I enjoyed an escape room – I would not be able to recommend this one. The immersion was broken and pieces were missing from puzzles when they should not have been. It could have potentially been a great escape room if it was played out the way it was intended.

Rating: 7/10
Theme/Ambiance – 9/10
Puzzles – 6/10
Difficulty – 6.5/10
Excitement/Fun – 7/10

Location: Irvine, CA
Company: Hidden Donkey
Website: https://hiddendonkey.com/

Are you a fan of Harry Potter?? If you are Hidden Donkey has an escape room for you! Irvine School of Wizardry and the Dragon Wand pays homage to the beloved fantasy world theme, located in the city of Irvine, CA. Do you have what it takes to take on the magic and puzzles in order to defeat the Dark Lord???

This escape room is well known for it’s theme and decor, and man did it not let down. If you are really into the Harry Potter franchise, you are in for a real treat. With little easter eggs and whimsical designs I found delight in the experience. The puzzles were adorable and stay true to the theme. All the props added to the ambiance and I would not have it any other way!

Highly recommend for just the presentation and theme itself. The puzzles were not difficult, but overall I had fun! The only downside was that we probably had too many people in our group so there was not as much to go around. Would recommend with a smaller group size if possible… like 4.