RECON is over. But my trip isn’t! It’s time to get as many escapes in as possible!

Hair Frizz Status: Code Red

It’s a good thing we didn’t have laser mazes yesterday because my hair alone would have set them off. Yeesh.

LA Stuff

I found the Hollywood sign! Look at me being all touristy and taking a photo from afar while the locals look on in disdain.

My friend Margaux and I found a coffee shop before our escapes. They sold what they told me were bagela.  LA…are these bagels to you? I don’t understand…

We went to Korea Town and got so many yummy things! It made me homesick for Toronto and the Korea Town there.

There are random robot delivery vehicles in LA? I couldn’t get a picture of them, but they freaked me out. Are we getting into a cyberpunk world already?

We went back to the Mexican restaurant near Hatch Escapes, where it was TACO TUESDAY! It was very exciting for me. I don’t think I will be able to eat Canadian tacos again…oh, heck, of course I will.

Also, there are robots here? I didn’t get a chance to snap a photo of it, but late at night the car we were in got in the way of some boba delivery robot prowling the streets of LA.

The Escapes

Unfortunately it was tricky for me to plan escapes. Many of the people I joined up with had already done the most well known escapes in LA, and because rooms in LA are very spread apart, I mostly joined up with whatever I could. The RECON team did make up a handy dandy spreadsheet where folks could find rooms and teams to play with, but the timing for going to rooms like Ministry of Peculiarities’ Hope End and Quest Escapes’ Project Minotaur simply did not work out.

However, I was still pumped to play escapes and was extremely happy to join others who had done all the hard work of planning and simply let me join in. Thanks to Myra Ramdenbourg and Scott Levy for doing all of that!

Quest Escapes

For the morning, I did Quest Escapes’ location in Hollywood. Joining me were my friends Myra and Margaux, who you may remember from my Netherlands trip, as well as Myra’s partner, Jin!

Quest Rooms, which you enter through a somewhat hidden and sketchy alley, has a small but bright lobby with plenty of seating.

Our game host, who I think was named Anthony, was an absolute superstar. Not only was he friendly and jokey, but put everything he had into his game intros. He would don a costume and a character after insisting it was not just him putting in a costume, and with many theatrical flourishes would lead us through th scenarios and make the most of the generic lobby space to transport us to his world. Top marks to Anthony!

I am not sure if this is an LA thing or an American thing, but one thing that struck me throughout the day is how seriously waivers are treated here. We do have waivers in Canada, but the stress of the possibility of not signing a waiver seems very heightened in LA. It started with our previous games as well, with the game hosts of the Hatch even momentarily stopping the game intro to rectify a mistake with the waivers. Time will tell if this is consistent for all games.

For games, first up was Red Giant, which I realized was the first Egypt themed party room I had done in years! We were all explorers who needed to find a giant gem hidden in an Egyptian tomb. Mistakes are made, chaos ensues, gods are angered, you know the.drill.

We were all impressed with the set, which is another common theme I found in the LA rooms we played. My friend Myra, was impressed the wall reliefs looked as authentic as they did.

The puzzles were pretty simple and fairly task based. There were two moments in the room that were fun, small wow moments that had us panicking and laughing.

The second room at Quest was called The Perfumer and was set in an 18th century perfume shop, whose owner had just been arrested for murder. We were given the roles of perfumers eager to get our hands on the secret of the perfumer’s perfect perfume recipe before the Gendarmerie cracked down on the shop. Naturally, the perfumer’s methods are…well, they are gross.

Once again, the set was impressive, with multiple levels and rooms that had an excellent attention to detail. The Perfumer, though, did show some signs of wear and tear. There were clear signs that some of the decor had been torn off by eager players and had yet to be replaced, leading us to repeatedly go down a couple of rabbit holes wondering if the absence of an item meant it was important.

The plot seemed to be inspired by the novel/film “Perfume”, about a serial killer with an excellent sense of smell. The hinting system used was clever, but also opened up some plot holes for me that were difficult to ignore. I won’t spoil the actual hint system, of course, but multiple times it did make me wonder why we were being helped when waiting for the police would be just as effective.

Still, the puzzles mostly fit the theme. There were a couple of moments where we made a stab in the dark for an answer that we thought would be wrong but ended up being the solution. We did also note that Quest rooms in general appeared to rely heavily on journals to hold pertinent information. Luckily, both rooms we did had worlds where it might make sense to have a journal, but it would be nice to see less reliance on them.

Oh, and I have to reiterate: Anthony was awesome. His intros were fun, enthusiastic, and set the mood. I was actually annoyed that when we started the Perfumer, it started with an audio intro that pretty much repeated everything Anthony had already said. I couldn’t help but think, we don’t need this intro, we just had the perfect intro! Thanks again, Anthony!

Overall, we had a lot of fun and both Red Giant and the Perfumer ended on a high note, having us perform tasks that were exciting and not always what you get to see in escape rooms. I am sorry we didn’t have time to do Project Minotaur, so hopefully I can try that in the future!

Hatch Escapes- The Ladder Take 2

After some lunch, we headed over to Hatch Escapes for our second playthrough of the Ladder. This time around I was joined by my friends Margaux and Lee-Fay (whom I was meeting in person for the first time ever!), as well as RECON attendies Avraam and Miguel from Escape Puzzles who had travelled all the way from the UK! I was grateful they were available and it was fun to chat with them.

Unfortunately, my second playthrough of the Ladder…was not my finest hour. Or at least, there was about 20 minutes that were not my finest, emotionally speaking. We had gotten to the 70’s room and were attempting to solve puzzles but again, were just a little too slow. Looking back, I realize that for much of that 15 minute time frame, I was the only one focusing on the actual puzzle track and pulling people in when I could. It should have been a more concentrated effort, but I also didn’t want to interrupt anyone’s enjoyment of their tasks.

As a result, during a crucial moment at the end of the room when we had to make a decision, we did not have enough information. I foolishly made myself the one to have to pick out an answer, and the combination of everyone around me yelling their opinions, the loud noises in the room, and the timer crunching down to zero meant I panicked and….might have gotten overwhelmed. I could feel myself tearing up and I was fighting to control my breathing. I do remember yelling out in the moment “We’re going to get the same ending!” and apologizing profusely. Luckily I recognized the anxiety attack for what it was and started working at composing myself. I felt really embarrassed and didn’t want this to sour everyone else’s experience.

The game host (who I actually think was the owner, Tommy Wallach, but having never met him I couldn’t be sure)…could not have been more gracious. While I am still super embarrassed, I am glad it was a chance to see Hatch Escapes fantastic customer service in action. As we walked into the 80’s room, our game host came on the overhead speaker, mentioning that I seemed really bummed out, and would I like a cheat for the 80’s room? It was really nice of him to offer. Again, I didn’t want my team to have challenges taken away just because I had a moment, so I said no, it was fine. But I could tell they were also giving us extra time in the 80’s room we would not have normally gotten.

In the end, we did get a different ending, so I was happy. And once again, the game host, realizing I needed a boost in morale, came on again to point out something he was impressed with. Again, it was a great moment of making sure we got back on track. Afterward, the game host said one thing he is learning is that when it comes to returning players, they might actually start asking what ending they have gotten before so they can avoid repeats. I do wish I hadn’t have had my moment, but I’m glad something good might have come out of it.

My own little breakdown aside, I can see how The Ladder is pushing the boundaries of a replayable game. Would I see myself going back a third time? Yeah, I think so. Beyond 2 or 3 times, I’m not sure. It is pretty expensive and it would require real planning to try and strategize how to get a specific ending. Still, it is a marvel of technology and creativity, the tasks are actually pretty fun, and I really appreciate this kind of experimentation being done in the escape room world.

After that, I had to bid farewell to Myra and Jin, who were heading home, as well as Margaux, who was heading to another part of LA to do actual work. Instead, I would now be playing games with my next escape room partner, Scott Levy, owner of The Immersive Machine in Arizona (which looks amazing)! Scott was also kind enough to offer to share his hotel room for the remaining nights I was there. He also organized all the bookings for the remainder of my trip. Scott is a champion. Everyone worship Scott.

Maze Rooms- Something’s Out There

Our next stop was Maze Room’s Something’s Out There. My team this time included Jesse from Trivium Games, Kevin Burns from Wild Goose Escapes, Christine Anderson from Exodus Escape. Shockingly, this was the first horror room I was playing in LA. Given that I’ve only ever heard of horror rooms in LA, this might seem unusual. Maze Rooms had a small, unassuming lobby. And of course, even though RECON was over, there were still enthusiasts to run into!

Our game host was nice and enthusiastic (I am sorry, I forgot her name!). Given the lock mechanisms on the front door needing a buzzer to get in, I was a little nervous for her having to work the facility by herself, but she took it all in good stride. She introduced us to the room, saying her friend Tessa had mysteriously gone missing and that her last known location seemed to be in this remote spot in the woods. So naturally, we were the ones to go looking for her. Why? Because that’s how the plot happens, I guess!

I will start with the fact that we did have a lot of fun in Something’s Out There. The set and atmosphere was appropriately spooky. The puzzles, for the most part, made sense as far as how we got the answers. There were a couple of game mechanics that I found very fun and creative.

As far as a horror game? I joked afterward that it kind of felt like a horror story with an identity crisis. Was it a slasher flick? A ghost story? The Exorcist? Deliverance? It could not seem to decide. I knew the suspension of disbelief was being broken bit by bit as we all joked throughout the room how crazy it was someone would lock a door/leave a message/try to kill us in a particular way. Again, we had a lot of fun in it, which is the important part, but if you are going expecting a superb and seamless horror experience, you will leave disappointed. If you go in expecting a carnival haunted house vibe, then this is absolutely for you (albeit…a carnival haunted house with some trigger warnings).

I was…once again, exhausted. Rather than Uber back to the hotel, I decided to save some money and join Scott once again at Hatch Escapes. While they did The Ladder, I waited in the lobby and salivated over the shop items, which included Hatch’s take home escape, Mother of Frankenstein. I would have gotten one but…my luggage simply would not allow it. I did, however, finally get my first escape room t-shirt! I know, am I even an enthusiast if I still didn’t have one?

I also met a lovely student who was waiting for his friend to finish his shift. That friend was actually Gino, who I had met at RECON and works at Hatch Escapes. I was so tired. I really wish I remembered his name. But he told me how he had made an escape room in his dorm room that students could play. He showed me photos as well. It was pretty fantastic! I can’t wait to see his designs when he gets out into the non-school world.

My fourth day in LA finished with me collapsing into my hotel bed. I have one day left…let’s make it count!