Tag Archives: escape rooms

Halloween Escape Room at the Mission Viejo Library

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The escape room was on a Saturday afternoon in the Mission Viejo Library’s Heritage Room. The people overseeing the event had set up random images all over the place, some of which were clues that we could use in the escape room. It had an eerie feel to the air, there was haunting music playing in the background and the lights were dimmed to a point where it felt like evening in the middle of the day.

Soon after our group of four people (including myself) had walked in, a man with a British accent started talking, laying down what we were supposed to do: open a box with four locks on it–and we had to do it within the time limit of about thirty minutes. Immediately after he’d stopped talking, everyone began searching for clues. The first thing I ran for was the box with locks. One needed a direction code, one needed a letter code, one needed a number code, and the last required a key. For the lock with a key, there was another box that we had to unlock before we could access the key, so that was one of the trickier parts of the escape room. But then after we figured out the combination, the key didn’t fit in the lock on the box. We had to use the key to unlock a safe that led us to the right key.

The hard part about this escape room was that there were random things scattered all over the place, but we couldn’t tell which ones were clues, or which ones were red herrings, which is a “clue” that’s meant to distract you from what’s actually important. Also, when we asked for hints, they gave their help in terms of rhyming poems, so we sometimes couldn’t figure out what they meant. (And we couldn’t always tell which direction the lock was supposed to go or what order to put the letters or directions in.)

In the end, we unlocked all four locks with two minutes to spare and what was inside the locked box was kind of ridiculous. In the beginning, they said a talisman was supposed to be in the box, so nobody had any idea what to expect. I was just glad that we had managed to open the box at all within the time limit, because I’d never really done an escape room with a time limit before.

Overall, it was a great experience and the clues were very creative. It’s an awesome event for anyone who enjoys puzzles, games, and just a little bit of trickery.

Game Review: We Were Here

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Two adventurers, stranded in the mountains. An ancient castle, full of secrets. And only a radio to talk with.

We Were Here is an indie puzzle game similar to an escape room. The two player game starts as both players are captured by an unknown entity. The players are separated, with one in a library and one in an enclosed room. This is one very interesting aspect of the game. The players are completely isolated from each other, with voice chat as the only way for players to communicate. The puzzles, which might be easy to solve normally, become much more difficult when neither player can see what the other is seeing. Good communication and descriptive wording are absolutely necessary if you want to make it out alive.

A friend and I played this together, and we had a blast. The puzzles were fun but not overly challenging. The changing scenery kept the game fresh throughout our play, and we both really loved the atmosphere of the game. We may have died once (or twice) but it never got boring. We were pleasantly surprised by this excellent game.

One thing I love about this game is that it showcases the potential shown by virtual escape rooms. When the escape room is fully digital, you can have all sorts of crazy scenarios, puzzles, and themes. Who cares if you freeze to death while playing a giant game of chess? Who cares if a murderous marionette ends your theater career early? It’s all just a game!

So, in conclusion, I’d definitely recommend checking We Were Here out. It’s a nice, simple game with a cool premise, and it’s loads of fun with a friend. Even, better, as I write this, it’s free on most platforms (Xbox, PS4, Steam, etc). So pick this up and give it a try if you’re looking for a fun cooperative challenge.

9/10

– Josh M.

Mission Viejo Haunted Escape Room

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This Saturday, October 27, 2018, my friends and I went to the Mission Viejo Library escape room. I had never gone to an escape room before, and this was a great introduction. In the escape room, our group had to solve various challenges to figure out how to open the padlocked large box. In the box, there was a cure which would save us from the witch’s curse. This backstory helped motivate us to break the locks.

The first key that we found was under the lamp, which opened a smaller box. In that box, we found a battery and a key. We didn’t know what to do with these, so we started looking around and discovered that one of the books on the shelf was fake. It turned out there was a lockbox inside. We used the key we found earlier and opened the lockbox. Inside was a blacklight flashlight which we then put the batteries in. We walked around the room and looked at everything with the flashlight. We found a padlock with three different locks. One lock had different letters it that was opened by various cards we found on the table. Another padlock was solved through different highlighted numbers on a piece of paper that we found taped to the wall. Also taped to the walls were clock hands pointing in different directions that matched the third padlock. When we unlocked the final set of locks, we were finally able to open the box!

I really liked the spiderwebs and skeleton decorating the room as well as the scary music because it gave the whole atmosphere a scary vibe. Overall, this was a fun and challenging experience, and I am looking forward to doing more escape rooms!