Room Escape Los Angeles by Fox in a Box – Cold War Bunker [Review]

Like a Tom Clancy novel… without the infallible character.

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Date played: March 21, 2016

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 4-6

Price: It varies by team size: $99 for 2-3 players, $132 for 4 players, $165 for 5 players, $198 for 6 players.

Monday morning

Room Escape Los Angeles isn’t usually open on Monday mornings; they opened specifically so that we could visit during our one remaining window of time in a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles. The staff were exceptional.

Story

A mad former Soviet agent had activated a nuclear launch sequence in this bunker. We had to disarm the nukes.

The “escape games” at Room Escape Los Angeles  aren’t actually escapes; the doors to the games were never locked. In this game, we completed a specific mission.

Game design

Cold War Bunker was well themed on the Cold War. The game was outfitted with the appropriate props, many of which were also puzzles.

Both the story and props were tongue-in-cheek; this game didn’t take itself too seriously. The fun was derived in part from the levity with which the game approached a serious theme.

There was one particular mechanism for advancing the game that was brilliantly engineered, Cold War-esque, and incredibly fun.

Technology

The meat of the game relied on brilliantly executed technology that was far ahead of its time and has remained top notch. While not the newest or the most magical, it revealed itself as the game progressed and synced well with the game.

Game mechanics

Cold War Bunker required extensive searching in and about the different puzzles.

This game also incorporated many individually locked elements that opened as the game progressed. It relied too heavily on multiple instances of the same lock model, which necessitated a lot of trial and error input.

We enjoyed the variety of puzzle types that enabled each team member to play to their own strengths.

One stumble

One simple puzzle felt chintzy. I wasn’t even convinced it was a puzzle, except that there really wasn’t anything else that could have moved us forward at that point.

This game element was not on par with the rest of this highly polished experience.

Should I play Room Escape Los Angeles’ Cold War Bunker?

We brought a team of mixed experience levels to play the Bunker. Everyone had fun. Each of us found game elements that spoke to us, frustrated us, and wowed us. In that way, the Cold War Bunker achieved success.

The Bunker was a hands-on game. Be ready to dig through the set and interact with the different items in different ways.

Newer players will likely find many of the technologically driven game elements quite difficult. Experienced players shouldn’t have a hard time tackling this room. Everyone will be smiling throughout. It was a fun play.

Book your hour with Room Escape Los Angeles’ Cold War Bunker, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Full disclosure: Room Escape Los Angeles comped our tickets for this game.