The Escape Game – Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys [Review]

Update 11/22/22: If you enjoy Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys, we hope you’ll check out our interview with The Escape Game CEO and Co-Founder Mark Flint on The Reality Escape Pod.

Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys is one of our favorite recommendations for a great escape room in several cities, including Las Vegas and Philadelphia. Here are our recommendation guides for other great escape rooms in Las Vegas and Philadelphia.

Losted & Founded

Location:  King of Prussia, PA & Las Vegas, NV

Date Played: June 18, 2021

Team size: up to 12; we recommend 4-7

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $37.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Game Breakage: No

Accessibility Consideration:  at least one player will need child-like agility

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

Before I dive into our own review of Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys, our old friend Chuckie Finster, has a few thoughts that he’d like to share on this game:

Chuckie Finster from Rugrats

REA Reaction

Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys was a licensed game built on top of the 2018 Golden Lock Award-winning Playground.

The Escape Game got so much right with Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys. It was a fantastic representation of Rugrats and managed to appeal to the serious fan, casual fan, and unaware people in our group. We all got different things out of it and enjoyed the experience.

Tommy's animated kitchen viewed through a playpen.

Additionally, this was an impressively effective reskinning of a beloved game. Having already played Playground, I was worried that the game would feel too familiar. While the physical footprint was identical, and some of the biggest moments from Playground remained more or less intact, it felt like a unique experience. This is partly because the biggest moments fit well into a Rugrats game, and partly because these big moments were fun enough to feel great on a second pass.

Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys was an energizing game. We drove 2 hours to play it and were happy to have done so. I don’t think that I’d recommend getting on an airplane just to play it, but if you’re near or already going to Las Vegas or the Philadelphia area, this is a must-play.

Who is this for?

  • Adventure seekers
  • Puzzle lovers
  • Scenery snobs
  • Rugrats fans
  • Any experience level
  • Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
  • Children at heart

Why play?

  • Nostalgia
  • Child-like gleeful moment
  • Fun puzzles

Story

Angelica had hidden all of the kids’ favorite toys, but in the process she’d lost her own beloved Cynthia doll. Now Angelica, Tommy and the gang need some help from us, the grownup babies. If we fail, the toys could be losted forever.

Illuminated scoreboard of "Founded Toys" all 7 are lit.

Setting

The set was a reskinned Playground. The physical footprint remained, and main set pieces were all present, but with deliberate adjustments and adaptations to make this a decidedly Rugrats game. Large portions of the Playground set felt right in Rugrats world anyway.

The set looked great as Playground, and looked great again in its Rugrats reimagination.

Animated kitchen, a refrigerator, oven, telephone, and cabinets.

Gameplay

The Escape Game’s Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

This was a puzzle- and search-heavy game that demanded teamwork. Its largely non-linear structure would make it great for larger groups.

Refrigerator magnet of "Reptar on Ice."

Analysis

➕ Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys nailed a story and gameplay that worked for its target audience. For Rugrats fans, it did the characters and show justice, with impressive nostalgia vibes. For those unfamiliar with the show, it was a playful set with fun puzzles, accessible for adults and families.

➕ The Escape Game did Rugrats right with a focused storyline that incorporated “escape” but stayed true to the source material. The intro and outro animations were fantastic.

➕ While the set was a reskinned Playground with an identical physical footprint, it looked and played like a new game. Although the most physical gameplay remained, in full or in part, those were some of the most fun and engaging moments in Playground, and we were thrilled by their reappearance. The puzzles were almost entirely new.

➖ Due to the limitations of building on top of the Playground set, in the first act there was only so much we could interact with. We wished more of this set could have been able to be incorporated into the early gameplay.

➖ There was an opportunity to enhance a solo moment so that more teammates could be part of the solve… and appreciate the depth of the source material within this game.

❓ The non-linear gameplay makes Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys a great choice for a larger group.

➕ As we played we tracked our progress through a bright, interactive dashboard that was visible wherever you were in the set. Even with large teams where multiple players are solving different puzzles simultaneously, everyone can track the team’s progress.

➕ The opening sequence was delightful and transitioned well into the main gameplay. The concluding puzzle was similarly well connected, and collected loose ends.

Tips For Visiting

  • In King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, park near DICK’S Sporting Goods. The Escape Game has its own dedicated entrance from the parking lot, next to Yard House.
  • This game is also available in Las Vegas or with an online remote version (review).

Book your hour with The Escape Game’s Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: The Escape Game comped our tickets for this game.

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