Pandora’s Box is one of the best escape rooms in Las Vegas. Here are our recommendations for other great escape rooms in Las Vegas.
Curiosity rewarded
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Date Played: November 28, 2021
Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-3
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $45 per player for 2 players to $39 per player for 6 players
Ticketing: Private
Accessibility Consideration: Crawling (at least 1 player)
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
Pandora’s Box (quite literally) blew us away with a wide range of special effects and a showstopper central set piece. This was a fantastic experience — especially for smaller teams — and it was without a doubt a must-play within the local Las Vegas market.
Thematically, this room felt like a crossover between Greek mythology, Indiana Jones, and the large puzzle boxes from The Room (the video game, not the terrible film). While a tad jarring at first, this stylistic juxtaposition was consistently implemented and made for an exciting adventure.
Pandora’s Box took place in a fairly small space, but some clever game mechanics repeatedly transformed the atmosphere. With a beautifully designed and fabricated Pandora’s Box in the center of the room, our time was largely focused on interacting with the many details on this prop. Targeted spotlights directed our attention as needed on the box’s faces and around the room.
This game was fully linear and contained a few puzzle types that may mildly frustrate certain players. The narrative felt a bit fuzzy by the ending, and ultimately I found this to be more of an adventure-driven than story-driven experience, despite some strong story elements in certain moments of the game.
Pandora’s Box was one of the most immersive escape room offerings in Las Vegas, and it’s well worth a play if you’re in the area.
Who is this for?
- Puzzle lovers
- Adventure seekers
- Scenery snobs
- Any experience level
- Small teams
Why Play?
- To play with a giant puzzle box
- The experience of the effects
Story
Archeologist Max Fortune had recovered Pandora’s Box on one of his expeditions. While he was away, he sent us to determine what powers were contained within Pandora’s Box before his rival arrived to take it away.
Setting
Pandora’s Box was set in a rustic room filled with boxes. Even the room itself felt almost like a giant crate. In the center of the room was the largest box of all, covered in a white tarp.
Gameplay
Trapped! Escape Room Las Vegas’ Pandora’s Box was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay centered around solving puzzles and making connections. The majority of the gameplay was rooted in a single central set piece. Lighting was used strategically to indicate which areas of the room were “active” during any given point in the game.
Analysis
➕ Pandora’s Box was a game focused around — you guessed it — Pandora’s Box. Designed in the style of an Indiana Jones artifact, this large set piece did not disappoint.
➖ However, a few inputs on the box felt visually out of place.
➕ The game had an easy-to-follow and enjoyable structure. In each stage, the puzzles and special effects strongly supported the theme of that stage.
➕ Our game host was a meaningful character in the experience and was a lot of fun to interact with.
➕ A range of elemental special effects provided nonstop sensory immersion, including some hot new design elements.
➖ Certain special effects had the potential to overstay their welcome in the way they were implemented, especially for teams that take a bit longer to solve any given puzzle.
➖ Upon further reflection, one puzzle had two equally viable solutions.
➕/➖ An old-school communication system was appropriate for the setting. It was neat to receive messages this way, though I wanted to see this channel provide clearer story beats.
➕ An unexpected reveal caught us totally by surprise. It looked like it was from another world, but it totally belonged.
➕ Pandora’s Box had a thoughtful approach to “bonus puzzle” content, which might be better described as dynamic content addition. Depending on our performance throughout the game, we were seamlessly given a few extra puzzles that blended right into the core gameplay.
❓The gameplay in Pandora’s Box was fully sequential and worked best for smaller teams. There were multiple moments where only 1-2 players could actively interact with the game, though a third or fourth player still helped with verbal guidance.
❓ A few video game-esque mini puzzles felt like a departure from Trapped!’s usual puzzle design style. While implemented very well for what they were, I suspect many players might solve these puzzles through trial-and-error rather than logic, but either way, all levels of expertise will get the satisfaction of the solve.
Tips For Visiting
- There was a parking lot.
- The Las Vegas Pandora’s Box is nearly identical to the other copy of this game at the Trapped! Escape Room location in San Dimas, CA.
Book your hour with Trapped! Escape Room’s Pandora’s Box, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Trapped! Escape Room comped our tickets for this game.
