Room Escape Artist

Mogollon Monster is one of the best escape rooms in Phoenix. Here are our other escape room recommendations for the Phoenix area.

CAW!

Location: Phoenix, AZ

Date Played: March 11, 2022

Team size: 4-8; we recommend 4-5

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $35 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: There is a portion of the game that shakes.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Nemesis Club is a special place: an escape room speakeasy set behind a phenomenal milkshake shop. It was surreal seeing tons of people buying milkshakes and legitimately having no idea that there was a world class escape room company hidden in the back.

Mogollon Monster itself was a grand adventure built around capturing an Arizona Bigfoot. Set in a Monster Rangers’ campsite, this narrative adventure was structured around tracking, baiting, and capturing a photo of the monster.

Mogollon Monster was exciting and hilarious, with layers of jokes, some of which were deep cuts that you’d have to have some background in scouting to appreciate. I’m a former Eagle Scout, and there were a number of points where I dropped out of playing the game and just dug into the props and materials because they were so delightful and rich.

Finally, the finale of Mogollon Monster was genius; it felt like we were on a ride.

The Nemesis Club is a world class escape room company, and I am completely confident that we will be seeing amazing things from them long into the future. I cannot wait to play more of their work.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Cryptid fans
• People with a connection to scouting will get something extra from this game
• Best for players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• It’s really funny
• Clever storytelling
• Incredible set design
• Brilliant interactions
• Challenging puzzles
• Nemesis Club’s ambiance
• Milkshakes

Story

Our Monster Rangers group (which is an actual group that exists in a delightfully strange realm between scouting parody, art project, and sincere group of people) set off on an adventure to track and document the existence of the Mogollon Monster (an Arizona Bigfoot).

Setting

Our camping adventure began late at night in our tent, and then extended into a truly compelling nighttime campsite scene.

It isn’t easy to make an artificial outdoor environment feel real, and, oh my, did Nemesis Club succeed. Additionally, the detailed props and materials throughout the game felt overwhelmingly true to scouting in a way that was both honest and funny.

Finally, the practical effects in Mogollon Monster were incredible, and sold the fiction of their world in was that few escape room companies can.

Gameplay

The Nemesis Club’s Mogollon Monster was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, puzzling, and understanding our mission.

Analysis

➕ Our gamemaster ushered us into our tent, and sold the fiction. The fun and detailed opening sequence brought the adventure to life.

➕ Every detail mattered. Important information was hidden in plain sight. We trusted the game to provide the requisite clue structure, and it always did.

➕ With dim lighting (puzzles lit by spotlight and our lanterns) and a strong soundtrack, the The Nemesis Club sold the campsite ambiance.

➕ The plot was ridiculous, but it also made complete sense. Everything from baking to recording was utterly absurd, and entirely logical. That’s what made it so much fun.

➕ There were scouting references throughout that were hilarious. It demonstrated how much thought was put into this world.

➖ The weakest puzzle sequence was amplified by being “lock for lock” where opening one lock revealed another lock, with no real reward. Granted, we missed the cluing for this sequence (search fail) but the solve felt more arbitrary than the other puzzles, which were generally well integrated into the story.

➕ Mogollon Monster escalated fantastically. The final boss battle was intense, hilarious, and exciting.

Tips For Visiting

• There is street parking in front.
• The milkshakes are worth it.

Book your hour with The Nemesis Club’s Mogollon Monster, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: The Nemesis Club comped our tickets for this game.