Room Escape Artist

The Mad Rapper is one of the best games in Anaheim, CA. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms in the Anaheim area.

I got my mind on my puzzles and my puzzles on my mind.

Location:  Brea, CA

Date Played: March 5, 2022

Team size: 2-8; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $35 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: There are toy guns in this game.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Peih-Gee Law, my lovely podcast co-host, regularly says how much she wishes that there were more escape rooms with an urban appeal. The risk that’s associated with that is that someone does it poorly… or in a way that feels disconnected or dishonest. That was not the case in The Mad Rapper.

Scenario Escape Room made a hip hop themed escape room that felt authentic and uniquely Los Angeles.

The Mad Rapper was a classic-style escape room done right. What stood out most to me in the gameplay was the variety of challenge types. There was a lot to take in and do, but it was all approachable and creatively produced.

It’s exciting to find an escape game that has a unique story and feels like it was crafted with love. There wasn’t anything mind-blowing in the The Mad Rapper, but it all felt great. I wholeheartedly recommend checking out The Mad Rapper if you’re in the area and seeking a classic game built around a different concept. I truly enjoyed it.

On a more personal note, it was a rare pleasure for me to find a grill in an escape room…

My brother designs 🤯 grillz for a living (and to clarify, no part of this a joke)… and seeing a grill in an escape room made me smile.

Who is this for?

• Old school hip hop fans
• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Unusual and compelling theme/ story
• Strong and varied puzzles and challenges

Story

The artist known only as “The Mad Rapper” had become the biggest name in the game. He’d opened auditions looking for new talent, but dealings with The Mad Rapper carried risk and consequences.

Setting

The music studio setting of The Mad Rapper was elegantly built around musical props.

Scenario Escape Room used authentic instruments, a soundtrack, and original street art to add an element of authenticity to the game world.

Gameplay

Scenario Escape Room’s The Mad Rapper was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

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

Analysis

➕ The Mad Rapper was all about theme and vibe. We loved the graffiti-style artwork and original soundtrack. The props belonged. It felt like an authentic representation of the Los Angeles street art culture, accessible to both insiders and outsiders.

➕ The first act revolved around music. Its culminating layered puzzle was perfectly in tune. It was a truly satisfying ensemble solve.

➕ Note, you don’t need to know anything about music to solve puzzles in The Mad Rapper. Furthermore, players with musical knowledge will not be hampered by this. The game worked with music and not against it.

➕ Scenario Escape created all sorts of teamwork puzzles. These were well balanced – sometimes literally – for collaborative solving.

➖ One tangible puzzle didn’t feel quite right. We didn’t understand why it was set up as it was. We thought maybe it showed hints of an earlier design that didn’t pan out. It was a strange interaction.

➕ Although we encountered many padlocks in The Mad Rapper, they felt at home in this space. They were well mapped such that an extra layer of puzzle flowed smoothly into a series of rapid-fire padlock opens.

➖ A late-game search shed new light on this set… but not in a good way. It just looked messy. There is opportunity to redesign this segment through an artistic lens, and in a way that builds gameplay momentum.

➖ Scenario Escape inadvertently undercut an exciting finale with an exceedingly slow final reveal. Especially coming off the high of the final puzzle in the game, this presentation dragged.

➕ The gameplay flowed well and drove the narrative forward. This was an unusual escape room scenario, and Scenario Escape delivered on this fiction.

➕ The intro video was a ton of fun.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with Scenario Escape Room’s The Mad Rapper, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Scenario Escape Room provided media discounted tickets for this game.