Maze Rooms – Tombstone [Review]

Shoot out

Location:  West Los Angeles, CA

Date Played: March 5, 2022

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

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $49.50 per player for teams of 2, $37 per player for teams of 3+

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Tombstone was a solid escape game set in an unusual environment, a wild west town at night.

I’ll shoot you straight. The reason to play this particular escape game are a couple of really cool cut-scene moments. Be cautioned, however, because they are both “blink and you missed them” scenes. So please call out your solves to your teammates.

Bird Cage Theatre facade

Beyond these key scenes, Tombstone is a good game, but unremarkable. And as for the wild west town… I found myself wishing that we could see inside of more of the businesses on the street.

Tombstone is in the same Maze Rooms location as Whatever Happened To The Garretts, and in my opinion, that’s the stronger of the pair. If you’re already visiting for Whatever Happened To The Garretts… tacking on Tombstone ain’t a bad idea. There certainly were puzzles worth solving in this wild west town.

Who is this for?

  • Puzzle lovers
  • Western fans
  • Any experience level
  • Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

  • Nifty wild west town set
  • A couple of fantastic cut-scene moments
  • Solid puzzle play

Story

It was 1881 and Wyatt Earp, his two brothers, and Doc Holliday had just gunned down most of our gang at the OK Corral. Those that they didn’t gun down had been taken to jail and would have a date with the gallows in the morning, unless we could pull off a jailbreak and ride off into the sunset.

Facade of an old western jail. The door is padlocked shut.

Setting

Tombstone was set in a wild west town at night. We could walk the streets and enter some of the establishments.

It was a good-looking game world, elevated by a few dramatic cut-scene effects that were truly memorable.

An old west town at night.

Gameplay

Maze Rooms’ Tombstone was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

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

OK Corral sign hung from a barn.

Analysis

➕ Stepping out into this town at night was surreal. The set felt much bigger than it actually was.

➖ That said, we wished that the businesses we couldn’t enter seemed less interesting. We really wanted to see the inside of them all.

➕ One scene shattered our expectations… in the best of ways. We adored this moment.

➕/❓ There were some meaty puzzles in this one, including a legitimate math puzzle. We enjoyed these solves. Your mileage may vary.

➖ We struggled with dim lighting in some of the sets.

➕/➖ The clue structure generally linked props well and the gameplay flowed. With one interaction, however, the props suggested that we didn’t have the authority to use them.

➕ /➖ The climax delivered. Tombstone went out with a bang. Mission accomplished… except, we were left without our own dramatic exit.

Tips For Visiting

  • There is a parking lot.
  • This game is located at Maze Rooms’ Santa Monica Blvd location in West Los Angeles.

Book your hour with Maze Rooms’ Tombstone, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Maze Rooms provided media discounted tickets for this game.

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