Room Escape Artist

Try blowing on it?

Location:  San Diego, CA

Date Played: October 28, 2023

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

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $35 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  There are stairs up to the escape room company location.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

We’ve played at lot of cabin-themed escape rooms… but rather than the classic horror movie staging we’ve come to expect, this one was an ode to the 90s. Play The Family Cabin for 60 minutes of 90s nostalgia.

The premise of this escape room was ridiculous, and we loved how the intro video set up our mission.

The first act flowed smoothly with the exception of one unreliable interaction that froze us in our tracks. The second act was bumpier. While we enjoyed how the puzzles were built into thematic props, the gameplay lacked signposting, and at times we couldn’t intuit where to focus our attention.

If you’re looking for a collection of puzzles built into the the toys of your childhood (if you grew up in the 90s, or someone else’s childhood, if you didn’t), and an amusing premise, check this one out on your next trip to San Diego.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Children or teens of the 90s
• Any experience level

Why play?

• 90s nostalgia
• It’s not your typical “cabin” theme setup

Story

A copy of the game we’d played as kids, back at the family cabin, had sold for nearly a Bitcoin! Now all the cousins were racing back to the family cabin to find our copy and get rich. We needed to find it first.

Setting

We began outside the cabin, in a wintery scene. We worked our way inside, right into our 90s memories, from the music to the games and toys.

Gameplay

Quicksand Escape Games’ The Family Cabin was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and solving puzzles.

Analysis

➕ What a fun premise for an escape room! It was charming, funny, and not at all your run of the mill horror cabin game.

➕ The intro video was hilarious. We were totally sold on the mission.

➖ One early puzzle concept was on thin ice. While we appreciated that our gamemaster had a thematic prop ready when they needed to step in to help, it was also clear that the issue we encountered happens a lot. The puzzle didn’t work properly, and also didn’t give feedback into what wasn’t right.

➕/➖ The puzzles were thematic – and the theme was fun – but they were pretty random. The puzzles didn’t connect to the story in any way.

➕ We enjoyed the 90s nostalgia, which was central to many of the puzzles. We didn’t need to know any trivia, and puzzles were clued within the game, but those who remember the 90s will delight in some of these solves, and have a leg up.

➖ The second half of the game lacked signposting. It felt open, as if we could be solving multiple puzzles at once. However, it was mostly linear. We stalled when we couldn’t find the thread of gameplay. There was opportunity for more clue structure to guide players to what was available to solve.

➕/➖ We enjoyed the finale puzzle, which led to an adorable ending reveal. However, given how it was built into the room, had we played with a larger group, not everyone would have been able to participate or even see the culmination of our efforts.

Tips For Visiting

• Parking: There is street parking.

Book your hour with Quicksand Escape Games’ The Family Cabin, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Quicksand Escape Games comped our tickets for this game.