Room Escape Artist

The Candy Machine

Location:  Oakland, California

Date Played: February 16, 2025

Team size: 4-10; we recommend 4-5

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: from $48 per player for teams of 2 to $36 per player for teams of 10

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  None that we’re aware of

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

With a brightly colored, vibrant environment themed around sugar… our energy levels spiked the moment we entered Candy Factory.

Candy Factory offered a range of puzzles – from observing like things, to communicating information, to more layered transformations. Our favorite interactions involved the larger set pieces, which could be opened, spun, or otherwise manipulated.

In a few instances, the puzzles weren’t cleanly clued. We also struggled with a prop that felt out of place in the designed game world, making it hard to see the connection.

Those moments aside, Candy Factory was a high energy game with excellent puzzle flow and a couple of exciting moments.

The Bay Area is known for its lengthy, technologically impressive, puzzle-dense games. However, if you’re in the area, and looking for a more approachable (and more affordable) 60-minute puzzling experience, Candy Factory is an excellent choice.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Willy Wonka fans
• Best for players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• A bright, welcoming, and playful setting
• Plenty of puzzle content
• Some cool interactions

Story

Eccentric candy mogul Sir Ripple Sugarton had selected our group to compete for one of his candy factories in Sugarton’s Ultimate Candy Factory Challenge. We entered his colorful world to see if we could solve his highly caloric conundrums.

Setting

Candy Factory had us exploring a candy colored world filled with candy versions of common objects. The set really infused the game with a quirky personality.

Clearly the makers of this game had a vinyl printer that put in a lot of work. While a lot of the set felt flat to the touch, at least with some distance, it felt remarkably vibrant. I’d take this style of design over blank walls anyday.

Gameplay

Clockwise Escape Room’s Candy Factory was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

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

Analysis

➕ The brightly colored set was immediately captivating. While it wasn’t a complex build, it was thematic, and every inch of the space was designed. The result was a set that felt like more than the sum of its parts, and upped the energy to the experience.

➕ Clockwise Escape Room built a lot of cute set pieces that added flavor to the experience. Interesting props did interesting things. The hottest prop did not let us down.

➕ Candy Factory had fun, interactive inputs, such as levers and wheels. The custom 3D printing also elevated more traditional inputs.

➖ Some of the puzzles were under-clued and uninteresting. In these instances we were finding information and somehow translating it into an unrelated lock.

➕ That said, for the most part, the puzzles made sense and solved cleanly. We appreciated that Candy Factory provided feedback for correct solves.

➖ Some of the cluing for one puzzle smelled a little bit off.

➖ One clue was printed on laminated paper, which felt out of place in this otherwise well-themed and constructed world.

➕ /➖ We received a lot of information before it was relevant. However, it was generally clear when we were lacking information, so the game flowed pretty smoothly. Still, there was opportunity to further clarify what was in play, for instance, by making it clear when a mechanism wasn’t yet switched on.

➕ We had a ball when a late-game solve surprised us with how it delivered the next challenge.

Tips For Visiting

• They are located right outside of the 19th St BART station. There is a parking garage on the other side of the block and metered street parking in front of the building.
• ℹ️ The games at Clockwise Escape Room were created by Giant Dream Productions. Traveling players take note that it’s possible to have played these games elsewhere with different names.

Book your hour with Clockwise Escape Room’s Candy Factory, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

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