Room Escape Artist

Saddled with debt

Location: Charrat, Switzerland

Date Played: August 14, 2025

Team Size: 2-8; we recommend 3-5. There are 2 identical copies of the game, so technically up to 16 players can play West City at once.

Duration: 90 minutes

Price:  240 CHF per team for up to 6 players, 40 CHF for each additional player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: All players must climb and crawl

Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit

Physical Restraints: [B] Mechanical Release

https://youtube.com/shorts/d_P_FfrPmBY

REA Reaction

There’s a particular irony in traveling all the way from the United States to Switzerland, only to immerse oneself back in the American Wild West. But in true Swiss fashion, this interpretation of an internationally iconic film genre was meticulously conceived and expertly constructed.

West City lived up to its name: it was a proper town. Trapgame pulled off something of a magic trick in their design of the space, utilizing multiple levels and an intricate network of smallish spaces to make the world feel even more expansive than it actually was. Upon asking about the square meterage after the game, one of my teammates was shocked to realize it was roughly the same as their modest apartment.

But the brilliance of West City did not end with the set. This experience centered us in a classic Western saga that was exhilarating in its clarity. Every puzzle, character interaction, and bit of physical exploration actively advanced the mission at hand. The gameplay didn’t try to break the rules, yet it also reflected a deep understanding of how escape room players like to play and what makes for elegant, enjoyable puzzles.

While playing 5 of Trapgame’s escape rooms, in the order they’d been designed, my team repeatedly questioned, “wait, it somehow gets better than this?” — and indeed, the quality and innovation somehow continued to build and build. While Antenna Palace is arguably Trapgame’s crown jewel, my team was actually split on whether we preferred Antenna Palace or West City. While Antenna Palace presents a scenario that’s more overtly unique, I found that in many senses, West City was actually an even more cohesive and polished experience. It took a relatively common escape room theme and elevated it with skill, ambition, and an incredible attention to detail.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Aspiring cowboys, or aspiring thieves
• Best for players with at least some experience

Why play?

• Full immersion in a beautifully constructed town
• Good old-fashioned puzzlin’

Story

We rode into West City to pull off the bank heist of a lifetime, but sometimes the best laid plans go astray.

Setting

West City took place in an expansive Wild Western town. Across multiple buildings and multiple floors, the set felt like something straight out of a 1950s Western film.

Gameplay

Trapgame’s West City was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around solving puzzles, communicating, and making connections.

Analysis

➕ The world of West City was remarkable. Trapgame efficiently used space and height, transforming a medium-sized footprint into something that felt humongous. As we navigated and re-navigated a labyrinth of cleverly subdivided environments, we also got peeks into future spaces that helped to make the space feel even more interconnected and expansive.

➕ The opening scene was effective in introducing story, characters, and tone, all before we ever encountered our first puzzle. A thematic entrance into the Wild West also provided a clever alternative to standard escape room lockers for our personal belongings.

➖ While the majority of the set was dimensional and tactile, a painted surface intended to extend the scene looked nice but broke the immersion.

➕ West City took advantage of a range of characters to advance both gameplay and story. The game’s design set our actor up for success, and she interpreted her roles brilliantly.

➕ An in-game photo op was creatively justified within the story, and by layering on meaning throughout the experience, it thus became an even more meaningful souvenir afterwards.

➕ The gameplay was fun, tactile, clearly clued, and well situated. It required constant communication across our team, guiding us to explore the world with organic curiosity.

➕ Callbacks to early segments established an internal logic within the world of West City and helped make the gameplay feel more connected.

➕ West City ended with a bang. This final scene elegantly tied together both puzzles and story, utilizing the full layout of the space in an interesting way.

Tips For Visiting

• Trapgame offers special discounts when booking multiple games, specifically tailored to traveling escape room enthusiasts.
• There are two identical copies of West City that are directly adjacent to each other. While there’s currently no interaction between these duplicate worlds, this setup balances creative and business considerations and enables even higher throughput for this experience.
• There was a parking lot (with an absurdly beautiful view!)
• West City was formerly named West City Prison.

Book your session with Trapgame’s West City, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.