Team size: 7-25; we recommend as many players as you can gather
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $30 per ticket, $5 discounts for students, seniors, and veterans, or parties of 15 players or more
REA Reaction
The Floor is Lava was not an escape room at all. It was a human-scale social deduction game that happened to be at an escape room facility. It was massive and fun. The set was fantastic. I wish that it weren’t on the other side of the continent.
Who is this for?
Social deduction game players, think Werewolf or Mafia
People who can handle winning and losing like an adult
Any experience level
Why play?
It was a gigantic board game where humans were pieces
Skill-based gameplay where we could build mastery
The set
Story
The Floor is Lava was not an escape room. It was a social deduction game like Mafia, Werewolf, or Two Rooms & A Boom. The gamemaster secretly and randomly divided the group into two teams and assigned each player a special power. Then we chose our places on the islands. Falling off… or being “encouraged” off an island meant death… because the floor was lava.
Setting
The Floor is Lava was set within a volcano. There were islands (yoga mats) connected by illuminated paths that were safe to traverse. Everything else on the floor was – you guessed it – lava (shredded tire rubber).
Gameplay
The rules of The Floor is Lava were simple to learn and clearly explained in this video narrated by an amazing George Takei impersonator:
In a nutshell, as we entered the gamespace we reached our hands into a bag and each player removed on orange chip.
One side of the chip had a red or black dot on it. That indicated our team. The other side showed a special power that we could use for that round of the game.
More powers with increasingly complex and nuanced mechanics were introduced with each subsequent round. Two of the starter powers included:
“Phoenix” allowed the bearer of the power to immediately reenter the game after being killed one time in a round.
“Vindictive” allowed the bearer of the power to name any other player to die too, upon the bearer’s death .
The gameplay was simple. If I was standing on an island with another player I could ask to share my chip with them. We could:
Share team
Share power
Share all
Once a duo committed to a share, there was no backing out.
“Combat” within The Floor is Lava took the form of hip-checking. We could not use our arms, but we could bump other players off of an island with our hips.
If we touched the floor at any point in the game for any reason, we were out… because the floor was lava.
Once out, dead players could impact the game by voting to send dead players back in and by voting to sink or surface islands.
Standouts
Everyone had a ton of fun. Whether a player was introverted or extroverted, passive or confrontational, The Floor is Lava was entertaining.
The set was incredible. It glowed. It was gorgeous.
The set was also comfortable on our unshod feet. Puzzalarium constructed yoga-mat islands and tire-rubber lava. We could balance, jump, or fall without injury. We never had to worry while strategizing gameplay.
In each round, we each drew a power and a team. The powers were awesome. They balanced each other. They also forced us to continually change our own gameplay strategy. There were some seriously entertaining powers.
Puzzalarium introduced The Floor is Lava through an entertaining and informative video. From there, our gamemaster added more complexity with each round. The Floor is Lava could quickly become overly complex, with so many different “powers” available (at random) to the players. Puzzalarium’s smooth onboarding enabled us to just get a handle on things before they threw another wrench into our strategizing.
The Floor is Lava was replayable. In fact, I’d imagine the more you play, the more fun it could be. I would absolutely love to play it again with an experienced, competitive group. I imagine that the dynamics would change dramatically with a group where everyone fully understood the game from the get-go.
When we died, we could watch the game on a screen in another room and take actions that affected gameplay.
Shortcomings
While we did get to participate after death, players who died early struggled to be relevant and engaged.
The hip checking game mechanic meant that size was a huge advantage in the The Floor is Lava. Our group included some small women, a few big guys, and a lot of folks in between. To a large extent, size determined strategy. In some cases, it meant avoiding confrontation with the big guys.
It was hard to notice when an island was sinking. We would have liked more dramatic lighting or sound cues for that. It wasn’t fun to die on a sinking island, never having realized that we were in danger.
Due to the learning curve of rules, strategy, and tactics, the pacing was uneven. As an inexperienced group of players, most of the excitement didn’t unfold until the third and final round. Earlier rounds felt a little sluggish. I expect this would change with a more experienced group.
Tips for Visiting
People will see your socks.
Wear comfortable clothing.
It’s a light contact game.
If you have a group of serious gamers, think about booking a double session.
Price: $29 per ticket public booking, $34 per ticket private booking
REA Reaction
Boss-Play Escape Rooms’ homage to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory was an awesome, family-friendly puzzle game.
The Chocolate Factory had a whimsical set and interactive puzzles referencing key moments of the film. While homemade and at times messy, it turned one of my favorite movies into a charming and playfully escape room.
Who is this for?
Puzzle lovers
Willy Wonka fans
Sugar addicts
Oompa Loompas
Families
Any experience level
Why play?
Nostalgia
Movie call-backs
Interactive puzzles
A bright and playful environment
Story
With coveted golden tickets in our hands, we approached the mysterious factory of a hermitic candy maker. Prior to our entry, a rival candyman had offered us a reward to steal a secret recipe while touring the famous facility.
Setting
We entered a candy land… with oversized lollypops as landscaping in front of a chocolate river. Brightly colored pipes traversed the set to give the place a factory vibe.
Gameplay
The Chocolate Factory was created in the image of the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The puzzles, set and gameplay all pulled from the classic film.
The puzzles traversed the larger props and set pieces, requiring us to touch, position, and manipulate these items. The puzzling was hands-on and interactive.
Standouts
Knowledge of the source material made The Chocolate Factory both predictable and unexpected.
Boss-Play Escape Rooms’ take on that familiar but imaginary space was seriously entertaining. We especially enjoyed the final puzzle sequence and the resulting recreated “magical” effect. Half of the fun was seeing how they would achieve something that we knew was coming.
Boss-Play Escape Rooms surprised us with an innovative transition that threw us for a loop.
The mechanical puzzles in The Chocolate Factory were entertaining to play with and satisfying to solve.
Boss-Play Escape Rooms focused on the details that delivered the magical and playful aesthetic. This especially came through in the larger, deliberately designed and handmade set pieces.
Shortcomings
At times the handmade aesthetic looked too unpolished. That river of chocolate… Let’s just say that it looked more like Augustus Gloop had already digested it.
Boss-Play Escape Rooms could cut some paper from the escape room and better integrate instructions into the set itself.
One set key piece was needlessly messy and distracting to rummage through.
One sour note was a puzzle clued such that we misinterpreted the task as far more challenging than it really was. Not realizing we’d already solved it, we continued to spend an inordinate amount of time on it.
Gameplay stopped at a crucial transition for an experiential interlude. This was an uncomfortable and slow part of the game and the movie it was riffing off of. (Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.) We felt this whole sequence needed substantial editing as we stood there feeling the time tick off of the clock.
Tips for Visiting
Boss-Play Escape Rooms is located upstairs, in a plaza with plenty of parking.
There are plenty of dining options near Boss-Play Escape Rooms.
We did not have to consume any candy in this escape room, but candy was available and appreciated.
For peanut allergy sufferers, this escape room was nut-free.
Price: $40 per ticket for 2 players, $33 for 3-4, $30 for 5-6, $28 for 7-8
REA Reaction
The Diner would be a solid entry into escape rooms. We appreciated its retro charm and puzzle flow.
The Diner combined pretty standard gameplay with puzzle depth and a few more unexpected interactions, all as part of an adorable 1950s restaurant set. While we would have preferred a more dynamic final puzzle, we appreciated how the gameplay moved the narrative.
Who is this for?
Puzzle lovers
Any experience level
Why play?
50s diner aesthetic
Themed puzzles
Being the bad guy
Story
We thought that we had escaped our lives of crime, but an accidental run-in with our former mob employers dragged us back in. The job: rob a diner. We weren’t sure why were hitting a diner, but we were told that if we could get away with it, we’d be free from our commitments to the Family.
Setting
From the bright walls with celebrity photos to the checkered floor and vinyl seating, Quicksand Escape Games captured the classic diner look.
Gameplay
The Diner was a straightforward, cleanly executed, low tech escape room.
We puzzled through the various diner props and decor. These were primarily layered puzzles that led to locks. The Diner included a few exciting and less straightforward interactions.
Standouts
The Diner looked and felt the part. From the vinyl to the wall decorations, the set was on point. Even the menu pricing was era appropriate… inflation is crazy.
Quicksand Escape Games worked the most exciting diner props into the puzzles. We felt resourceful using one diner prop to puzzle advantageously.
One sweet moment involved a small prop that clearly clued a well-hidden and exciting interaction.
At the onset of the escape room, the story seemed downright silly. It all came together, however, as we shifted the narrative by solving the puzzles. It worked well.
The puzzles flowed well and achieved opens. While most solutions led to a lock, it never felt like there were too many locks.
Shortcomings
While locks and puzzles generally connected well, we still solved for a lot of 4-digit numbers. The gameplay would have been more intriguing with more variation of solution types.
The later act of The Diner consisted primarily of a process puzzle. Once we knew how to attack this, working it killed a lot of that scene’s drama.
Although The Diner built towards a dramatic conclusion, the excitement petered out. The final puzzle was anticlimactic.
Tips for Visiting
Quicksand Escape Games was located in a neighborhood that looked exactly how I had always imagined San Diego.
Bring quarters for street parking.
There were plenty of restaurants and other shops around Quicksand Escape Games.
Book your hour with Quicksand Escape Games’ The Diner, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Price: $30 per ticket, minimum purchase of 4 tickets
REA Reaction
This was an escape room for enthusiasts by an enthusiast. We had a ton of fun.
The Unlockables chose the right theme to build up their escape room knowhow: the homemade, hacked-together construction, combined with a dramatic opening, large gamespace, and puzzle-driven gameplay, fostered the adrenaline and urgency of a serial killer escape. While the gameplay in The Escape didn’t quite evolve enough to support the narrative shift, this didn’t dampen the energy or excitement of the experience.
Who is this for?
Players with a least some experience
Adventure seekers
Puzzle lovers
Horror fans
Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
Players who are not claustrophobic
Why play?
Dramatic opening sequence
Intensity
Hacked-together serial killer vibe
Fun puzzles
Story
While attending a lavish Southern California party, we were invited to the VIP area. Tragically there was no VIP area. We were kidnapped, blindfolded, handcuffed, and locked in a grim place.
Setting
The Escape felt like a serial killer’s warehouse. The space was unadorned, hacked-together, foreboding, and just a bit creepy. As we opened up more of the gamespace, it felt more homey, but not comfortably cozy.
Gameplay
Incorporating both solo and collaborative puzzling through non-linear gameplay across a large gamespace, The Escape hinged on successful communication.
The Unlockables built some puzzles into the physical gamespace and they’ve worked to convert their more paper-based, layered puzzles into larger, more interactive challenges. The effort showed and was well worth it.
Standouts
From the first moments, The Escape built up adrenaline. We don’t see many escape rooms where blindfolds make sense. In The Escape they were both necessary and handled well. The blindfolds added intensity to the opening puzzle sequence and set the tone for this kidnapping escape.
The Escape balanced individual thinking with collaborative puzzling. The time and space allotted to these different types of challenges were deliberate and logical throughout.
The puzzles in The Escape flowed well.
The Unlockables created a space that continually instilled an urgency of escape. As it became familiar, it never felt fully discovered or comfortable.
The Unlockables had complete control over the technology in The Escape. When one interaction malfunctioned during our playthough, they manually overrode their system and triggered it to occur differently. We never knew they’d had a problem.
Shortcomings
The Escape had a hacked together feel. While this unpolished look generally worked for the scenario, it didn’t function seamlessly. The Escape suffered from wear on their less sturdy construction.
The Escape included a number of paper-style puzzles. While The Unlockables had made strides to remove paper or better integrate their puzzles into the set, they still had a ways to go. Particularly for this adventure-style escape room, we’d love to seem them continue to shift toward more physically interactive challenges.
One puzzle suffered from reliance on color perception in low lighting.
When the straightforward narrative shifted dramatically later in the escape room, it felt forced. The Escape couldn’t support its narrative arc. To achieve this, The Unlockables would have to shift the late-game aesthetic and gameplay from what had come before.
Tips for Visiting
The opening sequence varied considerably for each player on the team. Some players will have more challenging beginnings than others.
Note that The Escape involved some crawling, small spaces, low lighting, and color perception. The Unlockables made this abundantly clear on their website. Contact them if you have any concerns about booking.
The Unlockables is located upstairs, in a plaza with plenty of parking.
