Escape Room Reviews: The Lair

Company: Escapedom
Room: The Lair
Date Played: 11/12/17
Player Count: 2, but maybe we needed more.
Success:  Failure!

Premise: You’re on the trail of a serial killer called The Dollmaker. Naturally, his hideout is just full of crazy puzzles. 

Immersion: This is one of those rooms that are almost escape room themed. It doesn’t look like much of anything, but it’s full of props and contraptions standing between you and victory.

Highlights: Some novel object interactions. Those moments when you see how something is going to work and you know it’s going to be a good time turning the crank to make it all happen. Great customer service!

Lowlights: We probably didn’t bring enough people to this one. There was more than one part where we were presented with a large task that could be done in parallel, if only we had more eyes and brains available to process it. Also, the part where time ran out before we finished the game.

And Finally:  This is a room with a lot of search, which is sometimes our downfall but in this case wasn’t much of a problem. While this room does not look cheap, it trades high-end fancy design for innovative puzzles and a fair amount of process-oriented solving. I hope to go play their other room one day. Out of 37 games played, I’m ranking this one at 14.

How to book this room yourself: Visit https://www.escapedom.com/booking

#2,401: Thor: Ragnarok

Happy Death Day - ★★★★☆
Hands down my favorite Blumhouse movie. I was suspicious of another teens + Groundhog Day movie, but ended up totally on board. As a bonus, I’m pretty sure the twists and turns and whodunnits actually DO hang together. It gets so much right that Before I Fall totally wiped out on, and unlike most Blumhouse movies, it resolves the story at the end!

Avengers: Age of Ultron - ★★★☆☆
Just a quick rewatch in eager anticipation of Infinity War. That party scene at the beginning is the kind of scene X-Men fans love to read and will probably never get in film form. Turned it off before the lights-and-noise conclusion.

Thor: Ragnarok - ★★★★☆
This installment feels like it takes place in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy universe as much as the MCU.
• The music’s great.
• Infinite swords is a silly power.
• I kind of felt bad for Karl Urban.
• Even though it’s been revealed since the first teaser trailer, the script totally thinks that it’s going to surprise you with the Hulk.
• How amazing is it that anyone has managed to make a Hulk that is a highlight of every movie he appears in?
• Korg was like a spiteful proof of concept of how The Thing could work on screen.

Not Art Issue 4 on Newsstands Now!

Well, not exactly newsstands, but you can find copies at The Pack Theater and Clubhouse in Los Angeles, or anywhere you run into me from now until the next issue is ready, or, of course, you could SUBSCRIBE and let the issues roll in to your mailbox month after month. 

UNACCEPTABLE is a spy comedy that I hawk each week at Set List, which is why this post is two plugs in one!

Set List at the Pack is a completely improvised stand-up show that happens every Thursday night at 10:30, at the Pack Theater in Los Angeles, CA. 

Gangbusters! 3rd Anniversary Shows

Join us for our triptych of third anniversary terror, starting this week with our first third anniversary show featuring Brose Gold, The Gordons, our annual good luck charm Richard Bain, and more of our favorite moments from the show's history.

Gangbusters! happens every Friday night at 11pm in the upstairs theater of The Clubhouse.

Escape Room Reviews: Escape the Laboratory

Company: Escape the Laboratory
Room: The Laboratory
Date Played: 10/22/17
Player Count: 2, but more would have been better.
Success:  Success!

Premise: In classic video game fashion, you have been imprisoned by a mad genius who wants to watch you solve puzzles. Those who do avoid being patient zero for a humanity-ending plague.

Immersion: This room IS like a lab. Or, it IS like a room a madman puts you in to solve puzzles, because it is jammed full of puzzles. The props are mostly custom made and well built. The bomb that is also your timer is wonderful and realistic.

Highlights: The Laboratory uses a scheme for keeping players on track that I’ve never seen before. On the wall there is a large chart, with photos, documenting the puzzle flow of the room. If you start with the first item in a track, you’ll use whatever comes from it (keys, codes, objects, etc) in the next item in that track. So there’s no wondering what to work on next, and very little search. It’s pure puzzling against the clock. And these are primarily physical puzzles, not activity book material.

Lowlights: The hint system is GM-enters-the-room, but at least that makes things quick. Because we played as a couple, (and requested ‘hard mode’) that meant we only played with 4 out of 6 or 7 tracks of puzzles. I wish I’d known to bring more people so we could have seen everything. 

And Finally:   This game was really excellent. LA has a fair amount of rooms that are sort of guided tours of lovely sets, but for the puzzle-solving player, this room is a can’t-miss. I would strongly consider replaying this game with a different group so that I could focus on the tracks I haven’t seen before. (Or, I kind of wonder how far I could get get playing solo, with the knowledge of how a bunch of things work. There are one or two puzzle types in here that I don’t know if I could process on my own, even if I know how they work.) Out of 36 games played, I’m ranking this one at #8. 

How to book this room yourself: Visit https://www.escapethelaboratory.com