Peanuts In My Pocket

We played The Weeping Witch escape room at Anaheim’s Cross Roads Escape Games yesterday afternoon. The room was challenging and fun. Our small group of four did well, and it felt like the right team size for the experience. We banished the Weeping Witch! Two more people would have been easily possible and could have helped with some of the more difficult puzzles.

The production value was high, perhaps the highest I’ve experienced to date. We’ve played rooms where it was obvious that they shopped at garage sales for furniture and paid a high school art student to paint a mural. And now, we played a room where it felt like a Disneyland level of craft went into putting the room design and concept together. The Weeping Witch is that good. It is the best room I’ve played so far.

While writing this, my wife asked me if I thought people could hear her scream in the lobby. I assured her they could, as I can still hear her screams echoing in my ears this morning. Did I mention the room was scary? I did not have a scale for scary before visiting the Weeping Witch, but it anchors the 10 spot on my unofficial scale. Nothing else I’ve played even comes close. I did not scream, though. It’s hard to scream if your eyes are closed.

The puzzles were interesting, and a few were among the most unique we’ve ever encountered. Having a diverse skill set available is a plus. I could not have solved several puzzles, and conversely, we would have lost the room if not for one of us possessing a key skill. Asking for hints is a plus in this room. The experience alone is worth it.

We encountered a new pet peeve during our visit. A large group of twenty-somethings came out of the room just after we arrived. They gathered in the lobby and, for the next 15 minutes, discussed their experiences reacting to and solving each puzzle. Our team moved to the birthday room and chanted “la, la, la” with fingers in our ears to avoid hearing something that would spoil the experience. I would think the guides would be aware of this problem and step in. Instead, their guide simply yelled over the offending group with instructions for us. The offending party simply talked louder. It was the only negative experience during our visit.

My escape room tip of the day is to listen carefully to the introduction, room rules, and instructions. I did, but still managed to violate one of the most important rules in the first minute. They were nice about it, and I suspect I was set up as an example, which made it a fun experience as well. Also, as you exit the room, be mindful of the inbound players. They don’t want to hear about your experience.