It has been a while since we last played an escape room. My wife and I will sometimes play as a two-person team, but we enjoy it much more when we have a group. This time we played Special Ops: Mysterious Market with my son and his wife. That puts our average experience level at about 15 games each and virtually guarantees we will succeed.
Special Ops: Mysterious Market is a The Escape Game branded room located in their Irvine location at 655 Spectrum Center Drive. It is rated for up to eight players, which would feel tight given the size of the space. Our four-person team worked well. I think six players would be optimal.
The difficulty level is listed as 8 out of 10. We have played all of their rooms except the new Legend of the Yeti. On our scale, this one felt more like a mid-level room, around 5 or 6 out of 10. The puzzles were mostly sequential and consistent with what we have seen in other rooms. Nothing surprising, just solid challenges.
As usual, The Escape Game delivers a well-designed, immersive experience. That is one of the main reasons we keep coming back. They do this exceptionally well. On the downside, we ran into our usual complaints about well-worn puzzles. This time, I would also add that better soundproofing would help. The noise from another room came through the wall regularly during our session.
The Mission
Nothing less than stopping a global disaster and saving the world.
Under the cover of night, your globe-trotting spy team is dispatched to investigate suspicious activity at the Ansar Market. What begins as a routine intel-gathering mission quickly escalates when you uncover plans for an international nuclear attack. Now you must expose the truth, identify who is pulling the strings, and stop the attack before it is too late.
We are a gifted team, for the most part. I say that because the other three members are better at this than I am. My role tends toward management and coordination, although I did solve a few puzzles. I’m best with kinetic puzzles and pattern recognition. In some rooms, I feel like I spend a lot of time holding a flashlight. Still, everyone contributes what they can. In this room, we all solved puzzles and supported each other along the way. It was a lot of fun.
Our game master was non-intrusive. When we needed help after overthinking a puzzle, the clue was clear and got us back on track quickly. We typically tip our game master, and when we did this time, I learned that it is not common. So here is my proposal: tip your game master.
Although the room is adult-themed, it is suitable for teens and older children. We found nothing objectionable or overly intense. One tip for future players: important videos play at key moments. Pay attention, but remember that the clock is always ticking.
We completed the room with ten minutes left. My guess is we could have shaved another 10 to 15 minutes off if we had not overcomplicated one puzzle. That said, we had a great time.
Our Ratings
- Overall Fun: 8/10
- Difficulty: 5–6/10
- Immersion: 9/10
- Puzzle Quality: 7/10
- Replay Value: One-time experience
Who Should Play This Room?
Great for intermediate players and mixed-experience groups who enjoy structured, sequential puzzles. Ideal for teams of 4–6 looking for a polished, immersive escape room without extreme difficulty.
Peanuts In My Pocket 
Leave a comment