The Puzzalarium

Location is super sketchy. You wonder what you signed up for upon arrival. However once they lead you into the first room and your puzzle master arrives, the location goes out of your mind. The games is fun. We made it to the last puzzle before time expired. The puzzle master was great with the hints. If it wasn’t for him we’d be stuck on puzzle 2 still. Great time! Super fun! We’ll be back for sure. Can’t wait to try again!!!

This was our first puzzle room experience, and we had no idea what to expect. It’s a complete rush. Everyone on our team had different strengths, and the room had something to offer for all of us. Don’t be afraid to give it a try. We’re now hooked– we’ve gone to two more rooms. Out of the three rooms we’ve been too, we had the least interaction with the game master at this one. It’s also a pretty simple looking and a small space. But that’s OK! It’s so much fun. Definitely keep talking with each other during your time in the room. Communication is key to successfully solving the puzzles. Being in a small space makes it easier to keep track of what your teammates are doing. Oh, and another tip– think of your team name beforehand– it’s how you’ll be listed online on the leaderboard. Hope you are up near the top of the scores!

I was so nervous to go to this. Im claustrophobic and just anxious in general. Going into the room I could feel my heart racing… and then I just forgot about all of it because I was so engrossed in finding the clues/​keys etc. It was so much fun. If any of you are like me and reading this go anyway. It is an awesome experience! and we can’t wait to do it again.

First escape room we have done. We are addicted now. Very detailed and well thought out!

This is right up my alley, so I was always going to love it. Maybe if you get frustrated easily it’s not for you?
As soon as we walked in the door the guys there were in character. Not wacky characters, just subtle things that helped create an oddness about the mood. There’s an air of mystery the whole time.
The room itself was filled with interesting objects, locked drawers, and hidden secrets. We had a blast, and escaped after almost the full hour with only 2.5 minutes to spare.
I’d love to go again — luckily they’re opening a «Chapter 2» in the next few days. I’ll be there!

Came here on the recommendation of a friend. He told me to drop everything and go here asap, and I’m glad I took his advice.
The basic concept is that you are trapped in a room and have an hour to figure your way out through clues and puzzles. At first, I thought that it might get claustrophobic since the website stated that the room’s small, but it was fine. There were four of us in this group, but I can see how five people would be the max. We could all fit comfortably, but once you tear the room apart, things are on the floor, piled on top of each other, etc. At one point, I got worried that we’d trip over or step on trinkets and whatnot, so I actually started cleaning what I could. The other three people I was with were doing great, so I figured I’d make sure they don’t trip over anything in their excitement to get to something across the room.
The puzzles and clues are difficult and clever, but solvable. If you ever get stuck, the puzzle master in the room can offer hints. Note that taking the hints affect your score. That’s right, on top of needing to escape the room within an hour, you’re also judged on your performance. No pressure. At certain points, it only takes maybe one or two people to work on one puzzle, and the rest of us have to wait before we can move on. That’s when I started picking up after ourselves :) The group of friends I went with were awesome. We made a good team, and everybody was able to contribute to solving the room.
The person at the front desk and the puzzle master were also fantastic. They adopted a sort of creepy persona (think the «elevator» operators from Tower of Terror in Disney’s California Adventures), and they stayed in character the whole time. The puzzle master was in the room with us, making sure we adhere to some simple rules (like don’t break anything) and to give hints that are clues themselves, and every once in a while, he gave funny sarcastic comments. I’d like to think he was quietly rooting for us.
A few tips my friend had given me that were useful:
— Beware of red herrings
— Think of the bigger picture
— Graciously accept hints, especially if escaping the room is a higher priority than getting a good score
Also, you won’t be exercising, but you may have to get down on your bottom or maybe reach up as you search every inch of the room, so I suggest wearing comfortable clothes. We were in jeans and shirts, not skirts and dresses.
It was a blast, and we were able to escape with 23 seconds to spare. Apparently, they change up the room every once in a while (annually?), so version 2.0 is coming soon! These escape rooms are getting addicting.

If you’re looking for a puzzle room and not a scavenger hunt look elsewhere. The puzzle master hides random items that don’t logically correlate. Once clues are found, «hints» are still required because you can’t derive the purpose or intent. This brings me to the most important part of a puzzle room: it has to be solvable without the «puzzle master» in the room explaining how items which have no purpose together unlock the mystery.
The second star is only there because the puzzle master clearly put a lot of thought and work into the business.

This place is great! The actors over sold it, but that isn’t a bad thing. I like that they had someone in the room to give hints. I went with my family for my birthday and we all had a good experience. We didn’t escape, but it was nice to work together in the absence of electronics for an hour.

Had a great time here. I went with a group of friends to celebrate a friend’s bday. The clues are tough to find but having the help of the clue master makes it doable. You get a whole hour to find the key the opens the lock to the main door. We finished with a minute and a half left! Definitely an awesome experience. The staff was also great and very funny. I just hope they come out with the new puzzle soon so I can do it again.

Super friggin’ awesome.
Nuff said.

Don’t go see whatever the latest blockbuster movie is out this weekend… go to Puzzalarium!
We took my brother for his 31^st birthday. We entered the Study puzzle room. A group of five guys stuck in a 10×12 foot room for an hour gave me an initial panic which quickly subsided. The hour went by in a blink. We were pulling out drawers, looking behind dressers for clues and working as a team solving the puzzles. The puzzle master was in the room and gave us clues when we needed. We fell short on last puzzle when the time ran out. All the puzzles were well thought out and fun to solve (you might want to bring someone who knows basic algebra). Great job to the puzzle master!

Going to Puzzalarium was the brainchild of my girlfriend’s brother, who was looking to do something fun and different with the family. All I knew before going was that we would be locked in a small room and have to figure out puzzles in order to get out. My initial reaction was skepticism because a family figuring out clues together in a tight space when more than one of us is claustrophobic sounded daunting at best.
When we got there it was located in a non descript area of town with a black door that was locked aside from a buzzer.
Once we were allowed to enter we walked up the stairs and were greeted by a gentleman with long black hair. My first impression was that I was about to enter what could be described as a combination of the Adams Family and Clue.
We walked through the door and waited for the ‘Game Master’ to begin our introduction to the game. The ‘Game Master’ was obviously well trained and through his demeanor really gave us the feeling we were in for an adventure. After picking our team name and hearing the rules we were led into ‘the room’ and the door was locked. Throughout the next hour we had to use our common sense, mathematical minds and creativeness to work together. Along the way the amazing ‘Game Master’ used his own brand of dark humor to provide clues, zingers and entertainment to our experience.
After the hour was over we had failed in solving the puzzle but exceeded in having fun in a new way that was so refreshing and inventive that we can not wait to come back and try it again.
Everything from the location to the décor, staff and atmosphere is so perfectly designed. The room is also big enough that neither one of us that is claustrophobic ever had an issue. Puzzalarium is definite destination I would recommend for anyone that is willing to open their mind to something they have never experienced before.

We came to celebrate my birthday as a group of 15 with three time slots and had a wonderful experience.
The front desk staff and game master stayed in character the entire four hours we were there and were helpful with setting up the «theatre room.» I was in the first group and my team was able to watch the other two teams complete their search while we ate snacks, talked and laughed.
Not all puzzles were intuitive which was good for thinking outside the box. The challenges they incorporated into Puzzalarium utilized different skills so we are looking forward to future rooms.
It is downtown so bring change for the meters but most of our group found free parking on F Street between 14^th and 15^th Street.

GO! Go now! It’s amazing!
We were a team of two and the puzzles were great. And fun! I still have some questions so I’m not sure if everything in the room is there for a reason, but everything we needed was fun to work with.
The puzzle master was awesome! He said his name was Vincent Cross, but maybe that was just his character name. He gave great hints, some subtle and others were just enough to get us headed in the right direction. He was in character the whole time! And his run down of the rules was great.
The front desk ladies were also super friendly.
The building is kinda creepy, but it just adds to the experience. The folding chairs in the lobby are more comfy than the chairs in the next waiting room.
If we’re ever back in San Diego, this will be our first stop. It was the favorite part of our trip!!!

Had a blast here! Didn’t really know what to expect, but we had a lot of fun. The place is kinda creepy and so are the staff but that adds to the ambience of the theme.
Highly recommended!!!

This place is a blast! We scheduled an event here and attempted to cancel — the communication must have gotten lost via email, though, because they were all setup and ready for us when we weren’t going. The owner was very forgiving and allowed me to reschedule (required a pre-​pay, understandably)
Come the actual day of, we were also late. Luckily, we had a double booking, so the puzzlemaster did his best to accommodate his business’s timeline. It’s clear that this is something he’s very passionate about, and his work speaks for itself.
The room itself is a ton of fun — difficult but intuitive clues. The puzzlemaster was immersive and had very subtle behavior that I hadn’t noticed in previous ETR’s.
An added benefit was that the first group was allowed to watch the second group in the room via projector and hidden camera. Pretty much the funniest thing in the world.
Big 5 stars to a well designed room and patient owners who clearly care about their product and service!

What a fun experience! My wife and I, with two other friends (the smart ones; }), booked an appointment for us to get locked in a room with various furniture and locks on drawers. The only way out… Solve puzzles and find clues to locks and more clues with the end result, FIND THE KEY!
It was a blast, each of us using our particular set of skills to find the way out and solve over 20 puzzles in under one hour. We made it to the end with the help of some hints provided by our puzzle-​master, and ran out of time doing our last puzzle. SOO CLOSE. We consider it a win. Now just to find our score on the leaderboards they refresh every 2 months. Definitely a must for anyone interested in using your brain for fun.

Loads of fun. Loved being ranked/​scored and seeing where we placed. Don’t want to give away anything, but definitely recommend it!
So rewarding to work together with friends and exercise the mind doing something fun.
Go team Angry Bonobos!

Seriously. Need a real life challenge. GO!
Look, some of ya’ll go in there thinking «I have one hour to escape. Yo soy Macgyver (had to google how to spell that). Plus I play tons of video games. No Problem.» Stop, wait a minute. Let me put some humble pie in it.
58 mins of perplexing, yet surprisingly clever puzzles pass by and you’re screaming «HOW DO YOU TURN LEFT!?»
My family had a great time. My brothers and I do not share very many interest but this activity is one we all really got into. We literally finished within the last two minutes. Please take into consideration my brothers are hardcore gamers/​computer nerds and LITERALLY study strategy for both personal and professional life. I am a chemist. It was still very challenging.
PS: don’t get creeped out by the homeless people outside. They’re all nice people. Just be respectful.
PPS: don’t get creeped out by building and all the SAW like theatrics, including the staff. They’re all nice people. Just be respectful.

After hearing about this from a friend, we immediately booked the next weekend. We went as 2 couples, and for some reason, it was us 2 guys who were giddy like schoolchildren at the thought of participating in one of these live escape rooms.
I will have to say that the experience was stellar. We scored ok (I think we’re #8 or 9 on the leaderboard), although we definitely lost time from a few of the puzzles. We were on the right track, but we gave up too fast. We ended up pretty much escaping (we were like a few minutes from solving it, so while officially we were out of time, we did actually find the way out, although it technically didn’t count). We also patted ourselves on the back for only needing 4 hints, and that was mostly because we had some difficulty working some of the puzzles (we actually had the solutions, we just weren’t focusing correctly).
In one of the final puzzles, I will say that we were deftly able to «lose» the key not once, but twice, which the game master congratulated us on (we were the first to even lose the key once… so getting it lost twice was quite the feat). I feel like if the key didn’t get lost so easily, we might have made it out on time. We got a few bonus minutes for that, but alas, we probably needed like 3 more min to solve it.
I have a feeling in revision 1.4 the problems we faced will probably be fixed (or improved) :) (For reference, we experienced version 1.3 of the study).
I looooved the experience. My biggest gripe is that I won’t be able to come back until they open a new room or until version 2.0 of the study comes out.
Cannot recommend the experience enough. Even the Jackal was cool :)