You find yourself in a new environment with little to no semblance of what to do. You see a few different locks, each more complex than the last. Your eyes try desperately to take in all the new information as quickly as possible while your mind tries to recall what the Game Master said beforehand. You already feel the uncertainty and anxiety climb due to excitement and fear of what lies ahead. The clock has started, and you must find a way out before it’s too late.
What a lovely thing an escape room is!
If you can relate to that feeling or know someone who did not enjoy their escape room experience, these feelings were most likely brought forth during the game. Though there are some things you can do to prepare in advance to give you and your team the best chance of escape (see our previous blog “This Is Big Brain Time” about maximizing the brain’s potential), there are also some things you should be conscious of when heading into an escape room.
1. Know the Company
This may be a peculiar tip, but it can be the difference between success and failure when utilized effectively. Now, I do not mean to know the staff or owners on a personal level, but the games themselves. Does the game you’ll play lean more towards being straightforward or challenging? Is it linear or non-linear? It’s a good idea to start with the company’s least challenging room because it can give you an idea of how interactive it is, what kinds of locks and puzzles there are, and if the puzzles are well-designed.
2. Dissect Everything
Within reason, of course. Your Game Master should tell you beforehand if there is anything off-limits, such as climbing, crawling, forcing things open, and specific things to leave alone. As long as you act within the set rules and guidelines, never look anything over as “just a prop.” In an escape room, anything can be significant!
3. Discerning an Object’s Usefulness
While the above tip is beneficial, remember that only some things will be helpful. Sometimes, we witness people glued to the idea that a purely decorative object helps solve a puzzle when it has nothing to do with finding the solution. A well-designed puzzle should guide you to what it is asking for without directly telling you where it’s located and what it is. Just because anything can be necessary doesn’t mean everything must be necessary. Keep an open mind about how the puzzle is solved, and you’ll be in good shape to discover the intended answer.
We are complex beings with the ability to rationalize and problem-solve our way to success. There are moments when your brain will hyper-fixate on what it thinks is the best or only way to accomplish a goal, so try to fight those feelings. If you’re getting frustrated or upset because you can’t figure something out, do what you can to get extra help from those around you!
On Sunday, April 10th, 2022, we will have 6 games open for public bookings. If you have always wanted to play The Hex Room or The Trust Experiment (formally known as The Psych Ward) but struggled to get a group of 5 together, this is your chance!
The Hex Room will be open for public bookings for the 4:20pm, 6:00pm, and 7:40pm games. The Trust Experiment will be available for public bookings for the 4:30pm, 6:10pm, and 7:50pm games. Tickets are $38 per person per game.
Tickets must be reserved in advance. To book, please click HERE and select April 10th.
If you purchase a ticket during any of the above times on April 10th, you will play with strangers. This is a great chance to meet new people and build an escape room team!
DISCLAIMER: Both The Hex Room and The Trust Experiment still require at least 5 players for these games to function. If at least 5 tickets are not purchased for a time slot, the game may be canceled. In that event, you will be notified 1 hour before the game and be issued a full refund for your ticket for that game. Our other standard cancellation and refund policies still apply.
Many years ago, when Cross Roads Escape Games was young, we had a practice puzzle in our lobby that allowed guests to get into the puzzle-solving mindset. The puzzle was pretty simple; some signs around the room provided hints for a four-letter lock on a jar full of candy. This puzzle was great practice for multiple reasons: guests learned how to search the room for clues, think critically, and most importantly, line letters upon a lock and pull down to open. But the time came when our lounge required a makeover and when it was renovated, the puzzle was removed.
However, people kept asking for the puzzle to return. Enthusiasts enjoyed having another puzzle to solve, while new players liked a crash course in learning how a puzzle works. We went to work trying to think up a new puzzle to take the place of the old one, one which would fit into the new room’s design but be easy to manage (as we already have three other games to look after as well.)
Admittedly, several years passed before we focused on the practice puzzle. In the meantime, we had created the mobile mini escape game, The Box, as a companion piece to our full-length game, The Psych Ward, brought to life the immersive theatre performance The Séance, and lived through 2020. But always in the back of our minds was this little practice puzzle.
One day, one of the game masters suggested returning the old puzzle to the room. Though this would have been the easiest course of action, I didn’t know what happened to all the elements we used for the original puzzle. Not willing to ignore the call for a practice puzzle when a simple solution was only a storage search away, I set my mind on a suitable replacement.
I went through a few different versions of what we finally installed in the room. The first version involved painting statues’ solid colors and a legend to put these statues in order. This required a few too many hands-on elements, though, as we also use the lobby as a party room for birthdays and other celebrations and would need to be put away. This would also pose the problem of the statues not fitting into the room’s theme, their colors clashing with the design. And surprisingly, the biggest reason was that affordable and durable statues in the specific design we needed were nearly impossible to come by.
I decided to change the puzzle from statues to something we could mount on the wall and fit in with the steampunk-ish theme of the room. I wanted to adorn the wall with some dapperly-dressed skulls. Initially, in my mind, these skulls in their costumes would be painted a solid glossy black to look like statues carved from marble or painted wood. We worried that this would be a little too intimidating for some of the younger escape room guests and be a little too dark as a focal point. We settled on a warmer brown tone (that we soon found out was discontinued. Things can’t be too easy, after all!) I found costumes for each of them in playful yet straightforward colors to catch the eye and make the puzzle feel more joyful. We’re not only about horror around here.
We wanted to take this puzzle a step further. It would be simple enough to look at the skulls and put them in order based on their costume; it isn’t necessarily a fun puzzle. We decided to go electronic.
Most recent escape rooms involve more tech and fewer combination locks. Like our Psych Ward, for instance, which does not contain a single combination lock, players will most likely never even get their hands on a physical key. These newer games rely on different types of puzzles where answers are input through buttons, dials, switches, or other physical actions. This can make a game much more immersive if it fits in well with the theme of the game, as well as possibly reduce reset time.
With this tech-trend of escape rooms in mind, we wanted our puzzle to accomplish two things: first, teach players how to interact with tech-based puzzles, and second, have essentially no reset. This is where we had a problem. How do you create a puzzle that doesn’t require someone to reset after it’s solved? Our solution was not to create just one puzzle but one puzzle with three answers. We designed our puzzle to cycle through three different solutions, so even if the knobs are set to the previous answer, the next group will still have to solve the puzzle before earning their prize.
Though you would think this three-solution puzzle was enough work for us, we were not entirely satisfied. Since we didn’t want the puzzle to be constantly active, we needed the players to turn the puzzle on. The first step to the practice puzzle is to search the room for the clue to activate the puzzle itself. Of course, we also weren’t going to make that easy. We hid a clue in the room to help players get started; it just takes some observation, association, and imagination. All I can say is that some things are not as they seem.
Next time you stop by to play one of our games, arrive early to check out the new practice puzzle in our lounge!
Escape Rooms created by game enthusiasts for game enthusiasts. Owners Luke and Madison Rhoades come from a theatre and haunt background and found escape rooms to be the perfect backbone for their #1 rated company- Cross Roads Escape Games. Celebrating their 6th year in business, here is the story of the creators and designers of Cross Roads and how it all came to be.
ABOUT US
Luke and I are high school sweethearts, and we got married shortly after finishing college. I graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Fine Art and a minor in Theatrical Set Design. I designed and painted sets around Los Angeles and was the lead scenic painter for The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor for three incredible years. Luke graduated from the Vanguard University of Southern California with a B.A. in Theatre Performance and Scenic Construction. He worked as the Master Carpenter at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood. I would often get set design jobs and hire Luke as my technical director and carpenter for almost all of my shows. We were a great tag team duo. I would design it, he would build it, and then I would paint it.
THE FIRST ESCAPE ROOM
On Oct. 31st, 2014, we played our first escape room. We had no idea what we were getting into. I thought I bought tickets for a haunted house, so we were completely shocked when we found out that they would put us in a room with eight other strangers and lock the door. Our group did terrible. It was chaos trying to get ten people on the same page, but that was part of the fun. I remember the time being about halfway up when I realized we had not opened a single key lock. I yelled at the group, “How have we not found a single key?!?!” The girl next to me goes, “Oh! I found a few keys!” and starts to remove about 5-10 keys from her pocket that she decided to put there for safekeeping (and not use?).
Afterward, our game master comes in with a look of disappointment and tells us that we only made it about 60% of the way through. It didn’t matter to us if we won or lost or how far we got, the experience was unlike anything we had ever done, and we were hooked. The idea for The Hex Room came later that same night.
THE BEGINNING
We decided to take a chance. We quit our jobs and used our ten years’ worth of savings that we were keeping for a future house. It was one of those scenarios where we would always live a life of ‘what if’ if we didn’t give it a shot. And what better time to try and fail than when you are young? So we did. We found a location in Anaheim, California, battled the city for permits (that’s a whole story I won’t get into today), and put ourselves in a hole of loans and credit card debt (our savings was drained very quickly). With the help of some amazing family and friends, Cross Roads Escape Games opened one year later.
Cross Roads… get it? Luke and Madison Rhoades… ok, good.
THE GOAL
We wanted to create something that felt so real, you forgot it was a game. Imagine being transported to a new world where you can go anywhere and touch anything you want? To desperately try to find clues to help unlock the secrets to your escape? All our games are designed by us and built from the ground up. Not only is the production value outstanding, but even the game design is different.
We love games. Board games, card games, video games, and now escape games. Once we were hooked on escape games, we played every one that was available to us. Playing escape rooms was a great learning experience. We saw what we liked, and what we didn’t like. Our biggest issue was that no matter where we went, no matter what the mission was, the game was the same. We knew we had to change that up with ours.
CREATING THE HEX ROOM
As huge horror fans, we would always watch movies and say something along the lines of, “If that was me, I would have never run up the stairs!” or, “If I was in that situation, I would have done this…” Now with this new immersive theatre at our fingertips, we decided to create just that: a real-life horror movie scenario where people can find out if they would actually live or die in a horror film.
The Hex Room opened on January 15th, 2016. Unlike traditional escape rooms, The Hex Room takes immersion to the next step and makes players live out a real-life horror movie. Before your game begins, each player takes a quiz to determine which stereotypical horror movie victim they are. You can be cast as the Jock, Rebel, Prom Queen, Virgin, Nerd, or Detective. Once in costume, players are placed in a room by themselves. Their goal is to overcome their individual challenges and still work together as a team, although physically divided. If they are successful, they can rejoin their friends and escape. If not, they can be left behind to die.
CREATING THE FUN HOUSE
The Hex Room became a revolutionary game, but maybe a bit too advanced for its time. When we opened, Escape Rooms were still such a new concept; only a handful of people knew what they were, even fewer played one before. People loved The Hex Room, but we knew that it was a bit overwhelming to a new player, so we also created The Fun House.
The Fun House is the necessary introductory that people needed to escape rooms. People were together for the experience instead of being divided at the start. If someone felt uncomfortable doing something “scary,” we had The Fun House to offer instead. Although the gameplay is more of a traditional escape room, we still had a lot of new ideas to offer. The game became self-aware with lots of fun tricks and jokes along the way, not to mention the amazing Zoltar. Have you met him yet?
The Fun House also allowed us to introduce kids to the world of Escape Rooms. When Fun House opened in April of 2016, it was the only game that allowed players of any age to attend. The following year, we modified the game to change out challenging puzzles to a “KIDS” version, allowing groups of kids to play and succeed on their own.
CREATING THE PSYCH WARD
We are determined to always bring the next level of interactive entertainment, and we went all-in on The Psych Ward, which opened in December of 2018. Being inspired by immersive theatre experiences like Delusion and getting hooked on social deduction games like Werewolf and Secret Hitler, we decided to combine immersive theatre, competitive board games, and escape rooms into one fully automated game.
Because of its complexity, The Psych Ward took about 18 months to complete. We worked with the amazing technical team, Diablo Sound, which helped us program all the puzzles, scoring, and theatrical effects. The game took a few revisions, but we are very proud of the new elements we added and challenging ourselves with the unique design and automation. The Psych Ward is a game-changer that you must play!
WHAT’S NEXT
We revisited our theatre roots and wrote, directed, designed, and produced The Séance, which had a limited run in 2019. This show was an immersive theatre piece with some escape room elements. We had plans to bring back the show to a new location, which sadly got canceled due to the pandemic. There is still a chance it might happen; we are just waiting for the right venue and the right time.
We also announced a revamped Hex Room for 2020, which got postponed. We had everything ordered, contractors scheduled, and then the world shut down. Orders were pushed back, contractors had to cancel, and the whole project was put on hold. I am glad that it did though, these past years, we have been able to use the money we would have spent on the revamp towards keeping our doors open and our employees paid. It has also given me more time to think of even better puzzles and effects! The revamp will still happen as soon as the funds are restored. I am so excited to show you what we have planned!
We have also used all of 2021 to work on a new project that is bigger and totally different from anything we have done before! If all goes according to plan, we will have a big announcement for you in a few months. Stay tuned!
THANK YOU for being amazing and supportive fans. I read every single review that comes our way on google and yelp, and hearing about your fun experience is why we do what we do. I know it has been a long time since we have brought you something new, but big things are in the works. Thank you for being patient and understanding. It will be worth the wait!
Madison Rhoades CEO and Co-owner Cross Roads Escape Games
I can’t believe Cross Roads has been open for 3 years already. We love brining our crazy ideas to life and it is so exciting to see you play and enjoy them. We often get asked about what brought us to this point or what inspires us, so I figure this is as good of a time as any to reflect on the last few years and share them with you.
How we got into this business
My husband, Luke, and I both have degrees in theatre. After college we became a tag team duo working in theatre, film, and haunts. We went to our first escape room in October 2014 and fell in love with this new form of entertainment and truly felt like it was just touching the surface of what it could be.
We began working on our own business model in January 2015. We looked at hundreds of locations, went through the rigorous city permitting and building departments, quite our full-time jobs, and finally, one year later, we opened in January 2016 with The Hex Room.
Before we opened, we played every escape room in Southern California, which was only 30 games at the time. We did our research and we saw what was missing from these experiences. Our main goal with our first game was to increase the production value, add special effects such as lighting and sound, and most of all make everyone feel like the star of their own adventure.
Our games
The Hex Room was revolutionary for its time, and still continues to get recognition for its unique game design. The Hex Room adds a new challenge to the traditional escape room by dividing the players physically, but still requiring them to work as a team to escape. After a few months, we realized that The Hex Room might be a bit too advanced for our current market. We were creating a game for enthusiasts like ourselves, but our main audience was playing for their very first time.
We then opened The Fun House in April 2016, which was a beginner room. Something more traditional in game design, but still fun an innovative in the puzzles, decor, and special effects. In March 2017 we opened The Fun House KIDS, which was an alternate version of the Fun House that allowed kids ages 8-13 to participate more inside the game. We saw a need for more family friendly games, so we wanted to have that option available for our guests with younger players.
The Asylum, our 10-minute mini game opened in June 2017 and premiered at Midsummer Scream, a local Halloween convention. This is where we tried to change things up once more. In the Asylum you were strapped in a straight jacket to your other teammate. Your goal was to escape your straight jacket and the room in under 10 minutes. It was a huge success and we knew that from here on out, we had to continue pushing the boundaries.
In December 2018 The Psych Ward finally opened. It took much longer than we thought it would mostly because we continued to have more ideas, and more creative technology was becoming available to us. We wanted to make a game that had the escape room elements that everyone loved, but we also wanted to show people that there are many different games that could be made with this type of immersive entertainment. The Psych Ward is not an average escape room. It is an interactive game of deduction, trust, and betrayal with escape room, board game, and immersive theatre elements. We hope this game helps revolutionize the escape room industry.
What is next
Now in 2019, it has grown from 30 escape rooms to hundreds in Southern California alone. Luke and I have played over 200 games ourselves, and can’t keep up with how many new companies are opening. Unfortunately, with how many escape rooms that are out there, our issue is that the new ones continue to copy what has already been done. We haven’t seen any innovative ideas in a very long time. If you are interested in opening your own escape room, please think outside the box and create something that has never been done before!
We hope you enjoy what we have created. Everything we do is for you. We take chances and risks with our new ideas and we are so happy that they are appreciated and recognized. We have big ideas for the future with Cross Roads and working on projects with others. One thing you can count on is that we will never make an average escape room, everything you get from us is going to be something you have never seen before. Stay tuned for future updates coming this year. You will always find out what we are working on right here!
Madison Rhoades
CEO and Co-Owner
Cross Roads Escape Games
As you may have heard, Cross Roads Escape Games is hiring game masters again and that means it’s time to send in your applications! If you are wondering if you have what it takes to be one of our game masters, here are some of the qualities that make for a truly great game master (in no particular order).
Maintaining Character:
This one is a pretty big one, and definitely the first thing I think of when it comes to great game masters. A game master’s ability to not break immersion is one of the most vital aspects of the job. You must be able to play a convincing character while under pressure and always remain in character for the entire duration of the player’s experience.
I remember one time when I was playing an escape room, our game master was new and didn’t know which hint to give for our puzzle. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the game master said, “let me go ask my manager”, stepped out of the room, and went to ask for help. Immersion destroyed! It might seem like a lot to ask from the actor/game master, but those that can pull it off are truly a cut above the rest.
Improvisation, the ability to think on your feet:
Ask any of our game masters and they will tell you how important improvisational skills are. In our YouTube series Confessions of a Game Master,we delve into the importance of improvisational skills in the episode “Expect the Unexpected.” It might be a good idea to take a moment to go watch the video here.
A day in the life of a game master is never dull. You never know what is going to happen and it is important that you be able to come up with creative solutions to problems in the moment. Did you give someone the most direct hint in the world and they still don’t know what to do? Think of something! Players didn’t listen to the rules and now you need to sheriff on the spot? Do it! You need to have lightning fast responses to keep games flowing smoothly.
We are a team and we support each other in the moment. Usually there is either a manager or a senior game master that can provide you with a quick answer, but sometimes you simply have to act. We will train you for almost every situation… but expect the unexpected!
Which brings me to my next point:
Have good judgement:
Common sense and good judgement are usually not skills that people put on job applications, but in this job, it really matters! Every day you will face decisions that you have to make. Is the person that is asking for a hint ALMOST at the solution? Do they need a small nudge in the right direction? Or are they completely lost and need to be turned around? These snap judgements can be the difference between your players getting a satisfying “A-ha! moment,” and your players feeling let down.
If a player wants a small hint and you spell out the puzzle for them, they can often feel like you robbed them of the chance to solve things themselves. Being able to discern the best choice to make before you make it is the sign of a superb game master.
Attention to detail:
Being a game master is all about paying attention to the details. This is useful when checking your room resets for mistakes as well as monitoring your players non-stop. You must keep track of which clues have been found, which clues have been used, and which clues have been used incorrectly. There is nothing more disheartening than asking for a hint and having the game master give you a hint to a puzzle you’ve already solved.
Here at Cross Roads Escape Games, each game master is in charge of monitoring their game constantly so that when a player asks for a hint, you are able to give them an immediate and well thought out answer in character. If you are not paying attention, the players will notice. Trust me.
Time management:
One thing that all escape rooms have in common is that they run on a very tight schedule. It is up to the game masters to make sure that they are performing their duties optimally at all times to keep the day flowing smoothly. A game master has many duties they must perform throughout the day and making sure that all of them are completed without causing delays to the games is a vital component of any escape room team.
The life of a game master is a careful balance of moving quick enough to be efficient, but slow enough to be thorough. Mastering this balance is how you become a true game master!
And last but certainly not least:
Enthusiasm:
Having enthusiasm for the job and for the characters you play is honestly the most important part of being a game master. If you aren’t having fun, your group probably isn’t having fun. A smile and a bit of excitement can go a long way towards making players feel psyched for the game and making your team mates feel energized throughout the day.
Game mastering is fun and thrilling work that always keeps me enthusiastic. I find it hard to not be energized when I get to spend my day sharing escape rooms with many strangers. If the idea of acting, puzzles, and deadlines doesn’t get your blood pumping, I don’t think game mastering is for you.
Though there are many qualities that make for a great game master, these are the most important ones to keep in mind. As a game master, you will be expected to foster these qualities within yourself and always keep improving. Interested in applying? Fill out an application today!
Personally, I love escape room and I will try and solve ANY puzzle I come across. I love puzzles, riddles, scavenger hunts, and even the pixel hunt kind of games in video games. I love the process of going from being completely unaware of the answer, to a full understanding of the puzzle by piecing together the clues. If a puzzle can do that for me, then I am over the moon!
The puzzles are a HUGE part of what I look for in an escape room. Though I don’t think that puzzle design can carry the experience on its own, it is definitely one of three big factors to my enjoyment of a room.
When I solve a puzzle, I want to know exactly how the puzzle works just by solving it. For example, there have been times where I thought “I don’t think this makes sense but maybe ____ is the answer?” Then it works, and I feel a little disappointed, even though I got the answer correct. The reason I feel let down is because the puzzle didn’t work the way I had thought it was going to.
Now I know what some of you might be thinking. You didn’t like the puzzle because it didn’t work the way YOUthought it would? And I completely understand the eye rolls that I might be getting right now but let me explain!
Making a good puzzle is very much like writing a good plot twist into a story or movie. If the twist is not foreshadowed earlier in the movie, then it just feels like a plot device. But if there are subtle hints from earlier that influence how you should be thinking, then when the twist happens you are like “WHOA! I knew that that painting from earlier was going to be important!” Same goes for puzzles. If your team has been trying things to no avail and then you look at one clue you haven’t used yet and suddenly everything clicks and you exclaim “WAIT! What if the ____s are actually showing us how to use these other clues!” then you have yourself a GOLDEN “aha moment!” And in the end, isn’t that what all puzzles are really about?
The next thing I look for in an escape room is theme. At the end of the day, if you don’t like the theme of a room then you won’t be having as much fun as other people that can really engage with the setting.
I am a huge Horror film junkie! I watch them all; everything from the Exorcist to Zombie Mutant Vampires from the Hood! What can I say? I am a silver lining kind of person. I can find diamonds in just about any roughs. However, just because I enjoy the genre does not mean that all horror movies are good. Same goes for escape rooms. The theme of the room is kind of like the salesman for the room: It is what catches my eye fastest when I am looking for an escape room to play. However, once I actually get into the room, I feel that theme carries the least amount of weight on whether I will find the escape room enjoyable or not.
Third, and possible most importantly, is immersion. I don’t care if my team is being hunted by a serial killer or if we are all aliens trying to break out of area 51, I need to be sold on the idea. It isn’t enough to tell me that I am a fish in an aquarium, you need to sell me on that every moment of the experience.
This can be achieved in many ways. It could be as simple as giving everyone a mask to wear, or as complex as having actors in the room that interact with the players in a certain way to get the desired result. Trust me, nothing convinces someone that they are an outlaw in the wild west more than giving them a cowboy hat, a bandana, and having the “law dogs” lock them up in a jail cell. We’ve already talked a lot about immersion in one of our other blog posts, so I don’t need to go too far into how to achieve full immersion… but it is VERY important!
So, to sum this up, when I am looking for an escape room to play the three things I am looking for are:
1) What is the theme?
2) Do they have well thought out puzzles? (This is kind of hard to find an answer without spoiling anything, but reading people’s reactions to the puzzles in reviews is often a good way to find out how good the puzzles are.)
3) How immersive is the game? (One thing I look for is people discussing a game’s hint system in the comments. I ask myself if it makes sense for the setting or not.)
Look at the escape room’s website to get an idea for theme, and then if you are intrigued read some reviews. I can temper my expectations based on other peoples’ reviews and how well the room markets itself. I have only played around 30 escape rooms so far, so I would not consider myself an expert, but this method has helped me search for the next game my team will take on.
What do you look for in an escape room? Let us know in the comments below!
Jason Sakal
Game Master & Manager
Cross Roads Escape Games
Orange County has much more to offer then just Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. I have been craving adventure lately, but also didn’t have $100 to drop on amusement park tickets, so I began exploring. I found a lot of really great things to do in Orange County! If you are in the OC area, I highly recommend checking out these 5 adventures!
FLIGHT DECK
Suit up and get ready to fly your own jet! You and your friends get trained on how to fly a plane… for real. You each get your own fighter jet and a 40-minute experience to blow each other up and try to land your plane successfully.
What I loved most about this experience was how immersive it was. Everyone got their own pilot jumper, individual cockpit to sit in, and headset. The controls were much more different than what you would use for a video game, and although they were difficult to learn at first, I appreciated them keeping it as realistic as possible.
You get time to fly around and learn the controls and then you get to start shooting down your friends in an intense air battle! After completing the FOX 1 mission, you can come back and learn more intense maneuvers for FOX 2 and FOX 3.
Ages: 11 and up Address: 1650 S. Sinclair St, Anaheim, CA Website: https://flightdeck1.com/fighter-jets/ Phone: (714) 937-1511 Price: Fighter Jets- $59 per person
GLOW ZONE HB
My husband and I went twice in one week! Our first time it was just the two of us, and we had a blast. Later that week we brought our 5-year-old nephew to join us! This place is great for all ages. Glow Zone HB is an indoor entertainment center complete with a full bar, cosmic blowing, arcade games, mini golf, bumper cars, and a few more stand out adventures listed below.
Are you a fan of ‘American Ninja Warrior’ TV show? Because this place has a Ninja course ready to wear you out! This course has some fun challenges straight from the show that my husband and I always wanted to try. The course is really difficult, but also extremely fun. It also gives you good motivation to go back to the gym…
After you are done being a Ninja, you can go test your secret agent skills at the laser maze. Weave your way through a room of lasers while racing the clock! A fun thing to do in teams and race for the best time.
We also really enjoyed the Bazooka Ball. It’s a good cross between paintball and laser tag and completely painless. You are split into two teams and you have to protect your home base while trying to score points on the opposing team. Let’s just say my 5-year-old nephew and my 29-year-old husband both kept wanted to go back to play again.
We highly recommend getting their unlimited pass and paying by the hour. They also have a lot of great deals if you go during the week! Prepare to go hard and be exhausted by the end of it all.
Ages: Both adults and kids will love this Address: 7227 Edinger Ave, Huntington Beach, CA 92647 Website: http://hb.glowzone.us Phone: (714) 316-0775 Price: $20 for 1 hour or $35 for 2 hours.
ALIEN DESCENT
Using wireless virtual reality technology these experience puts you in the center of the action for an intense and adrenalin filled 20 minutes of terror. The VR headset transports you to a new world where you can walk and interact with your surroundings and your friends! It’s an exciting and fun thrill ride enhanced by environmental effects, motion platforms, and other surprises!
You are part of an elite squad of Colonial Marines sent to investigate a distress signal from a Weyland-Yutani mining outpost. Just before losing contact, the facility reported some sort of infestation. It’s up to you and your squad to contain the threat, quarantine any survivors and get everyone off-world safely.
You truly feel like you are on a different planet trying to defend yourself against an outpour of Xenomorph aliens. I screamed the entire time while, lucky, my husband kept a level head. This experience was so much fun, we went and did it again the following week! If you are a fan of shooter video games and/or the Alien movies then you will LOVE this experience.
In downtown Disney you can find a similar experience- The Void, which is Star Wars themed!
Ages: 10 and up Address: The Outlets at Orange, Suite 806, 20 City Blvd W, Orange, CA Website: https://www.aliendescent.com Phone: N/A Price: $22 per person
MEDIEVAL TIMES
Dinner and a show! If you haven’t experienced Medieval times, you must. You are teleported back to an age without silverware and where knights jousted and battled for the love of a princess. I recently went with my whole family including my 7, 10, and 12 year old cousins. The girls loved seeing the horses dance and getting thrown a flower from a knight, while the boys loved the battles and falcon that flies just above your head.
The food is also great! A whole dinner is included in your ticket, along with my favorite Dragon’s Blood soup. Beer and wine are also available.
Medieval Times is a magical place that is fun for all ages!
Ages: Both adults and kids will love this. Address:7662 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620 Website:http://www.medievaltimes.com Phone: (888) 935-6878 Price:$62 for adults & $37 for kids.
CROSS ROADS ESCAPE GAMES
There are a lot of escape rooms to choose from but the #1 rated escape room in SoCal is right here in Anaheim! Cross Roads Escape Games was recently voted the #1 escape room in SoCal and #3 in the nation by USA TODAY! With 2 great games to choose from, there is something both adults and kids will love!
The Hex Room is an intense horror themed game for age 16+. Each player will take a quiz before the game to find out which character they are: The Nerd, Virgin, Jock, Rebel, Prom Queen, or Detective. Your team will be divided up into separate rooms where you must work individually and as a team. Can you survive a horror film?
The Fun House is a silly and wacky game for teens and adults with a special KIDS version great for ages 13 and below. Step right up and see if you have what it takes to become a magnificent magician! In this room filled with trickery and illusions, you and your team will be put to the test. Work to beat the clock as you search for clues and solve mind boggling puzzles in a topsy turvy experience of a lifetime! Now all you need to do is ask yourself, do you have the wits of a magician? Or are as clueless as a clown?
Ages: The Hex Room is for ages 16+. The Fun House is for all ages. Address: 4245 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 Website: www.CrossRoadsEscapeGames.com Phone: (714) 572-1004 Price: $32 per person Wednesdays-Thursdays, $35 per person Fridays-Sundays
Do you have any favorite experiences in Orange County? Let us know in the comments below! We would love to check them out! We hope you enjoy these 5 great adventures this Summer!
Madison Rhoades
CEO and Creative Director
Cross Roads Escape Games
With the summer heating up, escape rooms will be a popular outing for families, friends, coworkers, and teammates. They provide a getaway from the sun and heat in an adventurous and fun environment. Sometimes though, putting groups of people in rooms and telling them to find a way out can lead to some heated discussions and emotions. Not to worry, though: Our game masters have a few tips that will help your team work more smoothly and keep the tension between players as low as possible. Check out the latest Confessions of a Game Master!
Escape rooms are fun but potentially stressful situations. You’re locked in a room, given handfuls of puzzles, bombarded with information and rules, and placed under a time constraint. All of that can add up to a pretty intense experience, and that’s to say nothing of the theme of the room. Though part of the fun of escape rooms is the rush of racing against time, our game masters have a few tips to help you keep your cool in an escape room.
One of the best ways to beat the heat of an escape room is to remember that you are here to have fun. Of course everyone likes to win, and it’s very exciting to hold the record for “best time,” but remember that your first and foremost goal should be to enjoy the game you are playing. Quite often when groups arrive determined to break the record, they get so caught up with being number one that they don’t take the time to enjoy themselves. This also adds pressure to the less experienced players since there is a huge burden on them to perform better than most players.
If it sounds like I’m not a fan of fastest time records, it’s because I’m not. Or really, I don’t think they should be as important as people make them out to be. “Fastest Time” can tell you how quickly a game was solved, but it won’t tell you how much fun the group had or how many memories they created. I encourage each group to enter every game with the goal to do their best, not the best. Your escape room experience will be instantly less stressful when your goal is to fully experience the room. And if you happen to make the best time while you’re at it? That’s the cherry on top.
What are your tips on staying cool under pressure in an escape room? Let us know in a comment below! Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss a Confessions video and for other escape room goodies.
Geoff Durham
Manager, Game Master, King of Cool
Cross Roads Escape Games
Good! So, you’ve taken our online personality test! But do you know what it means to be a Jock, Nerd, Virgin, Rebel, Prom Queen, or a Detective? In case you haven’t watched as many horror movies as we have, here is some information on what your horror movie stereotype says about you and how you can best live up to your role within your very own horror movie. It’s basically a mood ring, but instead of colors, it’s made of archetypes!
Detective
The Detective is the person who has enough rapport with everyone to actually get them to listen to what they say. They are great listeners and when people talk, they pay close attention. However, the Detective usually spends most of their time trying to keep the other characters alive instead of actually solving the mystery.
Has the highest chance of being killed while helping another character.
PROS: Great communicator, great multitasker, good puzzle solver.
CONS: High responsibility, so much paperwork, dresses like they’re in the 70s.
EXAMPLES: Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) in The Wicker Man (1973); Dewey Riley (David Arquette) in Scream (1996).
Rebel
The rebel is known for doing rebellious things (who would have guessed it). This leads many of the other characters into thinking that they are more prepared for the horror movie than they actually are. I mean, if they are already used to doing crazy things, how much harder can it be to try and fight for your life against an insane serial killer… right? They are independent and don’t ask for other characters help, usually to their own dismay.
Has the highest chance of being killed after separating from the group.
PROS: Thinks outside the box, focused, outside observer.
CONS: Not really a team player, probably has a tragic backstory.
EXAMPLES: Marty (Fran Kranz) in Cabin in the Woods (2012); Taryn White (Jennifer Rubin) in Nightmare on Elm Street III (1987).
Jock
Probably the only person in the group that voted against the rest of their team’s decision of leader of the group. Most likely, they voted for themselves. Plays enough sports to think that they are good at everything.
Highest chance of suggesting the group split up to search for clues. Probably dies shortly after.
PROS: Brave, protective, loyal.
CONS: Can’t easily change their mind, relies on strength over brains, has to ask Coach for permission.
EXAMPLES: Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp) in Nightmare on Elm Street (1984); Curt (Chris Hemsworth) in Cabin in the Woods (2012).
Nerd
Has watched the most movies, horror or otherwise, of any of the other players in the group. They remember small bits of information from each movie, quotes and factoids mostly, and they are happy to tell people this information
Highest chance to be killed right as he figures out some piece of vital information.
PROS: Observant, good memory, planner, book smart.
CONS: Nobody listens to them until it’s too late, loses their glasses like way too much. Seriously, get contacts.
EXAMPLES: Randy (Jamie Kennedy) in Scream (1996).
Prom Queen
Probably showed up to the escape room late or right on time. Also, is most likely to have read the question “how many people have you kissed?” and asked if they have to answer that question.
Highest chance of dying after saying the words “Hello? Is anyone there?”
PROS: Driven, confident, has small group of close friends.
CONS: Can get caught up on appearances, trust issues, can’t run in heels.
EXAMPLES: Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).
Virgin
The person that was brought along because everyone actually likes them. This being said, the virgin is most likely to be the one that is too afraid to fill out the questionnaire fully. They will leave answers blank in hopes that if they don’t admit to having fears, that they won’t have to deal with anything scary. Most likely to have not realized that the Hex Room is a horror themed escape room when they were invited/when they booked the room.
Highest chance of surviving the ordeal only to drag a new group of friends into the sequels!
PROS: Sweet, friendly, avid reader.
CONS: Too trusting, prone to being sacrificed, is going to suffer.
EXAMPLES: Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in Halloween (1978); Sally (Marilyn Burns) in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).
Keep in mind, being the Virgin doesn’t guarantee you are the “Final Girl,” a common horror movie trope pertaining to the last remaining victim of a horror movie. After all, remember Sigourney Weaver’s wise words from Cabin in the Woods: “It doesn’t matter if the virgin lives or dies, as long as she suffers.”
After taking this personality quiz, we are sure you will better know yourself and be better prepared for surviving a horror film. Want to put your new understanding of self to the test? Get your most trusted group of friends together and enter The Hex Room.
Jason Sakal Game Master and Manager Cross Roads Escape Games
