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Cross Roads Escape Games: Celebrating a Year of Awards in 2023

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2023 has been a landmark year for Cross Roads Escape Games, earning multiple prestigious awards that solidify their reputation as leaders in the escape room industry, best escape room in Southern California, and world wide. Known for their innovative and immersive experiences, Cross Roads received accolades for both their newest game, The Weeping Witch. 

Cross Roads Escape Games was honored with the **Golden Lock Award** by Room Escape Artist, recognizing their excellence in escape room design. They also received the **Best of Morty Award**, further cementing their status as industry favorites. Perhaps most impressively, they were named one of the **Top Rooms in the World** by the Top Escape Rooms Project Enthusiasts’ Choice Awards (TERPECA), highlighting their global impact and unparalleled creativity.

If you have not yet, now is the time to book your ticket for The Weeping Witch, and see why it is rated as one of the best escape rooms there is. 

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The Weeping Witch: A Game Master Review

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We are excited to announce that our newest game, The Weeping Witch, is now open! Stepping back to their horror roots, owners Luke and Madi decided to offer fans a game that is not only fun and theatrical but also scary. Though I was able to work on small parts here and there (primarily graphic design elements and lending a helping hand with construction), I didn’t know much about the game before playing. Here is my review of The Weeping Witch:

Before I get started, I must point out that I grew up participating in haunts. I have over a decade of scare actor experience, and I love haunted houses, other scary experiences, and escape rooms.

A spiritual successor to the limited-run, immersive theatre experience from 2019, The Séance, The Weeping Witch is an entirely new and separate story with nods to The Séance for those in the know. In The Weeping Witch, you enter Ruby’s study to rid yourself of your family’s curse. Things quickly take a turn when you learn that Ruby has accidentally released a monster who mimics the sound of a woman crying to lure its victims into the dark, where it eats their souls. With only an hour before the witch has finished feeding on your souls, your group must work quickly to reassemble Ruby’s Curse Extraction machine. But the witch isn’t going down without a fight.

The room has a great blend of analog and electronic puzzles, each puzzle themed perfectly to fit into the room. The ghostly effects throughout the game help further immerse the player and add an extra sense of wonder.

We played The Weeping Witch with a group of 5. I think this was a good number of players because everyone could work on something in the room, but we weren’t feeling rushed more than the usual pressure of an escape room. This also allowed our more scared players to hide behind the braver ones (me) when the scarier parts of the game started. I would recommend larger groups if your group is full of scaredy cats so you have enough functioning hands and brains to solve puzzles. More advanced players or players looking for more personalized scares might want to stick to smaller groups of 4 or 5 players.

As stated, I am a horror fan and never hesitate when scary opportunities present themselves. That said, I found the encounters with the witch to be pulse-pounding and intense but fun. I had a smile on my face the whole time as the rest of my team was cowering behind me. These encounters were more than jump scares; they were story moments that served a purpose in the game.

One of my favorite parts of the game is the detail in the room. Ruby’s study is warm and cozy until it’s not. An eclectic mix of strange and occult items, steampunk machinery, and a psychic parlor can instantly turn terrifying when the lights go out. And yes, they will go out. Take a moment to look around at the collection of cursed objects- and see how many references you can find.

The Weeping Witch incorporates loud noises, flashing lights, theatrical fog, atmospheric scents, pitch-black moments, and a live actor. The actor will not touch you, but they can get pretty close to you.

Overall, I feel The Weeping Witch elevates a typical escape room with theatrical elements that bring the story to life. Further pushing The Hex Room’s idea of actually playing out your own horror film scenario, The Weeping Witch really feels like you are in a horror movie with an undetermined outcome.

The Weeping Witch is now open at Cross Roads Escape Games. For 4-8 players ages 14+.

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Scary Rooms: Are They Worth It?

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What is it that instills fear into your heart?
 
Frequently, escape room companies make use of the idea of fear in some way to liven up the experience. For some, this is enticing: the concept of someone or something scaring the pants off them while trying to decipher codes and find clues is just the motivation they need to get out. 
 
Fear is one of the most innate responses to adverse environmental stimuli. We are designed to be afraid of things that pose a threat to us and our well-being. We are conditioned to have adverse reactions to fearful things. It’s why various types of phobias exist in the human race. One of our more common fears is darkness, or more broadly, the unknown. A big reason why this is the case is that we are knowledge seekers, constantly striving to figure things out, make new inventions, and thus have a more complete understanding of the world around us.

A famous example of this is the movie Jaws, specifically the original. The entire film is 2 hours and 10 minutes (130 minutes) long, and the shark was only on screen for 4 minutes. FOUR MINUTES! Yet it is considered one of the greatest horror films to date. It truly takes advantage of our hardwired fear of the unknown.

 
The most common question we game masters get asked about our rooms is, “How scary is it?” A good rule of thumb to measure the room’s frightfulness is whether live actors are in the room with you, but this is far from an ironclad rule. You can also ask the employees what kinds of things to expect without being spoiled about the room or looking at reviews of the room. However, the best method of assessing a room’s fear factor is hearing it from someone you know. Have someone you trust (who’s willing to do so) play the room before you do, and ask them what they thought of it and if they think you can handle it.
 
You’ll find that those who report that they like scary rooms find much enjoyment in the experience. The Weeping Witch is one of my favorite escape rooms because of the creative puzzles and the frightfulness. But this isn’t because I lack fear; I am more often the more fearful one of the group, but I am still willing to be the first one to go into a dark space or walk through an unlit path. I’ve learned that I can’t think fear out of my head, but taking action despite my fear dispels it. Then when we escape and make it out, it’s more gratifying than a non-scary room because, despite being terrified, I pushed on, conquered my fear, and successfully escaped!
 
More often than not, it is worth doing a scarier room because of the atmosphere and the story the company is conveying. But people who skip out on scary rooms miss out on the fantastic puzzles, exciting discoveries, and fun times the space provides. Two of our rooms, The Hex Room and The Weeping Witch, are scary in their own right. The Hex Room has a creepy ambiance: sporadic, unnerving noises are heard throughout the game, coupled with being physically separated from one another, but not much when it comes to being blatantly scary. The Weeping Witch has a live actor inside the game, and they will be doing their best to scare you, so be mindful of that before you decide to play it.  

So, what should you do to combat your fear of the unknown? Remind yourself that this is all orchestrated and purposeful. Like a scary rollercoaster, it is meticulously designed to feel scary but isn’t genuinely life-threatening. Conceptually, they are pretty similar, except escape rooms carry even less risk so that you can enjoy the space to the fullest! If you have pre-existing health conditions or are prone to panic/anxiety attacks, enter a scary room at your own risk and check with the company if they recommend you do a frightening room you’re interested in. We always want the most people possible to have fun and experience our rooms, but we first and foremost value the safety of the players for every game. Alert a staff member if you have concerns of any kind, and they will be happy to address them.