Puzzle Workshop Escape Room — Attraction in Costa Mesa

I initially chose Puzzle workshop out of the handful of escape rooms with great reviews in Orange County due to their being one of the few with a willingness to accommodate custom times. Sure, it cost a little extra, but I had 12 people to herd around a very tight schedule that day, and Kym was absolutely instrumental in helping me make it all work.

I initially booked 2 simultaneous rooms (6 people for each room) at a custom time with Kym. Then I suddenly had 2 people drop out 3 days before the event. Then I had nearly everyone drop out of the scheduled event after the escape rooms. Then I had the wild idea to try and book a third escape room immediately after the first two in its place instead, and then tried to figure out if I had enough people interested ... all of this literally the night before we were supposed to show up at Puzzle Workshop. And at each new development, I was calling Kym trying to keep her updated and exploring our options and backup plans.

Kym was such a sweetheart through all of this. She was very quick to respond, even in the evening. She fielded all of my last-min updates with aplomb and good cheer. She helped me figure out how we could use the credit from the people who dropped out of the first two rooms to apply to the third, and applied roundabout discounts using gift card specials that ultimately saved us 20%. She was quick to grasp the logistical details, and at every new development, she assured me, "We'll make it work." As someone who works in operations, I appreciated immensely her grasp of details, organizational skills, and patience.

As for the puzzles themselves, the first two rooms (Illuminati and CSI) nearly kicked our butts! Our two teams literally escaped only seconds apart, just 3-4 minutes before the hour was up. We mixed our veterans and newbies, so we weren't at our most efficient, but the rooms were definitely a fun challenge.

The last room, the Time travel, we finished much faster. Probably a combination of us now being "primed", and also our team now having shrunk to our usual tried-and-true veterans, making us much more efficient.

Overall, a very professional and fun experience. I really like that they understand how to run a business as well as putting together a good puzzle room. I would be absolutely delighted to visit them again after they've turned over their...

I have only recently started doing escape rooms. Needless to say I am HOOKED, I have done 3 in LA and now 2 in Orange County. The illuminati escape room is currently my 5th room so I definately feel I have a taste for it. Unfortunately I am struggling to give 3 stars. First off the staff was lovely. Very nice people. And they gave us the needed information and they were very patient. They played us the video and then we walked in the room. Needless to say I was expecting more from the room. One small book shelf, a cheap tin knight, and a near empty desk. The goal of the first room is to mainly find out how to open the door to the second. Which requires you to find puzzle pieces. Yes cardboard puzzle pieces. They felt very awkwardly placed. Big desk drawer, small puzzle piece in the dead center and that's all. 3 books on the bookshelf and as you would expect puzzle piece forced between the pages. I'm sorry but putting a regular cardboard puzzle together isn't creative. The spelunking aspect of escape rooms is what really has me hooked. I love to FEEL like I'm in the world. And unfortunately this one felt dated. There are a few cleaver puzzles that I wont ruin here. But there is a puzzle that involves candles and it's honestly boring, everyone in my group agreed the pacing of this room is off and just stops being fun, especially with the trend of sudoku puzzles in escape rooms. Oh and there is a big tv on the wall where they can put clues up. It also shows the time. For me it pulled the atmosphere right out of the room.We made it out but it felt anticlimactic. I was disappointed mainly because of the high rating from everyone. I did another escape room that is also small from Escape Room Era. And let me tell you for being nearly as small that one makes you FEEL like you are in the world. Big book shelves and plenty of things to touch and move while being reasonably with out technology. And makes you constantly guess what's going to be next. This room just felt a bit random. So far out of the 5 rooms I have done in my life this is the weakest. And also the only one I have left a review on . Thank you for the nice staff, perhaps consider renovating the room and make it a little more engaging or...

Having not done any escape rooms in my life, I was very pleased with how things turned out for my first experience in an escape room. I was able to play all three rooms: Secrets of the Illuminati, CSI: Hollywood, & Trapped in Time.

Now keep in mind that I have never played an escape room before so I was not expecting anything specific. First thing I noticed was how different the building looked. I wasn't sure if this was how all escape rooms looked like but the outside of the building looked like an office to me, which was strange but didn't bother me at all. Walking up the stairs I was confronted with a front desk and a very office-like atmosphere, which added onto the slight weirdness, but then again, I wasn't too bugged by it. I went to the side of Secrets of the Illuminati and CSI: Hollywood (there were 2 suites; Trapped in Time on the other side). The staff were very friendly and debriefed our missions which added onto the hype of my expectations. I was promptly directed to my room and the fun began.

All three escape rooms had their own vibe and a very well-designed appearance filled with puzzles and props. All of the rooms had a television that displayed hints (you get to have unlimited hints). Personally felt that the Illuminati room was the hardest but all of the rooms gave you a wonderful time; be prepared to use your brains because mine was fried after not one but three rooms. All in all, visit this place if you're looking for a great time to spend with friends solving intricate...