Review & Giveaway: “Harry Potter”-Themed Escape Room Is Magical
We all wanted to get our Hogwarts letter, and when we didn’t, we were devastated. However, there is still a way to experience what it would’ve been like to attend Hogwarts (without making a trip to a Universal park!). Today, we have escape rooms that immerse us in an adventure, and in San Diego, we were able to test one out! Check out the review of our adventure and then enter to win an adventure of your own!
At Exit Game, which describes itself as “THE premiere escape room experience in Los Angeles and San Diego,” Year 2: The School of Sorcery takes you into a chamber of secrets that you have to uncover in order to help save the headmaster, all while being a student! This parody includes some fun names that we’ll let you discover for yourself.
As for the room(s) themselves, you start in a mixture of a common room and classroom that is so well decorated you really will feel like you’ve stepped into the magical world. Moving through the room(s) involves all of the Houses, enabling you to combine the practical clues with the magical ones. And as you go through each room, it’s important to keep the magic in mind. There were a couple of clues where we were on the right track but hadn’t quite gotten it yet, because we hadn’t incorporated magic into the solution. While in the room, you’re instructed by some familiar faces via a video, and one of the things we appreciate about this room is that they accommodate the time of the video(s) into the hour you have to complete your mission.
One of the main differences between this escape room and others is the mainframe. One of the creators said that they were more focused on creating an experience that allows you to become the student and go on your own adventure, rather than just follow the golden trio on theirs. So with that being said, if you’re looking for an escape room based purely on multiple plot puzzles and trivia, think again on this one.
You’ll encounter familiar objects, concepts, and designs that were super cool to see implemented. However, some of the clues weren’t used to the fullest potential or they were overcomplicated. Moments that should’ve taken around or less than five minutes to figure out stretched into ten or more due to the design of it. This creates an excellent challenge and reminds you that teamwork is essential, but fans who are too stubborn to ask for help at the right moments might struggle.
Thankfully, this escape room is built for the average fan and outside knowledge isn’t required to understand it. At most, that outside knowledge might help you make a connection a couple of seconds faster. However, if you make it to the end, you’ll discover the main reason why this particular room emphasizes four to six players instead of just one or two. The end also contains a surprise and the ability to take control of the story’s direction, which has us wanting to experience it again.
Overall, we give this escape room an 8/10. It was creative and practical, and as major fans of the series, we were gleeful with its nods to the series. We completed the mission, and we encourage both first-timers and experienced goers to Apparate on over to the School of Sorcery
If you’re ready to take on this magical escape room, we have the perfect giveaway for you to enter. Thanks to the folks over at Exit Game, we have four grand prizes and ten secondary prizes to give away to any reader who will be in the San Diego or Los Angeles area. Over the next two weeks, you can enter to win one of the following:
- 1 of 10 free tickets for a single player to experience either the San Diego or Los Angeles School of Sorcery, a value of $32
- 1 of 4 School of Sorcery prize packs good for up to 6 players to experience either the San Diego or Los Angeles School of Sorcery, a value of $192
While you do need to enter within our contest time frame between March 6 and 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on March 20 to be eligible, the redemption of your prize has no time limit. You can choose to redeem your prize right away, or save it for a special trip to the area — it’s up to you when to schedule your adventure! Enter now for your chance to win!
Winners will be contacted by email after the contest period ends and will need to respond within 24 hours to confirm their prize or another winner will be chosen. Make sure to check your spam or junk folders in case Errol delivers your winning email to the wrong inbox!
Tickets to the School of Sorcery experience were provided to MuggleNet by Exit Game for review.