Review: Black Dragon - Escape Room LA
Black Dragon
Escape Room LA
Downtown Los Angeles - 120 E 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
Date played December 24, 2023 Group size 4
Booking size 3 to 9; We recommend 4 to 6
Objective: Find and assemble the pieces of a stolen medallion
Overall Fun Factor: 8
Difficulty: Intermediate/Advanced
Good first room? Maybe…its non-linear tracks may be frustrating for new players - although the game guide is sitting in the room inconspicuously to help. Generally we think more linear rooms are good first-time escape rooms.
The objective is of Black Dragon is to find and assemble all the pieces of a stolen medallion. It is set in 1960s Hong Kong. Escape Room LA has convincingly recreated a multi-store “back-alley” city scene of Hong Kong’s Kowloon district.
A glimpse of the detail of the outstanding street-scene - back alley set!
Our group of 4 experienced players were busy the entire time working on the multi-tracked puzzles. For this reason we recommend 5 or 6…but groups of up to 8 people would find plenty to keep busy without overcrowding.
Why our rating?
This game had lots of clean puzzles in vast multiple non-linear spaces. This room sings with varied puzzles and to cool sets with lots to explore.
What was great? SET – PUZZLES - TACTILE MANIPULATION. The puzzles stood out as outstanding…This game had more puzzles than the average escape game by far – some had multiple steps…but the answers were clear and unambiguous – no traditional keys or combinations.
This is a terrific example of how an outstanding set can enhance the puzzles. Escape LA used the setting of a restaurant and various other businesses to transport and literately immerse us in this neighborhood with puzzles that made sense for each location.
But a great set cannot fully carry an escape room – here the puzzles were allowed to shine…where many of the puzzles organically made use of their locations.
TIP FOR VISITING: Escape Room LA is in Downtown Los Angeles - parking can be tricky during business days. There is plenty of metered parking nearby but that is a hit or miss - so be sure to allow time to find parking.
If you are ready to play here you can find BLACK DRAGON here.
