Review: Casino Heist II, 60 Out, Los Angeles
60 Out
Howard Hughes LA Center
Date played February 19, 2024 Group size 2
Booking size 2 to 6 (private booking); We recommend 2 to 4
FUN FACTOR 6 (could have been 8 - see our comments)
Casino Heist II is an upgrade of the Casino Heist room of 60 Out that was previously housed at its old west LA location. This is one of three rooms at this location. We also played Hotel on Road 66 during this visit.
We got off to a rocky start as we started our game about 5 minutes late despite arriving about 25 minutes early. No one came out to check us in, so after about 20 minutes we starting walking around the halls calling for someone. Eventually we met up with someone who started our game.
The highlights of this game are a legitimately impressive and varied set along with a very high number of puzzles. Most of the puzzles were on the easier side - but the volume of non-linear puzzles made for a satisfying puzzle experience. When your group hits the non-linear segment of the room it becomes a very active and engaging experience - so a group of 4 or even 6 will have much to do.
We like casino-themed rooms as they allow for varied puzzles especially when themed around casino games. We were given the usual “no force greater than two fingers needed” speech when we were shown the room…BUT we were told that 2 of the locks tended to be very sticky and require a bit more force. The locks in question were both compartments that had a dial combo on the front…not a separate lock that could be swapped out. We are thankful that we got this heads-up…but these containers were seriously hard to open. We confirmed with the game master for both that we got the correct combo as we really tried to open them - ultimately I put my weight into it and both compartments opened. 60 Out should look into having these replaced - to avoid the immersive-breaking walkie-talkie conversations with the game master and the extra time burn.
Casino Hesit II has a nice progression of convincing and varied sets that organically let us get further into the casino. The later part of this game is a puzzle extravaganza! Many varied puzzles that allow for multiple tracks. Like other “heist” rooms we have played we attempt to gather as much wealth (in the form of casino chips) as possible - and as typical for this genre it is not necessary to get everything to successfully complete the game…and like other heist rooms you have some control over exactly when you have enough loot to exit…but unlike other rooms where we are given a bag to escape with our loot, 60 Out introduced a uniquely comical and (at first) fun twist about what we do with the chips. Unfortunately the necessary repetition of managing our casino chips became a monotonous task that took us out of solving the fun puzzles. Perhaps a larger group could split casino chip management duties and spread the labor around? This task aside, the puzzle were up our alley - a fun variation of puzzles some we have not seen before.
However we hit another bump in the road when a properly solved 4-digit solution did not open the intended lock. Fortunately it was not necessary for us to open that lock to achieve our objective but we spent considerable time checking and rechecking the combo - ony to be told after the game that indeed the lock could be…um…”sticky”. The game master couldn’t open it either upon entering the room at the conclusion. This is a definite Ding!
Our FUN FACTOR rating is 6.
We DO recommend this room and we hope that 60 Out can improve its meet and greet lobby experience and get the problem locks resolved. Since we played this game we have come back to this location and are pleased to say that even though we walked into an empty lobby we were greeted in mere seconds by a friendly staff person.
The FUN FACTOR was pushed up by:
Great and varied Set
An abundance of puzzles
The FUN FACTOR was pushed down by one to two points by:
Containers that were known to be hard to open even with the proper combo
One Lock which did not open with the correct combo
Monotonous repetition task needed for casino chips
Our lobby experience of arriving early and having to walk the halls to find an employee
