Escape Room Review: STASH HOUSE - Nightmarish Conjurings

Timidly, you follow instructions. Cautiously arriving at an unmarked door illuminated by a green light that oddly blends into LA’s busy urban landscape. After all, the best place to hide illegal drug trafficking is in plain sight. You are invited to this apartment by Ray Jones, a notorious Los Angeles drug kingpin. He has a proposition for you. But first, you must prove yourself by passing his test. You must find and dispose of all his drugs before the cops show up. He took the liberty of calling the police moments before you arrived to up the stakes. There are no locked doors and you can leave at any time. But Ray warns you that the cops will find the video of you leaving the house implicating you in the crime scene. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, your best option is use your skills to locate and dispose of the hidden drugs in time.

Stash House is the second chapter of a three part series of immersive experiences outlining a crime story in Los Angeles. This immersive escape game stands out from others of its kind with a realistic setting and scenario that could actually occur in an LA apartment. Participants are encouraged to divide and conquer. With 6-8 players suggested, you may find yourself working independently or in small groups to solve the many puzzles this room has to offer. Unlike other escape rooms, Stash House is claustrophobe friendly due to its unlocked door and large playing space. With four different areas to explore, it is likely that participants will not interact with every puzzle this room has to offer. The puzzles themselves capitalize on participants’ street smarts, observational skills, spatial awareness, and general problem solving abilities. Each puzzle is deliberate and apropos to the narrative further immersing participants in the scene. With personal touches added including beverages in Ray’s fridge, this escape game raises the bar of immersive escape experiences.

Due to the many puzzles in the room, some participants may experience some challenges during Stash House. Escape room junkies should not expect to interact with every puzzle in the experience. However, having multiple puzzles solved simultaneously offers the opportunity for individuals to be continuously working eliminating participants waiting around. Some puzzles appeared to be non-linear in nature. You may encounter puzzle pieces that are not solvable without finishing other steps first which may confuse some participants initially. Luckily, after you find Ray’s burner phone, one of his clients can provide you helpful hints along the way should you need them. Stash House offers the unique challenge of requiring all participants to be active in game play to ensure successful escape.

Fans of immersives, escape rooms, crime dramas, and puzzles alike will be able to appreciate Stash House’s unique interactive story telling. This spring, Stash House plans to remount the prequel revealing how Ray Jones came to be a prominent LA crime boss. Stay tuned to Nightmarish Conjurings for the review. Check out Stash House’s website for ticket information and updates on upcoming shows. http://www.stashhou.se/.

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Danielle Nicole

From a young age, Danielle has been drawn to all things creepy, cute, and weird. In 2017, she fell in love with horror by way of immersive theater and never looked back. Her passion for consumption of Southern California’s spooky art forms has brought her to haunts, film screenings, escape rooms, immersive theater and pop-up events. With a Master’s in Counseling Psychology, she is specifically interested in exploring the psychological aspects of horror.

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