Rancho Cucamonga: Escape Room Games at Victoria Gardens

4.96

(246 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t think I’d actually feel nervous when the door clicked shut behind us at The Escape Game in Rancho Cucamonga. But there it was—a little jolt of “oh wow, this is real.” Our guide, Maya, grinned and gave us a few last tips (she called them “lifelines,” which made me laugh because I knew we’d need them). The room smelled faintly like old books and something metallic—maybe props?—and the clock started ticking. It’s funny how quickly you forget about the outside world when you’re laser-focused on finding that first clue.

We picked the “Prison Break” game because someone in our group said it was the hardest (I still don’t know if that was brave or foolish). There were moments when we just stood there, staring at a lock or arguing about whether to flip a switch or not. At one point, my friend tried to squeeze through a gap that clearly wasn’t meant for humans—Maya’s voice came over the intercom, gently reminding us to use our brains instead of our elbows. The whole thing felt like being inside a movie, except with more awkward teamwork and occasional bursts of laughter when someone shouted out an answer that made zero sense.

I caught myself glancing at the timer way too often. Sixty minutes sounds long until you’re down to the last ten and suddenly everyone’s moving faster, voices overlapping. There was this one clue—no spoilers—that smelled faintly of citrus and made me weirdly hungry (don’t ask). We didn’t escape in time, but honestly? That didn’t matter as much as I thought it would. Walking back out into Victoria Gardens with everyone still debating what we should’ve done differently… I still think about that feeling of being totally wrapped up in something together.