We were in town for four days and did every room they had. The Reel. The Last Vampire. Grim Stacks. And Operation Mindfall. Travis, Jacob, and Aiden (hope I got them all right!) were great game masters and clearly lovers of escape rooms. The Reel, Vampire, and Stacks were the three indoor rooms, all of which were challenging but not frustrating. We escaped all three with time to spare, but got plenty of time to enjoy them. If we get 40 to 50 minutes in a room that's the sweet spot. 59:59 is a bit tight. ;-) And anything closer to 30 and less is way too easy. Obviously I can't say much about the rooms without spoiling any puzzles, but there was a nice blend of traditional locks and clues that were revealed once you solved a puzzle. Rooms were in good condition and all the puzzles worked. Operation Mindfall was a lot of fun. The outside of it all wasn't necessarily integrated into the game, but being outside was a refreshing change from being "locked" in a room. The puzzles were a lot of fun, and kept you moving. And you got a soundtrack to keep you in character as a secret agent. We were also extremely proud to learn that we solved the one puzzle that seemed to break a lot of other teams pretty quickly. We also got first place over everyone who has done this escape at this location. Definitely worth a stop. read more

My husband and I came back to do the Curse of the Emerald Seas yesterday and had another great experience! We were told it was the most challenging room - definitely was more thinking than the other two, but we've also done a lot of escape rooms between then and now so I think we were better prepared. We received ~3 hints throughout the game and finished with 11 minutes to spare - the flow of the room was probably the best I've ever experienced. Most have like 5 things going on at once, this room was very focused and directed. Don't want to say too much more and give anything away When we finished, we heard an excited woop from the other room and both of the guys there told us we killed it, you could tell they were really excited for us. Super great feeling! Apparently this room has a pretty low completion rate, hence the reaction. They at one point also put up that one math meme gif (with the lady and the calculations) and wrote on the screen something to the effect that we were doing a great job. Thank you to our game master Jacob for the great hints and creating a fun atmosphere for us! read more

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Three of us managed to escape The Reel with 2 1/2 minutes to spare! It was very cute (movie theater themed) with multiple rooms. We were given hints when it looked like we were stuck on certain parts. Employees were friendly and hinted at an awesome room coming soon. Looking forward to visiting again. *Parking meters out front for parking-bring change.)* read more

Puzzle Effect - First room-The Reel - Escape Games Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

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We had a great time at this escape room. The employees were super nice and helpful. I went with my 11 year old daughter and we had a great time doing the movie theater challenge. We will definitely come back next time we're in town. read more

We came out for my bachelorette party as a group of 3 with varying escape room experience and had an absolute blast. Jakob, Travis, and Aiden were so friendly and helpful. We had such a great time doing Grim Stacks that we came back the next day to take on The Last Vampire! Can't recommend this place enough for a great time and solid puzzles! read more

Had such a great time with my co workers last Wednesday. Adrien was so great, enthusiastic and helpful. Cannot remember the name of the room we did but i cannot wait to go back and try the others. 10/10 read more

We finished the Grim Stacks: Books and Bindings, and finished under the hour with 1 hint at the very end. We didn't get any clues solved in first 10 minutes at all but then we got momentum going after that. Jakob was very friendly and followed our instructions to not give any hints until we asked, and we held out as long as we could until the very end. Easy to find street parking since it's two blocks away from the bars and downtown stores. Will return for sure and try a new challenge. Thanks Jakob! read more

Super fun experience! We had a great time here. We did the grim stacks room and it was a nice balance between not too easy and not too hard. Fun lore, cool atmosphere, helpful hints. The lead who helped us was very nice and friendly too! Definitely would come back. We really liked that you can take pictures inside the room, too, since we've been to places that don't allow it. read more

Very fun time! We did the Reel with 2 people and completed it in the time with a few hints. Emma was a great game master. read more

Puzzle Effect - Escape Games Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

What a great spot that continues to not disappoint! We did another one of the indoor escape rooms here and it was super fun, yet challenging! I highly recommend this place over and over again!! read more

Puzzle Effect - Escape Games Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

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My bf and I did Curse on the Emerald Sea. It doesn't have super high tech set design like some other escape rooms (eg you are doing puzzles in one room the whole time), but the puzzles were solid and took some thinkin'!! Sheldon was an awesome game master. He asked us at the top how we preferred hints and per our preference, he was pretty hands off unless we truly needed a nudge. Shelby handled things behind the scenes and our room experience was very smooth! Would recommend to keep the group to 2 for more advanced players; the game is pretty linear, so i think if you have more players in this room it would be too many cooks in the kitchen. For beginning players, would have a group of 3-4. All in all a fun room!! Would come back and do the movie themed one for next time. :) read more

For my Bachelor's Party in SLO, my friends booked this escape room experience for the seven of the Groom's crew. Being that it was a One Piece (aka anime pirate) crew theme for the Bachelor's Party, they opted to choose the "Curse on the Emerald Seas" escape room, which was the perfect fit. Although the space seemed a bit small for the seven of us, we had a fun time discovering the puzzles and working together as a crew. Thanks to some intuitive and intelligent folks on my Bachelor squad, we actually managed to escape with almost 26 minutes left, which was just 2 minutes short of the best time. We were quite ecstatic and couldn't stop talking about how good of a team we were afterwards. I really appreciate how there is a video introduction in the beginning that mentioned how to reset locks, and the game masters Damion and Garrett worked well with us in terms of getting us set-up and passing along advice only when it was critical. I also appreciate how they connected with us on other interests, like knowing One Piece (since we all had the Jolly Roger on our bucket hats), and Porter Robinson. Great staff, and fun times - definitely recommend trying out Puzzle Effect! read more

Very cute little escape room in downtown SLO! My friends and I came for an afternoon escape room and it was a lot of fun! There were 4 of us in total - the rooms aren't super large, so I think 3-4 is the perfect number. We escaped!... with 17 minutes to spare! LOL with that being said, I think this room was a little too easy for us. It was still fun nonetheless. Street parking only - most of which is metered. They have one male and one female restroom inside. There's also a big basket inside each escape room for you to store your belongings. They're chill about taking pictures and videos inside the rooms which is cool. read more

Puzzle Effect - Escape Games Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

This was such a fun experience! It was my first escape room and this place is definitely adult and kid friendly. My friends and I were so worried we wouldn't be able to finish but we had just enough clues to help us finish. I was told that in some escape rooms you have a limited amount of clues, but I think there was a guy watching us from outside and he gave us clues whenever he saw us stuck and struggling a little too much :). We did The Reel Mystery and it was challenging but really interesting! I was so energized afterwards and my friends and I all agreed we would absolutely do this again. read more

Puzzle Effect - Escape Games Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

We had such a awesome time Aidan was awesome we had so much fun for our daughters birthday and our son Aiden was a beast at it I can't believe we solved it read more

This place is great. It was my family's first time doing any escape room. We app are chose the hardest one and completed it! The directives were straight forward. The employees give you clues throughout if you are off track and sometimes the clues came too quickly. Like we were just about to get there and then the clue would show up. But overall great experience. read more

I took my son and his friend age 9, and the three of us had a blast. It was really fun and challenging. Families, friends, work events etc this would be a hit. They've put a ton of detail into the different rooms. Aidan and Emma were awesome. They fed us hints along the way when we asked and kept things going. read more

My fiancé and I came to puzzle effect for the first time tonight and played The Reel. We had a blast and Brady was super helpful and kind the whole time. He had perfectly timed clues and really made the experience great for us! We'll definitely be back :) read more

We pre ordered ' THE CURSE ON THE EMERALD SEAS ' room. Avast ye! This is their hardest puzzle yet!! Dead men tell no tales! We had few clues and managed to muddle though the bountiful puzzle details. With near mutiny, we managed to see the light out from this curse on the Emerald Seas yet alas, were fed to the fish! Maybe another 3-5 minutes we would have made it but the curse was stronger than Captain and crew. I highly recommend this room, not for beginners but still enjoyable even if you don't finish. This room offered word clues, clue cards, props that interact with other items, locks, magnets, decoding, lights, and sensors that unlock things. Really cool room. It's great that it's just the one room not a bunch of stairs one shallow step up for two parts of the puzzle and few other parts are up higher if you're in a wheelchair you could play this room with help. I like how they don't scare you into thinking you're trapped in there and they're stealing your devices they actually encourage you to take and share lot of photos! After all experience and exposure right!!! If any of your team survived and really enjoyed the game Puzzle Effect sells merch in the lobby to commemorate the occasion! read more

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My husband and I LOVE escape rooms, so when we were in the area we decided to give this place a shot. We tried "The Reel" and had an absolute blast! Having an escape room in a "movie theater" is such a unique idea, and we loved that you get a souvenir to take with you when you escape. Plus our game master (Izzy I think) was perfect, stepping in just at the right times with gentle nudges instead of giving answers. Their clever set design, engaging puzzles using fun technology, and good game master left us so satisfied that we actually ended up booking another room for the very next day. Our second room was Curse on the Emerald Seas and while we didn't love it as much as The Reel (the game master that day seemed rather bored), it was still a fun room. All in all I would recommend giving this place a try! read more

We decided to to the Grimm's escape room as a last minute activity after wine tastings, and they were very accommodating for our group of 3 as walk-ins! The room itself was the perfect amount of challenging. We used 3 hints total, and it was "self-paced" meaning they gave hints when your group hadn't completed a puzzle in awhile. There were some red herring puzzles, which we actually appreciated! The only thing I would change is that I wish we got a more in-depth debrief behind the story/theme of the room & the ending for Grimm's seemed a bit anticlimactic. That being said, the actual puzzles were great and the perfect amount of challenging! read more

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I have gone here twice to do the Pirate and the Movie Theater room. I enjoyed both very much, it would be cool after a couple years if they switch them out for new ideas but honestly after I forget how the puzzles work I would do them again, honestly I already mostly forgot but might do the Magic room first. Really great staff and super fun if you need something to do with friends of family. Really tests your brain!! read more

Such an awesome experience here thanks to Abby and James!! I definitely recommend going with a bigger group if you're worried about solving in time (although you can ask for clues). My group of 6 was 10 minutes late so we got 10 minutes taken off our overall time but we ended up still finishing within that time frame which i don't think would have happened if there had been less of us! Really nice having this place be an option if you're not into the bar scene but still wanna do something fun at night! read more

Got free popcorn for beating a room pretty cool Upadate ate the popcorn it was good read more

Me and a friend came here to play grim stacks. I am so sorry I can't remember the name of the guy who led us in (I think it was Steven maybe?). But he was very nice and got us all set up to play. We had Sydney as a game master and she was awesome, making sure we got out on time. We definitely struggled a bit with a few puzzles but there were only two of us so I am happy with how we did. Had a great time and can't wait to try another room! read more

Puzzle Effect - Escape Games Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

Went for work team building which was perfect for that. It was so much fun! Our host was Patrick & Sherman both, made our large group feel welcome, gave great instructions and our day was memorable. Thank you both!!! read more

Our game master Aidan was super funny and so helpful. He definitely matched the energy of our high-energy group. Definitely recommend the Curse on the Emerald Sea room! read more

My boyfriend and I visited Puzzle Effect & tried out Grim Stacks. Before starting the puzzle, Max explained the rules and what to expect. Her positive energy was a plus. We both had a really good time. The clues made us think, but weren't too difficult to the point of getting stuck. We made it out with 8 minutes to spare and celebrated by visiting a brewery afterwards. 10/10 would recommend. Definitely making another stop if we're ever in the area. read more

Puzzle Effect - Escape Games Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

We did this as an activity for my friend's bachelorette party and for the most part it was pretty fun! Our group of 12 was too big to fit into one game, so we decided to split up into two groups and do two different games. My team ended up doing 'The Reel' game, and honestly I thought it was alright. Having been to other escape room type things, this one just felt boring. I think the decor can really shape the experience, and this felt like I was sent back to a 90s run down theatre. The game itself was pretty tough towards the end. There wasn't a ton of intuitive aspects that we picked up on, but luckily they offer up tips to help you get through the game. Ultimately, we finished it, but it was only because they were kind enough to add more time to the clock. The other group did the Grim Stacks, and they had a ton of fun with it and beat us, so we ended up having to buy them shots at the next stop. Once they finished, the team let them watch our group struggle through the finish of ours. That must've been hilarious to watch lol The staff here was top notch for sure. For $37.50 a person, it's a fun activity for a group if you are into puzzles. I am not, so it was kinda whatever. I think if it was a different theme, I would've enjoyed it much more. Overall though, still fun to figure out who in the group would be good to have if the world was ending. I proved I'd be useless if puzzles are involved lol read more

So much fun! Syd and Sherman killed it!! I would 100% recommend to anyone. we successfully escaped!

I love this place, good me twice now. Absolutely the best place for groups!!! First time I went I took my family, second time I went we planned a birthday party there about a month later because we just loved it! read more

Puzzle Effect - This was the film/movie one - Escape Games Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

Took my daughter and her friends to celebrate her 12th birthday. Grim Stacks was recommended and they loved it! James and Patrick helped make the experience fun and entertaining for the children and us adults who watched from outside the room. I highly recommend this experience. read more

My friends and I had a good time playing the Curse of the Emerald Seas escape room. The design of the room is very in line with the theme. Our game masters Sam and Sydney were very helpful in answering all our questions prior to starting the game. The instructions were clear. It was also easy to reserve a time slot for the game. We went on a Sunday afternoon. read more

Amazing date night with my husband. After being married for over 10 years it's hard to find a new date night experience. We did the Harry Potter like room. We didn't escape but not lack of help from the crews watching us giving us helpful clues. It is a clever and fun way to spend with a date, friends of family. I highly recommend doing an earlier appointment at the Puzzle affect and then go out to one of the amazing restaurants all within walking distance. You can spend your dinner regaling your epic tales of your escape or laughing so hard over epic fail. This is a great bonding experience. read more

Great fun! I brought some family members visiting from out of town none of whom had any experience with escape rooms. We took on the most challenging room and solved it! It was fun helping each other and working together to reach a goal. We ranged in age from 7 to 68 and everyone contributed. read more

This was super fun Sydney was great ,explained everything well we will do the rooms soon ! Only downfall had trouble with the writing pad other then that it was super fun!!! read more

Escape room was hard but fun. Staff was incredibly nice and helpful/informative. I would definitely come back!

SO SO FUN!!! This was my first time ever doing an escape room and puzzle effect was so cool. Constantly kept me on my toes, we did the mystical library and it was awesome! Robert was also amazing, such great energy and he answered all of our questions. We love Robert! read more

So much fun here! Sydney was our hostess and she was so friendly, clear and helpful with the needed hints just when we needed it! We went right down to the wire and got to open the final box! Thanks Sydney! read more

Went back (for the third time) to complete the final room we hadn't done (Grim Stacks)! It was super fun and we nearly beat the record. Syd and James were very helpful and made some recommendations for some escape-rooms-in-a-box to try. Wish they would add some new rooms so we could go again! read more