Embrace the intrigue – try new Escape Game at Westfield UTC

As malls reinvent themselves to keep visitors browsing longer, it only makes sense that escape rooms are making their way to shopping centers.

What better way to keep shoppers around than to have them sort out puzzles and challenges to escape a room that only leads them back to the mall?

So it is that a new entry to the Westfield UTC in University City is the Escape Game, an attraction that challenges players to use their wits and ingenuity to figure out how to escape a series of themed rooms.

“We wanted to find a store where both locals and visitors loved visiting and hanging out, and we think we found it in University Town Center,” said Jonathan Murrell, a co-founder and the Escape Game.

Since 2014, escape games in the U.S. have grown from about two dozen to about 2,000 in 2024, according to an industry report

For the newest spot at UTC, the first challenge may be trying to find the attraction in the sprawling mall. Located across from the entrance to Macy’s and next to Foot Locker, the Escape Game offers several themes – Ruins: Forbidden Treasure; Timeliner: Train Through Time, Cosmic Crisis; Playground; Heist and Prison Break.

Forbidden Treasure is rated a 6 out of 10 in the difficulty rankings and is an Indiana Jones-style adventure that players have up to an hour to figure out. The game starts with a video that explains the mission, finding a lost temple. Along the way, players are given opportunities to ask for clues to help them figure out the various tasks.

Players start in a downed aircraft in a jungle and must make their way out of a cargo area by, among other things, finding a key to open a locked bag, using a series of numbers to open a locked box and deciphering color-coded wires.

From there, they enter the temple to search for hidden jewels and a safe way out. This portion of the game is much more challenging and features a variety of tasks that include large dice, hanging vines, a small ball, warrior symbols, statues and even a snake guarding an important clue.

(Don’t worry. It’s not a real snake.)

The Escape Game opened in La Jolla in early July. It is a national franchise that owns 50 locations around the country, with several in California, including a site in the Gaslamp.