The puppets are kidnappers and murderers in one of the best escape rooms in Los Angeles.

I'm standing on what looks like a dark, narrow city street. Around the corner is a tavern and in front of me is a police department. And I'm lost.

That's when I hear a whisper. “Pst.” I turn and see a puppet poking its head through a secret opening in a door. This way,” he says, and I lean in to listen to this furry, oval-faced creature in the shadows. He'll help me, he says, if I can clear his name. Look, another puppet has been murdered and now everyone is a suspect.

Campaign signs for puppet mayoral candidates inside Appleseed Avenue. “Election Day” is a story of political espionage with violence between puppets.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

I'm playing a game called “Election Day” at Appleseed Avenue, a relatively new escape room in a multi-story shopping center in Newhall. The puppet world is in the midst of a crisis, divided over whether humans should be allowed to wander the fictional street of Appleseed Avenue. My role is that of a detective and, throughout this game of fatal political espionage, I encounter multiple puppet characters: electricians, would-be mayors, gangsters, dead puppets.

Drama ensues, and that's where we humans come in, helping the puppets solve the case before we're kicked out of their world once and for all. You don't need to be aware of the state of puppet politics to participate, and don't worry, Appleseed Avenue's internal affairs are relatively divorced from our own. All it takes is a penchant for silly absurdity and a stomach for puppet violence.

While the look of the puppets may be inspired by, say, “Sesame Street,” with characters that are all big mouths and eyes, the tone of “Election Day” leans a little more adult. Recommended for ages 13 and up, “Election Day” will feature puppets in dangerous conditions. And if you play as a coroner, get ready to take a look at a mini puppet morgue.

“Sometimes people think, ‘Oh, this is for little kids.’ Not at all,” says Patrick Fye, who created the experience with Matt Tye. “We call it PG-13.”

“We wanted that dichotomy,” Tye says. “Really dumb characters like puppets in a gritty world.”

Fye and Tye are veterans of the local escape room scene: Fye, the creator of Evil Genius Escape Rooms, and Tye, the developer of Arcane Escape Rooms. “Election Day,” however, while a timed experience, is not a pure escape room. Think of it more as a story that develops and needs a solution. We are not trapped. In fact, a puzzle uses the waiting room, as “Election Day” plays with the idea of traversing the human world and a puppet universe.

Patrick Fye and Matthew Tye, founders of Appleseed Avenue, along with their lookalike puppets.

Puppets weren't necessarily the driving idea behind their Appleseed Avenue joint venture. The goal was to create a so-called escape room that was more narrative-based. They wanted a room, for example, where the puzzles looked natural rather than forced. “Election Day” is not a space, let's say, with complex ciphers to unravel. I was reminded of old adventure video games, where you are asked to look at objects, combine them, or go on a treasure hunt, like the one asked by the puppet I found in an alley.

Puppets were simply a means to an end.

“How can we make something that feels like you're actually in the story and has more video game elements, rather than 'I'm in an Egyptian tomb. Here's a lock,'” Fye says. “We were trying to figure out how to combine diegetics with the overall design. We came across crimes and puppets because we thought it was fun and funny.”

One problem: neither of them had created puppets or been a puppeteer before. Enter online classes, where Tye learned how to make arm puppets.

“We thought it was the best idea we had,” Tye says. When we both look at something and say, 'We don't know how to do all this yet,' we don't let that stop us.”

“Election Day” plays out like a live video game. Sometimes, we interact with a screen, since the puppets will transmit messages and missions to us. We often explore the space as the two have created an elaborate set. The teams are divided. Half work as detectives and the other half as forensic doctors. We can communicate through a conference system between rooms or just come and go.

But listening to everything the puppets say is paramount, as clues are often hidden in the dialogue. Both say they've made too many escape rooms where the story seemed too divorced from the actions they were asked to complete.

“We even say at the beginning of the game, ‘Story really matters.’ You have to pay attention to it,” Fye says. “There's a moment I'll never forget. We were doing a room on the Titanic and we were in the engine room shoveling coal. But isn't the ship sinking? What's happening? Many times a story is just a disguise.”

Appleseed Avenue 'Election Day'

Initial response to “Election Day” has been positive, to the point that the two will release a second game in 2026, a sci-fi room titled “Shadow Puppet.” The latter will use the same Appleseed Avenue setting, although additional spaces will be built. They are also looking for more kid-friendly options. A game titled “Puppet City Day” is planned for 2027, in which children will receive passports that will encourage them to interact with the puppet characters.

For now, though, think of Appleseed Avenue as part of the trend of Los Angeles' biggest escape rooms. Whether it's Hatch Escapes with its corporate time-jump game “The Ladder” or Ministry of Peculiarities with its spooky haunted house, the creators here are emphasizing history. Appleseed Avenue is no different, introducing us to an extravagant cast of puppet characters.

He also accomplishes a rare feat: he makes murder look ridiculous.

Tye says, “When there's a guy named Alby Dunfer who gets darted by a hitman, it's like, 'Okay, this is fun.'”

You may also like...