Mexican Cartel

Labyrinth Escape Rooms (Parramatta, Australia)

Time limit: 60

Age limit: None

Player limit: 2-8 (recommend 4)

Difficulty: Medium to Hard

Awards: TERPECA Nominee (2022)

Date visited: January 2026

Our final escape room adventure before the start of the 2026 school year took us back to Parramatta, this time to Labyrinth Escape, a small business that opened back in 2015. We decided to take advantage of a Sunday special they had at the time, where children under 18 received a 50% discount with every paying adult.

First up, we tackled Mexican Cartel, Labyrinth's only TERPECA nominated game. However, this happened back in 2022 and it only received a single nomination, so we didn't have any unrealistic expectations. That said, from the set photos we've seen, it appears they have updated and upgraded the room over the years, which is always appreciated. So how was it?

• Mexican Cartel turned out to be a pleasant surprise, a much stronger traditional room than I had anticipated. The props were well made, the puzzles were fun, and the tech was smooth.

• First of all, I must give a shout out to the introductory video explaining the house rules at Labyrinth, which was a marvellous home-made production that was as funny as it was entertaining. Kudos to the team.

• Mexican Cartel was set in a cartel boss's house, where we found ourselves shackled to start off the game. The aim was to free ourselves and find our passports so we could escape and flee the country before the boss gets back.

• The set was very good, with colourful Mexican theming coupled with escalating hints of crime and death. It wasn't a particularly big room, but it was big enough and had enough spaces of varying decor to deliver changes in tone as we progressed. The props were much better than I had expected, but I won't spoil anything by divulging what was especially well done.

• The puzzles were a mix of traditional locks and tech, with some hunt and seek thrown in. Not all were diegetic, and the flow was not perfect in the beginning due to a major stumbling block in the form of a massive and challenging dexterity puzzle that took us a long time to overcome. I can see this puzzle being a big source of frustration for some teams, and indeed, our GM told us afterwards that they often have to bypass it when teams simply can't get it done despite countless attempts.

• Prior to completing the dexterity puzzle, we actually got a "free" nudge from the GM on another hunt and seek element we had not yet completed. This was one of those iffy prop issues where we did not find an item because we did not want to break or damage anything by applying excessive force. But apart from these two puzzles, most of the game was smooth sailing for us, and the flow grew more smooth and linear as we entered the second half of the game.

• The tech and special effects were probably the most surprising aspects of the room. There was a lot more tech than I expected, and all of it was well hidden and aligned with the purposes of the puzzles. The cool effects were an added bonus.

• On the whole, this was a promising start to our day at Labyrinth and had us excited for the two remaining rooms after our lunch break.

Escape time: 39 minutes and 32 seconds

Theming	Atmosphere	Puzzles	Creativity	Fun
A-	B+	B+	B+	B+

Verdict: A seemingly standard escape room that turned out to be a lot more than meets the eye, with some well-designed ideas, tech, and effects elevating it above the average experience.

OVERALL RANK:

H	E	Z	J
B+	B+	B+	B+