Pharaohs & Queens.
Location: Flushing, NY
Date played: August 20, 2016
Team size: up to 7; we recommend 3-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $28 per ticket
Story & setting
By entering this tomb, our group of explorers disturbed the pharaoh and triggered his curse. We had to journey deep into the tomb to break our it and save our souls. Each player received an individual curse, symbolized by a lock on a bracelet, to unlock within the hour.
The Curse of the Pharaoh had a well-constructed, beautiful set with brilliant interactions. It was incredibly fun to move deeper and deeper into the tomb.
Puzzles
Throughout this tomb, we encountered challenging puzzles.
They involved physical interactions with the set and props. Many also leaned heavily on layering and logic. Because of these design features, as well as the proliferation of hieroglyphs, the puzzles required extensive communication.
Not every challenging puzzle felt fair. At times, we were foiled by large logic leaps coupled with opaque cluing.
Standouts
Mission Escape Games constructed an outstanding tomb set. It was interactive, detailed, sturdy, and fun. The set delivered the magic of the experience.
There were some strong, challenging puzzles that involved different types of set piece manipulation.
Through clever design, Curse of the Pharaoh delivered a few truly surprising moments.
Shortcomings
We were trapped in this cursed tomb with a few weak flashlights. I would prefer to bring adequate lighting to my explorations. This was a source of frustration.
In order to lift the curse, we relied on an important document. There was only one copy and it was not easy to use. Because of this, the game bottlenecked.
There were spotty locations in the scenery where exposed screw heads felt out of place.
A few puzzles included some less than clear associations and others demanded excessively drawn-out execution after we figured out what we needed to do.
Should I play Mission Escape Game Queens’ The Curse of the Pharaoh?
The Curse of the Pharaoh was a challenging and exciting game.
This was a set that everyone could love. It provided challenge through both puzzles and tasks.
It will surprise even the more seasoned players, who will truly appreciate the design and build quality of the entire escape room.
This would be an excruciatingly difficult first room escape.
While Mission Escape Games has pretty much nailed the environmental details, they could put a little more effort into gameplay and flow to further improve the experience. This game has a lot to offer, and with additional refinement, it could really be a masterpiece.
Book your hour with Mission Escape Game Queens’ The Curse of the Pharaoh, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Full disclosure: Mission Escape Game Queens comped our tickets for this game.
