[At the time of this review, this escape room was called Chinese Jewelry Box.]
A pass / fail class.
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Date played: June 19, 2017
Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $38 per ticket on evenings and weekends, $28 per ticket on weekdays
Story & setting
We befriended our ill-tempered teacher’s daughter in order to gain access to his home and steal a copy of his class’s final exam. The twist: she locked us in the home with a laugh, warning that her father would be home in an hour… and he would be furious if he were to find us there.
Chinese Jewelry Box was one of Komnata Quest’s rare family-friendly room escapes. Taking place in a well-lit home with a Chinese flair, the set was simple and elegant.
Puzzles
Komnata Quest’s escape rooms tend to be less puzzle-driven and more focused on adventure. Chinese Jewelry Box departed from their typical approach; it played and felt like a more traditional scavenge-and-puzzle escape room.
Standouts
This was a straightforward, but fun escape room. Most of the puzzles and even the searches felt satisfying.
One room within Chinese Jewelry Box was beautiful.
Chinese Jewelry Box was family-friendly. I imagine that younger players would have a lot of opportunity to contribute.
Shortcomings
Chinese Jewelry Box was light on wow moments.
Some of the closure mechanisms felt out of place, and in one instance, a bad idea.
Should I play Komnata Quest’s Chinese Jewelry Box?
The last time we saw Komnata Quest produce a more traditional escape room, we did not enjoy it. Chinese Jewelry Box was Komnata Quest doing a standard escape room design right.
It had all of the base components of searching, teamwork, set design, and puzzling present and working well together in a straightforward, family-friendly escape room.
While I cannot recommend that experienced players go out of their way to experience Chinese Jewelry Box, if you’re already visiting Komnata Quest and want to tack on an extra game, you’ll likely enjoy it.
Chinese Jewelry Box, however, will really shine for newbies and families. This would be a great experience for introducing new players to escape rooms. It’s approachable, fun, and unintimidating.
Book your hour with Komnata Quest’s Chinese Jewelry Box, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Full disclosure: Komnata Quest comped our tickets for this game.
