Room Escape Artist

The Great Sandbox of Giza.

Location: Passaic, New Jersey

Date played: August 7, 2017

Team size: 3-6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $33 per ticket

Story & setting

Sealed into an ancient Egyptian tomb, we had to puzzle our way out.

With Brighton Asylum’s 15 years of experience in the haunted house industry, they constructed a compelling set for The Tomb. This included detailed walls and floors covered in sand throughout the experience. The set-based interactions were tangible and technology-driven.

Puzzles

The puzzles demanded us to observe the detailed set, interpret it, and connect it back to set-based tech-driven interactions.

Standouts

The Egyptian set’s faux stonework and painted details were outstanding. The large interactive set-pieces were fun to manipulate.

Almost all of the puzzles solved with tech-driven interactions. This worked with the theme and made for some exciting moments.

There were a couple of surprising reveals.

The puzzling was interactive, involved, and demanded teamwork.

Shortcomings

The Tomb started off very slowly.

A few puzzles needed refinement. For example, one lacked clue structure. Another gave only vague feedback. When these things compounded, the gameplay stalled.

The dim lighting made it nearly impossible to read certain written clues.

The sand was problematic. It was off-putting to some players. It had also been continually destructive to some interactive set pieces, making them seize up and difficult to manipulate.

There was nowhere to put our belongings… which was honestly an issue due to the sand.

Should I play Brighton Asylum Escape’s The Tomb?

The Tomb was a playground of interactive puzzling.

Brighton Asylum Escape has the makings of an outstanding escape room in The Tomb. It has a gorgeous interactive set, interesting tech-driven puzzles, and exciting reveals.

That said, the components need refinement. The Tomb needs more light for reading, feedback for successfully completed puzzles, and more cohesive cluing to tie the puzzling components together. Also, some of the interactions need to function better in the presence of sand.

The Tomb is not accessible to players with mobility issues. You need to be able to crawl… in sand. However, your gamemaster might be able to help a player or two skip the crawling component.

The Tomb would be incredibly challenging for newer players. The details and their connections can be hard to find. That said, it would certainly be solvable.

Brighton Asylum Escape knows where The Tomb could use some work and is actively improving it before haunt season. I trust that by the time crowds flock to Brighton Asylum for the haunt, there will be a few more jewels in this tomb.

If you’re planning on playing, wear sand-friendly footwear and travel light (as there isn’t anywhere to put your things). Also note that you do not need to dump sand on any of the set pieces.

Book your hour with Brighton Asylum Escape’s The Tomb, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Full disclosure: Brighton Asylum Escape comped our tickets for this game.