Room Escape Artist

Not that Red Queen.

Location: Bridgewater, NJ

Date played: November 13, 2017

Team size: 3-8; we recommend 4-6

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $200 per team

Story & setting

We were archeologists studying an ancient Central American temple when the spirit of an ancient ruler imprisoned us for trespassing in his Queen’s tomb.

Escape Room Center houses a collection of escape rooms of varying themes and difficulty levels. They are adjacent to one another with walls reaching most of the way to the ceiling.

The larger set pieces in Tomb of the Red Queen gave it an ancient temple-y vibe. Beyond that, it was a room that housed an assortment of vaguely ancient civilization-themed puzzles.

Puzzles

Tomb of the Red Queen contained a collection sustained challenges that worked best with teamwork. The majority were stand-alone puzzles that would be solved independently of one another.

Tomb of the Red Queen also included a communication-focused segment.

Standouts

The puzzles required enough investment to feel substantial, but not so much that they became monotonous, especially when we worked on them together. They were interesting – mostly incorporating the larger props – and different from one another.

Tomb of the Red Queen culminated in an exciting puzzle sequence, based around a intriguing set piece. It included some surprising effects and brought closure to the themed experience.

Shortcomings

The opening sequence fell a bit flat. We found that astute observation could work around the intended challenging element. Additionally, our gamemaster’s introduction as we entered the room, while intended as a clue for this segment, proved quite misleading.

For the majority of the escape room, the puzzles were only vaguely related to the ancient temple theme. While we enjoyed the culminating puzzle, the earlier ones were simply puzzles and the theming only sort of came through.

A few props notwithstanding, the set design wasn’t amazing. The set was clearly not the focus of Tomb of the Red Queen.

Additionally, the walls were entirely too glossy. Had they been matte finished, they wouldn’t have attracted as much attention.

Should I play Escape Room Center’s Tomb of the Red Queen?

Tomb of the Red Queen was a fun and difficult game.

Escape Room Center has a large facility with a number of escape rooms. In general, they are a great choice for newer players, families, and corporate bookings.

Tomb of the Red Queen is the most challenging escape room they offer. It’s puzzle-dense with substantial puzzles. We recommend Tomb of the Red Queen for more experienced teams.

If you are a newer player, start with one of their other games, such as Blackbeard’s Brig. Similarly, if you are organizing an event where the attendees might be puzzle-curious rather than puzzle-loving, don’t dive in with this one.

Tomb of the Red Queen is an entertaining, interactive, and harder than most escape rooms. If you’re ready for the challenge, you should accept it.

Book your hour with Escape Room Center’s Tomb of the Red Queen, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Full disclosure: Escape Room Center provided media discounted tickets for this game.