S&Y.
Location: Loveland, CO
Date Played: September 26, 2021
Team Size: 2-8; we recommend 3-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $35 per player for 2-3 players, $28 per player for 4+
Ticketing: Private
Accessibility Consideration: The floor is covered in sand
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
Time Emporium’s Secrets of the Pharaohs was a classic take on an ancient Egyptian tomb escape room. The set was well built, with a layer of sand covering the floors for extra immersion.
The puzzles were designed around fun ideas, though some of them could have benefited from a bit more polish in implementation. This room contained some exciting reveals and interactions that would especially be a hit for newer escape room players.
If you’re passing through Loveland, Secrets of the Pharaohs is a solid newbie-friendly choice for a traditional escape room. And if you’re looking for a challenge, make sure to check out Time Emporium’s Wizard’s Tower and Murder in London for even more expansive sets and more innovative gameplay.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Scenery snobs
- Newbies
Story
We entered the tomb of Pharaoh Khaba to retrieve the time medallion hidden there.
Setting
Secrets of the Pharaohs took us to an ancient Egyptian tomb. The set was solidly built and felt like a quintessential Egyptian escape room: torches lined the walls, two large pillars surrounded a central pedestal, and hieroglyphs covered many surfaces of the room. In addition, the floor was covered with a layer of loose sand.
Gameplay
Time Emporium’s Secrets of the Pharaohs was a standard escape room of moderate difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, making connections, and puzzling.
Analysis
➕ Secrets of the Pharaohs was full of fun reveals which presented a classic take on an ancient Egyptian tomb escape room theme. Many moments felt like the sort of escape room interactions you see depicted in popular media. This would especially be impressive for newer escape room players.
❓ The floor of Secrets of the Pharaohs was covered in a layer of sand. While this strongly reinforced the Egyptian theme, my team found it to be more of a hassle than it was worth — especially as a set element which is particularly challenging to clean between plays and inevitably got in our shoes and on our hands. Your mileage with this effect may vary, but in any case, be prepared to get a bit sandy.
➖ The mechanism to get more light was finicky and required some less-than-realistic escape room logic. Much of the room was still very dark even with the extra light sources.
➕ Music helped build drama and tension as the game progressed.
➖ A few too many puzzles centered around looking at writing on scrolls. We wished more of this cluing had been directly integrated into the beautiful set itself.
➖ There was an overloading of symbol sets. That is, hieroglyphs used in puzzles also appeared elsewhere as decoration, and it was sometimes tricky to distinguish between the two.
➖ The handwritten text on a logic puzzle was difficult to read. This puzzle’s information was also presented in such a way that some puzzlers might be inclined to overthink it.
💀 A heady interaction led into a satisfying endgame sequence.
Tips For Visiting
- There was a parking lot.
- This game is at the Loveland location.
- Prepare to get slightly sandy.
Book your hour with Time Emporium’s Secrets of the Pharaohs, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Time Emporium comped our tickets for this game.
