Escape the Crate brings the experience of escape rooms right to your home! Every other month they deliver a new adventure--anything from pirate ships, deciphering alien languages, murder mysteries, time travel, defusing bombs, and more. Escape rooms have become a quickly growing sensation in the last couple of years, so this is a fun alternative to the craze. This was the second one I'd done and the first for my partner. My first one was a challenge, but this one was really difficult!
This is a review of the Escape The Crate "Murder In The Forgotten Tomb" box.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Escape The Crate
The Subscription Box: Escape the Crate
The Cost: $29.99/bi-monthly + shipping
The Products: Each box contains the puzzle pieces that go with an escape room-style story designed for 2-4 people to solve. Inside you'll find letters, ciphers, puzzles, tools, objects, etc. that will help to complete the mission.
Ships to: US and International for an additional cost
Escape The Crate "Murder In The Forgotten Tomb" Review
This is the starting information sheet. It tells you how to get everything set up and where to go on your computer or phone to begin.
Inside we found all sorts of envelopes, papers, puzzles, props, and items to use for our adventure!
The story of the adventure is provided primarily through the web page for each mission/box. This is nice because it makes it easy to follow along without having to fumble with a bunch of papers or accidentally see something that's meant to be seen later in the game. Along the way, you are informed of what envelopes and materials to open and when, but each step is "locked with 4 numbers" or "locked with a name" or "locked with 3 letters," etc. that you have to solve before you can move on within the website.
You have the option to read or listen to an audio recording of each section. I liked this because it appeals to different types of learning/solving. We listened to each one first, then quickly skimmed back through the written part to confirm understanding. Hearing the voice on the recording added a bit of personality. There were a few places where the spoken words differed slightly from the written ones, but that was not a big deal. We also encountered a few typos, which was a little frustrating for grammar snobs like me and my partner!
At each step, you are given optional hints that you can click on. These hints don't have any time penalty, but you are still encouraged to use them sparingly. I am very competitive and also really like to challenge myself, so I have mixed feelings about the hints. I partly wish there was a penalty for using them so that we tried just a little harder to solve the puzzle in front of us. On the other hand, the ominous tick-tick-tick of the clock combined with zero repercussions makes it very easy to justify "cheating" at least a few times.
Our escape game adventure this month was set in the tomb of the 8th known woman Pharaoh. I love that they chose to highlight the little-known fact that there was, indeed, female leadership in ancient Egypt. It would have been really great if the cast of characters would have been a little more diverse though. For this box, our mission was to figure out who murdered Professor Emmett Larson.
I found this box to be decidedly more complex than the last one. It wasn't as linear, and we wound up using the hints a vast majority of the time. Maybe my partner and I were just off of our game, but I was very confused much of the time.
The materials provided were good. I hate when I wind up with a bunch of "stuff" that can't be reused or just takes up space. Although I feel like a few of the materials could easily have been left out, most everything that was essential to the game can be recycled or put to use in some other creative way--especially that fake bug!
I also discovered this time that there is an option to download and print all of the paper components so that you can play again or pass it along to a friend to attempt. I am really happy about this!
You track the time on your own, honor's system style. For this adventure, they gave an option of a normal or an expert version; we opted for normal. The game suggested 60 minutes for "expert/experienced," 75 minutes for regular/casual, 90 minutes for easy/new, or to "play for fun" without a timer. Based on my experience from last time, we decided to go with the 90-minute option. We wound up going 35+ minutes over, which was beyond frustrating for me! I can only hope to redeem myself with the next box. I think for that one I'll put together a team of 3-4 rather than just 2.
The Verdict: I enjoyed this Escape The Crate, but of course a little less so since we didn't solve it before the clock hit zero. (#sourgrapes) I'd thought that having a little experience under my belt would have helped, but this box was a completely new adventure.
Nonetheless, it was a fun time and I am excited to check out the next one--Rock N Roll Spy! The level of detail put into these adventures is really apparent--they cover the bases. Of course, there are some super cool actual escape rooms out there, and I don't think this subscription could replace them completely. However, if you enjoy challenging your brain with those types of puzzles, this is a wonderful way to get a similar experience without even having to leave the house!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign-up today? Yes, this particular box is available as a standalone purchase but is no longer as part of their bi-monthly subscription. You can purchase it as a one-time order here. If you sign up for a subscription between the 1st and the end of the current month, your first box ships out the first week of the following month.
Value Breakdown: This box is the latest of their subscription plan at $29.99+shipping/bi-monthly. This specific mission is now "retired" but available as a one-time, individual purchase of $39.99 from their shop. The prices for in-person Escape Rooms near me are around $24-30 per person. In my opinion, getting an escape room experience for the cost of just one ticket is totally worth it, especially now that I know the experience can be repeated.
Check out all of our Escape The Crate reviews and more puzzle subscription boxes and the Geeky Subscription Box List!
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