Escape the Crate is a bi-monthly subscription-box-based game that lets you bring the experience of an escape room home. Every other month, Escape the Crate delivers a new adventure that might involve murder mysteries, time travel stories, tasks like deciphering alien languages, defusing bombs, and more. Escape rooms have become a quickly growing sensation in the last couple of years, so this is a fun way to engage with the craze.
This is a review of the Escape The Crate "Escape The Moon" box.
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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 every other month + shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
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: The US for $5. Shipping cost varies internationally.
Good to Know: "Retired games" (boxes that are no longer part of the subscription) are often sold as one-time purchases on the Escape the Crate site for $39.99.
Also, the website will help you reset the game, including downloading and printing any lost or destroyed paper components. That way you can play again or pass the game along to a friend to try.
Escape the Crate "Escape the Moon" Review
This information sheet helps get you started with the crate. There's a special link to a website for your specific crate that will guide you and your "team" (in this case, me and some friends) through the game. So make sure you have a smartphone or computer handy and charged. We used a laptop and I think it worked better, since the whole team could see the information at the same time. Sometimes the puzzle you need to solve is on the website. So a bigger, shared screen is better.
Having the website guide you through the set-up and story means you're not fumbling with a bunch of papers and potentially seeing information that would spoil things later in the game. As you play the game, the site will let you know which materials to open and when. Plus, each step is "locked" by numbers, names, or some other code that you must enter on the website before you can continue. Also, it's a big help to have a pen and paper for notes. There was also something to cut this month, so get some scissors too.
The website also begins with an example puzzle to help you understand how they work.
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Inside the box, there are all sorts of envelopes, double-sided papers, puzzles, and props to be used throughout the adventure. Usually, everything you need to unlock the next step are clues on the papers, props, or website. We were glad to see the company is continuing to use the nicer paper that they started using last month. Everything was quality, colorful, and well designed.
For the Escape the Crate experiences, you play as part of a team that travels through time to solve murders, save extinct species, or retrieve relics. The setting for this box was the Moon in the year 2050. You and your team are actually on vacation when things go wrong and your spaceship is damaged. You must solve puzzles to repair the ship or be stranded on the lunar surface.
You have the option to read or listen to an audio recording of each section. I like this because you can look at the table while the scenario is being read to you. It's also nice when you need to clarify what you heard. You can find the text without having to search through the audio file. The voice on the recording also adds a bit of personality to the experience.
At each step, you are given the option to receive hints. They start vaguely and get increasingly obvious. There's no penalty for taking a hint, except maybe a loss of satisfaction from not using one. We've completed boxes without hints, but also had some when we needed several. It's nothing to beat yourself up about. It's about having a good time.
Each step can only be unlocked with a name, word, or number. The website will say, "You need a five-letter word." However, this is a cheat at times. Sometimes you can make an educated guess because you know how many letters or digits there are.
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In addition to a few papers, there are generally a handful of props included. This box included a foam moon rock, a cheap American flag, and a tape measure. Each prop will come into play during the escape and you may use them in a way you didn't originally expect. The box itself also comes into play.
If you feel so inclined, you can time yourself to see how you stack up to the suggested times. Last month, there were 4-5 separate quests and you timed each one. This time it is one long timed session. This month one of our usual team members was not available and we suffered without him. We went over the "easy" time by a good amount. I personally like to play with several people, because everybody's mind works differently and it good to have so many different sets eyes on the puzzles.
The Verdict: This was a little difficult for us and it took us the longest time to complete. Although frustrating, it was a lot of fun, because it made figuring out the puzzles that much more of an accomplishment. You can't NOT have fun playing games with your friends and it's nice to have a break from the competitive board games and work together on one. While it's not quite the same experience as a real room, we all agreed it was a fun – and cheaper – way to spend a night with each other. My friends are always excited when I text them that the newest installment of Escape the Create has arrived.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you'd get the upcoming box. The "Escape The Moon" box is available as a standalone purchase but is no longer as part of their bi-monthly subscription.
Value Breakdown: This box cost $29.99 + $5 shipping ($34.99 per delivery) as part of Escape the Crate's bi-monthly subscription. It's still 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 since the experience can be shared and/or repeated.
Check out all of our Escape the Crate reviews, more puzzle subscription boxes, and the Geeky Subscription Box List.
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist.
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