For this review, I’ll be recounting my recent visit with my family to the Flee Escape Games & VR Arena in Kirkland, WA. We were visiting some friends in the Seattle area and decided it would be fun to try out an escape room, something none of us had experienced before. A quick Yelp search showed the Flee Escape Games & VR Arena having stellar reviews, so we booked a slot for their Egyptian-themed escape room.
Walking up to the arena, I could already feel the excitement building. A staff member welcomed us in and had all of us pick Egyptian-themed nicknames to use during the game. Jenette chose to be Queen Nefertiti, John picked the name Pharaoh Tutankhamun, Patty chose the name Cleopatra, and I went with King Ramses.
After picking our names, the staff member gave us a quick briefing about the room and the rules. We would have one hour to solve all the puzzles and escape the room before we would be “trapped” forever. My kids listened with rapt attention, already strategizing their approach. Once the briefing finished, the staff member led us to the door of the room and wished us good luck before letting us inside.
The Escape Room Experience
Stepping into the room, I was immediately blown away by the level of detail and theming. The space was decorated to look exactly like an underground Egyptian tomb, with faux stone walls, flickering torch lights, and piles of gold coins and treasure scattered about. Hieroglyphs and carvings lined the walls, and a huge granite sarcophagus stood imposing in the corner. My kids let out audible sounds of awe while I couldn’t help the grin spreading on my face. This was incredible!
The First Puzzle
We quickly split up to start examining the room for clues and puzzles. My daughter Jenette made a beeline for the sarcophagus, looking for hidden clues or puzzles to unlock it. My wife started going through papyrus scrolls lined up on a stone shelf, trying to decipher the hieroglyphs etched on them. Meanwhile, my son John examined the carvings on the walls, pressing on bricks and stones, trying to find one that might trigger a hidden door.
As for me, I started going through the piles of coins and golden artifacts lying around, feeling like a modern-day Indiana Jones on a treasure hunt. The coins and jewelry all had intricate carvings and symbols on them. I figured they must be clues or puzzles in some way.
After maybe 10 minutes of fruitless searching, we hadn’t made much progress. None of the papyrus scrolls my wife searched made any sense. The carvings my son was analyzing weren’t doing anything. Jenette was still struggling to even open up the giant sarcophagus. And I hadn’t been able to decipher any meaning from the coins or artifacts.
We finally decided to take our first hint. I picked up the walkie-talkie device and asked the game master for a nudge in the right direction. He slyly hinted that we should focus our attention on the carvings and paintings lining the walls. Aha! My son John rushed over and started scrutinizing every symbol and every brick, looking for something we might have missed. And sure enough, he noticed one brick that seemed slightly loose and out of place compared to the others. He pushed on it, and to our delight, it slid back with a grinding sound, revealing a hidden compartment!
We had found our first key to escape this underground tomb. Inside was an intricate metal sphere puzzle locked by combination dials. John carefully took it out, bringing it over to the table so we could all take a look. This was our first major puzzle to solve. Game on!
Solving Riddles
From there, I’m pleased to say we were fully locked into escape room mode. My family and I were laser-focused, searching every nook and cranny for clues to help us solve puzzles and progress further toward our escape.
The combination lock sphere stumped us for a good while. But noticing some markings on the dials that correlated with carvings on the walls, we were able to crack the code and open it up. Inside was an old rusty key and a torn piece of parchment. The parchment had a riddle written on it, the answer to which would give us the combination of a simple 3-number lock hidden under one of the piles of treasure. After scratching our heads for a few minutes, we decoded the riddle and used the number combination to open the small lockbox we found buried under the coins.
This opened up a hidden antechamber that revealed our next major challenge – a large stone dial puzzle etched with astronomical symbols. It took all four of us searching frantically around the room and decoding clues before we aligned the dials properly to open yet another hidden door.
This led us down a dark passageway covered in cobwebs, like something straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. Jenette was a little hesitant to go down the dark corridor, but big brother John reassured her it was just pretending. Plus, they were both clearly loving this adventure way too much to stop now!
The passageway led us to a large chamber decorated beautifully to resemble King Tut’s actual burial vault. Treasure and artifacts overflowed from golden chests and jewelry was draped over stone busts. It was a breathtaking room, and for a moment the pure awe made us forget we were there to escape!
We did have to shake ourselves out of the stupor though – we were racing against the clock after all! There were several puzzles left for us to tackle that guarded the final door. One involved decoding symbols on an ancient scroll and matching them to carvings around a stone mirror on the wall. Another required using astrological clues from the antechamber puzzle to press the gemstones on an armillary sphere in the correct sequence.
The Final Phase
The final stretch was definitely frantic, with us tossing out theories left and right. More than once an incorrect guess sent us scrambling back to re-examine clues when we reached a dead end. I honestly lost track of time, we were so absorbed. Before we knew it, we heard the game master announce over the walkie-talkie that we only had 5 minutes left!
With a renewed adrenaline rush, we quickly pieced together the last puzzle’s solution – turning the Alexander the Great stone bust to align with Orion’s belt on a star map. We heard a loud click as the final door swung open!
We had escaped just in the nick of time! We burst out of the room to cheers and high-fives from the game master and staff as we caught our breath. They congratulated us and said we set a new record for finishing with the fastest time! To celebrate, they even took a photo of the four of us dressed up in Egyptian props and costumes, which they printed out for us to take home as a memento.
As we finally left the arena on a total endorphin high, we all immediately agreed – that was hands down one of the coolest, most fun experiences we’ve had as a family!
Things I Liked
It’s hard to even list out all the things I loved about our escape room adventure because the entire experience just absolutely exceeded my expectations across the board. But let me try to break it down:
Firstly, the production value and attention to detail were just unparalleled. The tomb set pieces and decorations did an unbelievable job of transporting us to a different time and place. Ancient Egypt came alive around us, creating an authentic atmosphere that had our whole family totally immersed in this adventure fantasy. From the flickering torch lights to the stone carvings and artwork lining the walls, you could tell no effort or expense was spared in making this escape room environment feel 100% realistic.
Secondly, I loved how the puzzles were challenging yet achievable for a wide range of ages and skill levels. Our whole family was engaged the entire time, trying to solve riddles and decode clues. My 14-year-old techie son was totally in his element, cracking the combination dials and gear puzzles. My 12-year-old daughter felt like a junior detective matching hieroglyphs and hidden symbols. My wife and I loved piecing together the astronomy and astrology clues. And when any of us felt truly stumped, we used our call-a-friend lifeline to the game master, who gave perfectly vague hints to nudge us along. So, no matter your age or background, the puzzles let anyone contribute to the adventure.
I also loved how exciting and rewarding it felt every time we solved a puzzle. Whether it was decoding a lock combination, aligning stone mirror pieces, or turning an ancient statue to reveal a hidden door – seeing our theories pay off was a rush! We would all cheer in celebration as each successful solution let us progress to the next part of the adventure. And for the final door to unlock just as time was running out – I don’t think I’ve ever felt a bigger adrenaline surge! It was such a sweet payoff after being totally invested in escaping this intricate world.
And finally, I’d be remiss not to mention how wonderful and enthusiastic the staff were throughout our entire time there. From helping pick our Egyptian names in the beginning to snapping our victory photo at the very end, every staff member genuinely shared in the joy and excitement of our experience. You could tell this wasn’t just another day at work for them – they loved bringing this adventure to life just as much as we loved playing through it! Their passion for crafting an unforgettable memory for us absolutely showed.
Things That Could Be Improved
As glowing as my review has been so far, there are still a couple of small nitpicks I have that I think could improve the overall experience:
Firstly, a timer visible in the room itself would have ratcheted up the tension even more. We lost complete track of time while solving puzzles and had no concept of how much was remaining until the final 5-minute warning. So building digital or analog clocks directly into the set itself to constantly remind players of the ticking clock would drive home the urgency just that tiny bit more.
My other piece of feedback would be even more signage and instructions outside leading guests to the arena itself. We did get a tiny bit turned around, finding the unmarked building that houses the arena, wasting about 10 minutes circling until we spotted the small Flee Escape Games sign. Larger external signage, as well as directional arrows or floor/ground decals leading up to the building, would help immerse guests right from the parking lot.
Conclusion
After that glowing review, I’ll wrap this up by giving Flee Escape Games in Kirkland my highest recommendation for anyone seeking a thrilling and engaging family activity. With its incredibly immersive environments, challenging puzzles, adrenaline-pumping excitement, and enthusiastic staff – it’s impossible not to have an amazing time.
My wife was initially unsure about trying an escape room, but she ended up loving it just as much as my kids and I did. Now she can’t wait to return to take on more of their themed adventures like the Prison Escape or Museum Heist rooms. There’s something so thrilling about getting to step into these movie-like settings and be an active character in an unfolding story.
So, if you’re looking to surprise your own family or loved ones with a uniquely thrilling activity – I couldn’t recommend Flee Escape Games more highly. Just be prepared to immediately get hooked and make this a regular weekend tradition!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to start planning my strategy to conquer their Prison Escape room next time…