RATING: 4 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: 8:45

With strong scenic and decent story so hindered by such a mixed bag of puzzle design, it’s no wonder why the ancient Egyptians lost this tomb so long ago.

You are part of an archaeological expedition sent into deepest, darkest Egypt to discover the fate of a lost explorer.

He believed that an ancient ruby lies somewhere in the tomb with the power to unlock Egypt’s greatest secrets.

Discover the Tomb of Monthu for yourself, find the ruby or else succumb to the booby traps that lie in wait, hoping to trap you forever.

You just won’t find higher quality scenic in an Orlando escape room. America’s Escape Game clearly understands that being situated halfway between Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando is not something to be taken lightly.

More importantly, the scenic enhances the story and creates a sense of urgency for why you must complete your objective of finding the ruby. Background music, sound effects and theatrical lighting further add to the scenic experience.

Puzzle flow in The Lost Tomb of Monthu is somewhat of a mixed bag. Some are very true to the Egyptian theme – involving hieroglyphs, expedition supplies and even sand – and as such they greatly add to the Lost Tomb’s story.

Others, unfortunately are quite the opposite – jigsaw puzzles and even a giant wall-mounted crossword puzzle truly detract from the period and location authenticity everything strives to maintain.

In a world where so much effort is made to show that story matters, moments like these feel lazy, or even sloppy.

Plot holes not-withstanding, The Lost Tomb of Monthu is still a game worth playing. The other puzzles all work well to enhance the theme, the story is solid and the scenic is top notch. This room also holds the distinction of being one of only two escape room venues that I’ve played a second time – and in doing so I was very pleased to see that America’s Escape Game had enhanced the puzzles and added new challenges making it essentially a new game experience the second time around! (For the record, we did win both times – though a full minute slower the second time around!) Since then, I’m told they’ve actually done it a third time – though I haven’t had the chance to see what’s new now.

Being objective, one con I may find is the group sizes are a bit on the large size for my taste (in three of the five rooms). My original visit to The Lost Tomb of Monthu was back when the capacity was 12 people (it’s since shrunk a bit down to 10) and even though our entire group of 12 were all friends going in, it was nearly impossible to communicate or operate efficiently with that many people in a single space. This is by no means something that should make you change your mind about visiting, however. America’s Escape Game has pretty lengthy hours that make it very easy for a seasoned player to pick a slower-attended hour to book, virtually ensuring a smaller (if not private by default) group experience.

America’s Escape Game definitely sits among the list of games better games in the Orlando market.

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Venue:  America’s Escape Game

Location: Orlando, Florida

Number of Games: 5

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 10 people

Group Type: Public / You may be paired with strangers.

Cost: $35 per person