Pirate Escape Review! Just turning into the parking lot gives the vibe of a first generation room escape; an almost too residential feel. By first generation I mean this room escape uses more locks and simple creations rather than investing in the crazy technology that these newer rooms use. One thing that set this room escape apart from the rest is that it felt like it was fewer puzzles and harder puzzles. My team of 6 worked more together than we usually do. we weren't thrown a ton of relics and random clues for no reason. At other rooms I can make a pile of all the clues and boxes and stuff we have to find. But here the room is almost empty. It really does challenge you to think outside the box. Overall the experience was really fun. We beat it with 8 minutes to spare and we had to use a few clues which in hindsight we didn't need. read more

The Cryptic Cube - pirates! - Escape Games Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

We are seasoned escape room attendees. While we had fun with the puzzles, this escape room is in an old musty 80's building and the room has little to no production value. I would stick with companies like conundrum or flee where you feel you are on a movie set. This was just two rooms in an 80's building with some clues and locks in each. On a positive note, there were some creative and new puzzles we had not experienced before and the staff person was nice. We still had fun but it was definitely not the professional escape room look and feel we are used to. read more

This was my 5th escape room and was definitely one of the better ones I have done. I came with 4 other people who never done escape rooms before and we all had a pretty good time. The place is not that hard to find if you know what you are looking for. They have their (small) logo posted out in the street so we found it pretty fast. The escape rooms was very fun. It's not as high tech or tech savvy as other escape room but I actually prefer it because you don't have to worry about things being glitchy or not working properly. I also like that there's no fixed amount of hints you will get, the people wants you to enjoy your time so of they see that you are definitely struggling, they will give you hints. The puzzles varies in difficulty, as we solved some faster than others. But overall, it was very entertaining and even though we didn't find the treasure, we had a lot of fun trying. The only thing I thought could improve on is that some of the locks we had to open, didn't really connect to each other, so when you solve one riddle, the clue from that can lead to any of the other riddle, and you will have to try all of them to see which will fit, you won't know which puzzle will open which locks. But that's just me :) read more

A great room if you haven't done one before. We had a party of 6. 4 of us have done several escape rooms (as you can see in my reviews) and a newbie couple who has never done one before. This was the perfect combo in doing this fun Pirate room. I think for those experienced escape room enthusiasts in our group, some of things we have seen in other escape rooms helped a lot. Our record time was because of this and it still made the game worthwhile. You just don't know what to expect going into any room, but happy to do a room on the East side instead of dealing with parking in Seattle. In comparison to other escape rooms, this isn't as high-tech/interactive from the ones that we've experienced but very entertaining. I would recommend this one and the Conundroom in Redmond (Express room) to be good beginner rooms if you want to experience it for the first time. Side note: We had a difficult time finding the location as their signage only was seen in the business building window which was not facing the main road. It was pitch dark so my husband and I had to make a u-turn to find the spot. It would be good to invest in a sign that could be seen on 8th street. read more

The Cryptic Cube - Record time! - Escape Games Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Absolutely the worst escape room we have ever done. Here's why: 1. The employee was completely disinterested and rude. He clearly didn't want to be there and anytime we asked for a clue, he would just tell us the answer or reiterate the part of the puzzle we had already solved. He treated us like we were dumb and it made me very upset- clearly he, or the Cryptic Cube as a whole, has no idea that the puzzle masters are supposed to be helpful and supportive. I am shocked he was hired to work with customers, to be frank. 2. It was unbelievably hot in the room- no AC, no fan. Utterly ridiculous when you are locked inside two small rooms with 5 other people, and so uncomfortable when you're trying to race against the clock and escape. 3. The way the puzzles were set up didn't always follow logic or reason. I don't mind when it's hard and frustrating, as long as it's clever. This didn't hit the mark for me at all. We spent $130 to treat my friend to a birthday adventure. It was a complete letdown. I will never return here and will tell everyone I know to visit Conundroom, Quest Factor, or Flee instead. read more

We had high hopes taking on the Western room and got off to a good start...only to get completely stuck and need a hint....took multiple calls to get the guy's attention, who told us we were missing some items that were behind a door that apparently hadn't functioned properly. Wasted at least 20 minutes on that one. Made it to the second room, solved a number of puzzles, but again got stuck. Again multiple tries to get the guy's attention, who gave us a hint that wasn't overly helpful - if anything it was misleading. Come to find out later that yet another piece of equipment had malfunctioned and a door that clearly should have been triggered by a puzzle we solved (multiple times) didn't open. Compounding the frustration was the hot stuffy nature of the room - when I commented on that the guy said "oh yeah, I forgot to turn on the A/C. All in all not a great experience - particularly painful given the high cost and in-attentive staff. read more

We completed the pirate room. It was ok. The puzzles were all keys and locks; nothing special. The puzzles had nothing to do with the theme of the room. Was boring towards the end as it was very repetitive. Would suggest looking for a different place if you want more of a challenge. read more

We did the Pirate room and loved it! Great room and great service/support. Challenging, but achievable for a family with teens who can help or a group of adults. read more

What a wonderful experience! We participated in their finding the captains trease aboard the pirate ship... and oiy mate... wat an adventure! Ours was a two room adventure... looking for clues to unlock the treasure chest. We had four of us in the room, and we found the clues necessary to unlock the path that led to our treasure!... we walked away feeling like we could add these kinds of experience to our traditions list! Thank you cryptic cube for being awesome! read more

We had a group of five do their pirate themed escape room and we had so much fun!! It was so exciting to find the newest clue for the next puzzle, as well as finding out how we functioned as a group. This was our first time ever doing an escape room and it was definitely newbie friendly. Its definitely an experience that encourages teamwork and thoughtful communication with one another and I'd do it again. Half the fun is solving the puzzles; the other half is working alongside my group! read more

The employee at The Cryptic Cube was kind enough to let my 2 friends and I do the escape room even though one our friends ended up not making it (the minimum is listed as 4 people). We had a lot of fun scrambling to make up for our lack of manpower/brain power and the employee gave us generous hints as well as an extra 7 minutes to try to finish the room (which we did), presumably since there were no groups coming in after us. This pirate themed room is very first-timer friendly. The puzzle room is a bit chilly, but I feel like that added to the atmosphere! Bring a sweater or keep your jacket on if you're sensitive to the cold. Aside from having a bit of trouble finding the entrance in the dark, we had a great time! read more

Nope. Doesn't hold a candle to the more legitimate escape rooms. This is an amateur setup in a nearly abandoned and obscure office building. No signage to let players know they are even in the right parking lot. We had a game time for 4:15pm. The website says to arrive 15 minutes early to get instructions. We were there waiting outside this unmarked building that was locked. At 4:05 a guy showed up looking very unprofessional and unlocked the building. It took him a good bit to turn on lights in the lobby that is the size of a master bathroom. We had brought 8 14 year old boys to celebrate my sons birthday. The employee finally picked up a lock and quickly turned some dials while saying some words that were barely audible. Then he held up some papers with letters and did the same thing. We have done a number of actual legitimate escape rooms and this is nothing like them. The employee had no enthusiasm and basically had a poor attitude despite the kids enthusiasm as well as my husband and I showing excitement. So the guy lets the boys into the room which was actually a set of rooms and a small hallway. My husband and I left to grab a bite. We came back at 5:10. The boys were not close to completing the challenge and the employee did not say nice things about my son and his friends, suggesting that they just wasted their time and didn't put any effort into the challenge. He was going to end it but I told him they had 5 more minutes. He said they didn't because they started early, that wasn't true. There were not able to finish the challenge and the game ended. The employee kept repeating "the door being unlocked didn't effect the game". I didn't understand what he was talking about until i was driving the kids home. Turns out a door that should have been locked, wasn't. That meant the kids were able to open that door and spent a great deal of time looking through that room for clues before they found the clues in the room they should have done first. They also ended up with a key that didn't open anything since it should have been used to open the unlocked door - they wasted time trying to find something that the extra key opened. The employee knew he screwed up and didn't ensure the rooms were properly prepared for play. I filled out an online survey for the company asking for them to contact me, the owner of the room did not contact me to apologize for the poor experience. Take some advice and stay clear of this company. read more

I received a gift certificate for my birthday and finally used it. There were 4 of us, none having ever done an escape room before. We didn't know what to expect but had a ton of fun. We were not successful unfortunately, needed maybe 5 more minutes. Although we did spend way too much time on a couple puzzles, so that hurt us. The employee was helpful and friendly, giving us two hints when we needed. Overall great first experience! read more

Careful, they only respond to calls and emails some days. I made an error in booking on a Monday morning, picking the wrong date as a Thursday and not a Friday. Minutes later that I called, and left a voicemail to ask to move it and requested a call back. The voice mail directed me to email instead as they check it "constantly" and will return a emailed question "promptly." So Monday morning I also emailed to ask about moving the date to Friday. At the time the slot was open i was trying to get. I did get a call back Thursday. I was able to get my slot rescheduled at no extra cost but not for the time i had asked for by that point. read more

This was my Second escape room experience. It was so much fun!They did a great job staying on theme and I.was completely engaged! It was challenging and well thought out. I would highly recommend it!! read more

Great room! It was well themed and immersive. Even though my group made a couple of mistakes, we still managed to get out with 4 seconds left. The room was pirate themed which was a cool and unique theming. The puzzles varied and were challenging, but not ridiculously hard, though we did get stuck a few times and had to ask for hints. The hosts were very nice and friendly. Would recommend this room to beginners and experienced! read more

This is great! 7 of us spend about 1 hour to resolve all the puzzles. It's super fun. The staff are very nice and ready to help. No pictures shared due to concerns on leaking info so sorry about that! read more

Amazing time here! Would highly recommend it for others! If you love solving puzzles and the thrill of finding clues, this is the place for you! read more

Celebrating my daughter 13th birthday there. The kids enjoyed their time to many things to look for. This business is one man working and by appointment only. Reservation is very flexible and customer support is very good. Rating 3 stars for the location. Location doesn't have a good curb appeal. It is in an old apartment building, you have to pay very close attention for the sign. read more

I have done about 20 escape rooms and if you are looking for a puzzle heavy challenging room this is one to go to. It is a 1st generation escape room (Lack of technology), however really well put together with a logical order that will keep you on your twos for an hour. The staff is extremely friendly and help create the experience. read more

Worst escape room ever. Employees were unprofessional and rude. Don't waste your time or your money.

Mechanical problems made it impossible to move forward. Staff was rude and unhelpful. Uncomfortably hot

5 of us (ages 15-49) did the Cryptic Cube escape room together and it was a new experience for all of us. We loved it! It's so fun to see how we all think differently and we worked together to solve the riddles, puzzles, and clues. Each of us contributed to solving clues and opening locks in different ways. We thought the challenge level was really good. We were really close to solving it in an hour but didn't quite make it. There was not a group scheduled after us, so they let us have 5 more minutes, and we solved it then. So it was great to have that feeling of completion! The puzzles were complicated and sometimes they would post hints on the monitor to keep us on track. I was afraid the hints would make it too easy, but even the hints were often in riddle form, so they didn't give anything away, but were posted at just at the right time to keep us excited and on track, and keep us solving the puzzles. At the end we got to dress up in pirate gear and have our picture taken. It was a lot of fun and we'd definitely do it again! Thank you! Super fun!! read more

As many of the other reviews indicate this escape room feels like a low-budget, not well thought out version. Guy at front desk didn't want to be there, puzzles were unnecessarily complicated (vs. challenging in a good way), clues were poorly designed, and the place is clearly an old doctors office badly converted. Suggest Flee in Redmond instead. read more

Very fun!! Challenging but not so much that you're frustrated the whole time. Great puzzles and interaction with the props.

I came with my husband, my 12 and 8 year old, my friend and her college age daughter. It was the first escape room for all of us, and it was a great experience! We were very challenged (we would've been sunk without my friend's daughter!), but we had good help (clues) when we asked for it. I would highly recommend the Cryptic Cube. We're ready for our next room now!! read more

FANTASTIC!! This was so much fun! From beginning to end, it was awesome! The host kicks it off in such a way that it gives you total motivation and drive! The rooms are decorated in a Pirate theme and are put together so well, that when you first get into the room, you can't help but to get totally giddy! It's challenging, it's puzzling and it's very exhilarating! It will suck you in and your whole motivation will be to complete the competition! You become consumed which gives credit to the developers of this room. (Very well thought out and very clever!) You are also racing against the clock, which makes it even better! It's a brain teaser all the way through, but in a good way! I can promise that you will have a great time! I highly recommend it for everyone! read more

The rooms were decorated great, and stayed with the theme. We went in February and the thermostat was set to 50, so it was really cold. The clues were pretty challenging. The staff was helpful and polite. Wish there was instruction on the unique locks. read more