We went to hourglass escapes last night to celebrate my daughters 13th birthday. We were a group of two adults and 10 teenage girls. It was a wonderful experience. Our guide was patient and helpful. The girls were able to solve all the puzzles. They left feeling so proud and accomplished. Thank you for the memorable and positive experience for us all. We will definitely come back and recommend this business! read more

A little confusing the first time through with the format, but a VERY WELL created room and lots of fun (even though we failed to escape within an hour). Really really impressed with whoever created Rise of the Mad Pharaoh. I know our second game will be even more fun since we know a little better how things work. Well worth the money for those who like solving puzzles, though it's a bit harder than your average escape room because the clues are not physical (instead of a box popping open with things inside, you hear a sound and the contents of the box just show up on the screen of one of the players). Mad Pharaoh was probably too complex for younger kids to enjoy, but it's great for pre-teen and up. We had a lot of fun and will be doing another room soon! read more

So immersive and totally absorbing. You get really focused and it's so fun when you figure things out. When you see all the work put into the rooms, the attention to detail really shines through as you play. Highly recommend! read more

My coworkers and I went to Hourglass Escapes for our holiday party and mastered the "Rise of the Mad Pharaoh" room. The location is a little tucked away, but easy enough to find. Inside, there are shelves, as well as free lockers, for storing your items. After signing waivers, and watching a safety video, we were given characters and individual clues! The room was very well decorated and super interactive. It took us 45 minutes to work through all the clues, and the host that stayed in the room with us was VERY helpful. After we finished the room, the awesome staff even took a photo of us! This was a really fun experience, and they were LGBTQ+ friendly. read more

No better place to swab the poop deck and find some booty. David is the best puzzle master. read more

Had a great experience with the family here. Probably one of the best escape rooms we have been to. Very friendly and helpful staff. Will go again when come back to Seattle. read more

Was having one of the worst days of my life and decided to go to an escape room and try my odds. I just showed up not knowing if I could get in and play. They were extraordinarily accommodating and made my night so much better. The crew there bent over backwards and helped me out in a rough time. The game was a lot of fun and challenging (but not to the point of being impossible). It was easy to understand the rules and how to play. read more

This is definitely a good starter escape room if you are new to it and a more chill/ smaller one if you are a seasoned escape room goer. Ive tried 3 of the rooms and each are fun! Staff is always nice read more

Had a great time playing the Mystery at Innsmouth room! Great production value, really fun and varied puzzles. We played with 3 experienced people, and made it out with 5 minutes to spare. The story and puzzles were well intertwined and immersive. We'll be back to try the other rooms! read more

Very accommodating place. Accepts reservations even in the last minute and very helpful and friendly staff.

My friends and I did a pirate-themed puzzle room here (my first). I was really impressed by how clever the puzzles were, and all of the chests, locks, and contraptions worked well. The room was challenging and we weren't sure we would solve it, but we ended up with a few minutes to spare. I would recommend them for first time escape/puzzle roomers. read more

My crew and I played the online version of the Evil Dead 2 escape room for my birthday. I should start my review by declaring that I'm an escape room snob with hundreds of games under my belt, as well as months as a technician building escape rooms for an esteemed company on the east coast. I've also been a massive snob of the Evil Dead franchise for 30+ years, and have met members of the cast several times, as well as visiting notable filming locations. So when I saw this, and confirmed it was officially licensed, I booked it and pulled out the robes and gavel. My judgment? Fun. Pure fun. The crew and I enjoyed every lick of this experience. It meets the standards we'd expected of Evil Dead in regards to the humor, weirdness, and macabre elements. As an online escape game, the flow was natural and had an "item" delivery system that was perfect for anyone comfortable on a PC. We also appreciated the difficulty of the puzzles in relation to the "capacity/compliance" of our Shemp gamemaster. The tech is fun to watch, even virtually. It's just a truly fun experience. If you're an Evil Dead fan, this is a must play. Otherwise...blow. read more

We had a great Friday afternoon at Hourglass Escapes where we spent an hour in the Ghastly Galleon puzzle room. Our host or Ensign, I forgot his name but he was a young man with glasses, flamboyant and enthusiastic about getting us prepared. This was everybody's first time doing an escape room. The atmosphere of the room was set up nicely. Ambiance was dim but not completely dark, enough for those with bad vision, like myself, to still find clues in the room. Our host was helpful in that he threw a random hint (not an answer) if we were close to solving a specific puzzle. Overall we had a great time. We did this as a work/team building exercise so we really got to see how different folks functioned during a time of distress. We were a little slow at first as we didn't have roles and were just all over the place. As time progressed we clearly saw who had specific traits solving different things. Some we naturally good at deciphering and analyzing words, notes, and diaries while others were good at figuring out numbers, reading maps, and de-coding all the locks. Glad we worked together and found out who that ghostly banshee was! read more

This was such a great, immersive escape room. I had a blast and highly recommend it for any group!

I have visited the hour glass escapes 3 times. Each time the escape room was creative, challenging and fun. There was ole ty of room for our group of 4, and the surprise rooms were kind of cool. The hour glass escape people were with us every step of the way and ready to offer clues if we needed it. I thought parking would be difficult, but there was plenty right in front. I'm excited for my next visit. read more

I love escape rooms. I've done a number of them now so I've experienced several of Seattle's options. Unfortunately, I'd say the Rise of the Mad Pharaoh room falls pretty low on my list, at least for the options available in Seattle. I think other escape rooms are much better at immersing customers in the theme, have more interesting/cohesive stories and better integrated puzzles. The game is definitely beatable, and we were able to win with 5 players with about 3 minutes remaining. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do not come with more than 6 players as that would totally overpower the room. Puzzles are very linear and there would be way too much standing around. Personally, I'd say it's about a 3 star room, but I've knocked off a star purely because their current rating is over-inflated and misleading. Let me explain... Puzzles: This is the biggest "miss" for me with Hourglass Escapes. I thought the puzzles were disjointed and not well integrated into the story. The entire game takes place in 1 single room, and you're job is to basically solve this one massive puzzle through multiple smaller puzzles. Although there is an order to the puzzles, this is never really communicated and not clear without your helper telling you what to focus on next. I definitely prefer other escape rooms (like Locurio or ETA) which weave the puzzles into the story, rather than putting everything around the room and having you simply go at them head on. Each individual puzzle was good and challenging (but usually solvable), but on an overall scale the puzzles and direction were lacking. I will say that the puzzles had nice mechanics and utilized technology well which I did enjoy. It's definitely not a room where you need to solve countless padlock combinations. Atmosphere/Story: This was another big "miss" for me. I love when escape rooms really make you feel like you're taking part in a story. I want my puzzles, clues, the room and the entire game to feel like one cohesive experience. Unfortunately, Rise of the Mad Pharaoh really missed this mark for me. Although the puzzles and clues are "themed," the entire premise of the game is pretty "blah." Clues: You are provided clues via an attendant who literally sits in the room watching your team. Our attendant wore a themed hat and participated in some initial game diaglog, but for the remainder of the game he was out of character. There was no rules or limits on asking clues, and we found that we didn't even have to ask for help. He mainly would chime in when were struggling, and then he directed us frequently which puzzle to focus on since this was very unclear in the room. Basically, he typically told us which puzzle to work on next because it is impossible to figure out without him, and which clues to use to solve the puzzle. I have one other complaint about the attendant which really bothered me actually and may be another reason for this low review. At one point in the game he had given us an instruction to solve the puzzle a certain way (without our prompting by the way). We choose not to listen immediately as we were still trying to figure out the mechanics of how to even solve that puzzle. Upon seeing that we had ignored his instruction, he made an audible comment saying "Fine, don't listen to me then. What do I know." This was the final straw for me. I'm so glad that we solved the game and "escaped" immediately after because I was livid at his rudeness. Parking/Directions: There is no parking on site, but there are lots of metered street parking along the main roads. We ended up parking close to the visitor center for the Olympic sculptural park. The entrance is hidden in the back of a large office/type building where all doors face an outdoor courtyard. Overall Impression: I'd say there are other, better rooms available in the Seattle area I think you should try first. If you've done Locurio and all the ETA games and are looking for a new game, then sure, give it a shot. read more

Just finished Hourglass's newest escape room (Evil Dead 2). I'm always a fan of Seth's escape rooms, especially what he gets done with prosthetics and live actors. Here in particular both of those elements go into extreme effect setting the immersion above and beyond most escape rooms. Special shout outs to the actor he got for Ash (Google tells me it's Donal Thoms-Capello) for making the experience feel very cinematic as well as the fun way Hourglass brought the character into the game. Strongly recommend Hourglass as a whole and the Evil Dead room in particular. Grab a group of friends, Rewatch Evil Dead 2 and head out for the official escape room! read more

The people that work here are really nice, the facility is clean, and there is free parking. The rooms are difficult and not for beginners or small groups. They are really counter-intuitive. read more

The Evil Dead 2 room is the best Escape Room I've ever played. From story to technology, the room shines in the best way! If you haven't already, play this room! Thanks Hourglass Escapes for taking the time to design a great immersive experience! read more

The mystery at innsmouth room was amazing. Tough but great. I would recommend more than 5 friends to go solve this escape room.

I love escape rooms, but was kind of dreading the online version. I shouldn't have worried. Did the Evil Dead room with a group of six and had a wonderful time. The format was way better than I imagined and we were thrilled to beat the room. read more

We've done two games at Hourglass and had a great time! The challenges are good yet not so hard that you're completely lost. The staff is friendly and helpful, especially when you need a hint! read more

Great production value, well-themed and fun puzzles, great puzzle mechanics, and enthusiastic staff = a wonderful escape room experience. I would say the Mad Pharaoh Room is more medium to hard difficulty, and the Ghostly Galleon is more beginner. Mad Pharaoh I think needs at least 4 people (not just physically but also mentally to escape in time), but Ghostly Galleon can even be done solo. If choosing between the two, Mad Pharaoh is the better room with less hiccups in hardware and puzzle pieces. Thanks so much to the staff for accommodating my solo venture through their two rooms as I have never done a room on my own before and they helped make it less intimidating. Your game masters were very patient and gave great clues when I needed them.Best of luck with your next rooms, I hope I can come back to check them out. MILD SPOILERS: Mad Pharaoh - this room is a little scary if you're like me and can jump at sudden noises, but otherwise is not a scary room. - this room is great for a small group of 4-6. I wouldn't do more than that as it will surely confuse and things would get lost. - production value is awesome and realistic, and the puzzle mechanics were very fun to explore. - there is a high amount of search and find, and numerous puzzles to keep everyone occupied which makes it great for a small group. - the only puzzle that didn't make sense to me was the book of the dead solution. The rest of the puzzles were challenging but not impossible to solve. I still don't know why that was the answer? - my one issue( which might be alleviated by having a bigger group) is the sheer amount of clues/props/paper to keep track of everything. It's a little overwhelming, especially since there's no order to anything, it's unclear what should be set aside and what is ready to be solved. Ghostly Galleon - cute and fun room with pretty simple puzzles which makes it great for newbies - I love how compact and transportable it is! There was a sense of rhyme and reason in this one compared to Mad Pharaoh which made it much smoother. - please fix some of the locks/keys/clues, minor issues but it could have been perfect otherwise. - the story was really fun and I enjoyed the mechanics of all of the puzzles. - a little more table space might be helpful as well to sort through all the items read more

amazing Ayla was the best time professor! i had such a blast!! Great date night!! Definitely coming again! And I got a sticker!

Oh so much fun! This was a well run escape room. They wasted no time getting us all set up quick and efficient and off to a challenging escape! Worth the price! read more

This place was amazing! Went with my teammates from work. It was my first ever escape room, but after this one I plan to visit again in the future for the other rooms. Thank you for a wonderful time! read more

I wish I could give more than 5 stars honestly. I've done an escape room in the past and it was okay so I wasn't expecting much to be honest. My family and I ended up doing the evil dead 2 room on a whim and it was amazing. The effects, the decorations, the puzzles, the multiple rooms, all of it was perfect! Like I said everything was so well done and cohesive. I can not wait to try the other rooms and I'm recommend them to everyone I know lol. read more

It's actually been a few months since our experience at hourglass. The theme at the time was The Evil Dead movie. The setting, props and special effects were awesome. The puzzles and clues were challenging and done well. The live video version looks cool!! read more

I have to be honest-I wasn't excited about doing an escape room but had a great time with Rise of the Mad Pharaoh. The puzzle felt challenging for four but there were also hints available if needed. The host explained things well. We didn't solve the puzzle but I am amazed at how well thought out everything was! read more

It was fun but it would be great if they asked who was new and gave some sort of orientation as well as have some way to integrate multiple groups of players. Our group of 5 (4 adults & 1 child) went and were in the room with another group of 4. The people in the other group were pros (5+ times) and bulldozed the whole thing ie snatching a clue out the child in our group's hand. Left feeling both over and underwhelmed. Won't be back. read more

Was so much fun! We did the pharaoh room. It was really interactive and hard. Would say it was a little too hard for a group of 4 for this room but with maybe like 8 people we would have solved it! We all want to go back to do the other rooms. Very fun! read more

I did the Pharoah room, which was definitely better then the Pirate room and the Ghostly Galleon I did a year ago (which I wouldn't recommend). They were both small, with one table in the middle and were just not interactive. This Pharoah room was a lot more interactive and bigger, with better puzzles. One mechanism did not work, but it didn't affect the experience. Three things other puzzle rooms do better in my opinion, is that they don't have staff sitting in with you, and instead find other ways to communicate like walkie-talkie or no communication at all which I like better. Also hourglass seems to keep their puzzles in one room only. I love opening doors to other places, which they did not have. Hourglass also has a big spiel before their rooms which is a tad awkward and boring. Coming in with low expectations, the Pharoah room was actually great. Most of the puzzles were fun and the mechanics (the tomb) were awesome. I was hesitant to come back, but after today I'm excited to try the next upcoming room! read more

It feels like you're in a movie set room at Universal Studios, except that you're allowed to interact with and touch everything! This was my third foray into playing an Escape Room, and it did not disappoint. Our group was blown away at the puzzle props, music, and tech used in the room. Rise of the Mad Pharaoh is an immersive, superfun mind-bender, and it executes the Mummy adventure/mystery theme flawlessly. It is challenging and I recommend taking a group of 6-8. read more

Hourglass Escapes - Thinking Caps On! @HourglassEscapes - Escape Games Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This place is so fun!! It was very difficult but Ben (the worker) is the best person there ever!! He was very kind and generous to us even when we called ten trillion times to wonder where to go. I would recommend going!! read more

I am a beginner and we did the Pirate room and I really enjoyed it. We had enough opportunities to ask for help and didn't feel lost at any point. I would definitely like to try out other escape rooms at this place in the future. read more

Another trip to Seattle, another escape room binge! I've been eyeing this one for a while as it was highly rated on certain escape room blogs, and so wanted to check it out. Rise of the Mad Pharaoh Rise of the Mad Pharaoh is a single room, medium tech room (some amount of locks, some amount of automation) that theoretically supports 4-14 people, but in practice doesn't comfortably support more than 9 or so people. The room isn't super large so 14 can get quite crowded. Experienced people will probably want much closer to the minimum (4-6), while inexperienced groups can take more people though i'd avoid going with more than 10. Overall - 3.5/5. - Don't be scared about the rating, since I have probably some unrealistically high standards for escape rooms. This was definitely one of the better rooms in Seattle, and I'd put it in the "fun and worth checking out, but won't blow your mind" category, and will likely be back to check out the other rooms. This definitely exceeded my expectations for the single-room office building style escape rooms, though the limitations still show since you won't see the nicer tech such as hidden walls and such that you would find in larger, more elaborate escape rooms. I'd mostly recommend this to beginners due to the simpler puzzles though you may need some help figuring out which puzzles to work on at what time: enthusiasts can also check this out since the sarcophagus was neat but may not find the puzzles as compelling or the setting as interesting. Immersion - 3.5/5. For being in a single room, the immersion was surprisingly good. There wasn't as much interactivity with the room and set as with other places, but this room compensated in other ways. The centerpiece prop was great and had a bunch of fun compartments to play around with, and the videos in the room were funny and helped set the mood of someone actually being trapped in the sarcophagus. All of the puzzles were on theme as well which was nice, though they were mostly random and didn't form a cohesive purpose as to what we were actually accomplishing. Most escape rooms fall into the habit of their puzzles being more like a puzzle hunt rather than trying to incorporate the story more into the puzzles, and this one sadly follows suit. Perhaps splitting the puzzles into more well defined stages would have been helpful though that's harder to do in a single room where you're trying to jam a ton of content in a small space. Puzzles - 3/5. The game had roughly a dozen or so single-step puzzles and one multi-step puzzle, and suffered a bit from having too many clues and trying to match up which clues fit which puzzles. This process was a bit better than other places we've been to, but we still ran into situations where we had to ask for a hint since we had puzzles that we had all the pieces to, but assumed that we did not. The puzzles themselves were all fairly straightforward and will likely feel standard to enthusiasts, but were reasonable as a whole. Personal Stats: Escaped with a group of 5 of mixed experience with 10 minutes remaining, having taken 2 or 3 hints when we didn't know which puzzle to attempt next. Also to David's bosses: David was a great host! read more

I took a group from my workplace and truly got the Team-Building experience. We were a mix of first-timers and veterans, and the puzzle rooms were so well put together that we all had fun, no matter our experience. The team, especially Seth, was great to work with and kept things simple and easy. They were very flexible, accommodating, and a pleasure to work with. My favorite quote was from a staff member in the morning, that said "they just feel like the entire office had better spirits after the experience." We will be back! read more

One of my favorite escape rooms in Seattle! Awesome theme and set design. The puzzles are super interesting and well thought out. I could tell the designers thought about common pitfalls and frustrations and found ways to cut down on them. The facilitators were also really attentive to this with our group (e.g., calling us if we were going down a frustrating, hopeless path) without being hand-holdy. Plus, when we visited, they were running a campaign to donate ticket sales to charity. Definitely recommend this one! :) read more

Very creative and fun room. Liked the creative way to pay for clues. The room master was engaging and invested in the theme and offered good clues when asked. Only critique would be that the room was very linear with story progression which limited divide and conquer opportunities. Would definitely come back to try other hourglass room. read more

Did the online escape room for "Mad pharaoh". Different type of online escape room (we have done quite a lot, both online and physical). Some puzzles were hard, others less so. A bit uneven as there were some really interesting puzzles interspersed with periods of not much happening. We were six people doing the game. read more