Bond's Escape Room (Arlington) - "Enchanted Castle"

Updated: Apr 7

LOCATION:  Arlington, Virginia, USA

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📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Enchanted Castle
📅 DATE PLAYED: July 5, 2019
🎬 GENRE: Fantasy
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 7/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 6PPL
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins
💰 PRICE: $27/PP
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Public
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

Read our review on “Saddlewood Saloon” to find out details on Bond’s Escape Room’s location.

After the debriefing on the TV, we were ready to be challenged in the “Enchanted Castle: Battle for Gahl-Zaan” room. What was once a peaceful town, is now being attacked by a sickness and it’s our mission to rescue the town. We need to venture deep within the magical woods where the elves live and find the mythical tree that can heal the village. But first, we must manufacture a magical sword so we can pass the barrier the elves have created to stop us from getting to them.

As we enter the room, all the set design was meant to feel like we’re in the medieval time frame. The props once again felt very authentic. We’ve played several similar themed rooms before and it seems like all the escape rooms love to make a solid throne! All of their props are made in-house so it’s quite impressive to see the quality and how they all connected with each other. There were a few technical issues that day, but it didn’t bother us much with our adventure. We liked how there was a lot more to do in this room in terms of puzzles and they were very creative in how it intertwined with the storyline. It was as if the puzzles were also telling the story and as we continued to solve them, more details started to unravel. We completed the room with ample time with just the two of us. From a difficulty standpoint, this one had a lot more to do but the puzzle flow was great so it’s not too challenging. The room is more spacious than their "Saddlewood Saloon" room so you can have a group of 4-6 novices playing the room and have a lot of fun with exploration.

Overall, we feel that Bond's Escape Room's designs are not really about search and find. Their puzzles are very straight forward with a clean hint system. Each puzzle’s solution will lead you to the next puzzle’s clue. This is a great system for beginner players or organized players who likes a very direct approach to puzzle solving. As enthusiast, we love a bit more challenge on the side of room design and we hope Bond’s Escape Room can perhaps add in some ADDitional “surprises” since we really enjoyed their set designs.

The “Enchanted Castle: Battle for Gahl-Zaan” room can be played as a competition room with “Elven Forest: Battle for Gahl-Zaan”. We can’t wait until it’s done so we can complete our journey into the magical elves’ world and save the village! Interesting fact: Gahl-Zaan is actually one of their game master’s name. If you do encounter the original Gahl-Zaan, make sure you say hi!

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(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

**We don't want to go into detail and ruin any surprises for you, but you want more info like if the room is a multi-room or what other additional tips we can provide to you, feel free to email us.

Disclosure: We thank Bond's Escape Room for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.