Solve It Sherlock - "Sacred Stones"

LOCATION:  Neptune City, New Jersey, USA

Photo above is property of Solve It Sherlock

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Sacred Stones
📅 DATE PLAYED: November 10, 2022
🎬 GENRE: Adventure, Mayan
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 5.5/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-8 PPL
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins
💰 PRICE: $32/PP
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

You and your team have finally found the location of the Jaguar King's Tomb. The local legend has it, anyone who doesn't find the 3 sacred stones in time will be cursed forever. Since the stones are of great value, you decide to take your chances and leave it up to fate for the next 60 minutes...

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

The ambiance lighting really made a difference in this room. The red aura added a mysterious feel along with a hidden danger vibe right when we entered the temple.
Although the room is a square-shaped room, the owner definitely gave some thought as to how to make it harder for the players to guess where the hidden entrance to the second area is located.
The game flow was pretty smooth. We discovered items that led us to solve the first puzzle and then the next. Some parts of the game were linear but there were others that we were able to divide and conquer as well.
There was a good variation in physical, visual, music, and memory puzzles.
It was nice to have a confirmation on the finale versus having to exit with a key. There were no physical keys and locks in this room which made sense in an ancient temple.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

The cipher wheel was a bit confusing as we were unsure of the starting point. Also, the usage was quite different than what we were used to as it wasn't actually transcribing anything.
One of the items in the journal had a drawing of an item that we haven't seen in the room. Perhaps the physical item changed? I don't think we ended up using that page.
The input on a chest needed some clarification on where the pointers are located.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

We enjoyed the fact that there wasn't a lot search and find involved in this room. Typically, ancient temple rooms also have a lot of translation puzzles but we were delighted to find out that they went a different route. The storyline and the goal of the game were in congruence. It was a fun room and can easily be completed by beginners as well. This is the first set design built by Solve it Sherlock in-house. They did a great job, especially being a family-owned business. There were a lot of details that went into the temple walls, vines, and drawings of the ancient symbols. We can't wait to see what they come up with in their next adventure!

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

This room is on the 2nd floor but they do have same-level access. This room is wheelchair accessible. If handicapped access is necessary, please call before booking
Free parking lot right in front of the location
Lobby with seating and merchandise for sale
Free water offered
Free bracelet for each completed game

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

Check out our interview with the owner to understand more on the development side of their games:

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

BOOK NOW

(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"!)

Disclosure: We thank Solve It Sherlock for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.