A Review on Monthu and His Lost Tomb

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I started putting out my monthly road maps. I would be lucky if either a) I was able to visit as many of the venues that I listed on my wish-list or b) made it to the actual venues that I listed out.

The month of April consisted of Room 113 at District Eat and Play, The Archive at Dare2Escape and The Lost Tomb of Monthu at America’s Escape Game – Orlando.

Of the three, we were able to do three, however, swap out Room 113 with Under Pressure at Escapology; and try to forget that we made it to The Lost Tomb of Monthu four days into the month of May. I’d say it was somewhat successful. The rooms were vastly different and presented different challenges at each.

My previous experience at AEG was probably over a year ago when we completed Crisis at 1600. The rooms here are most definitely NOT private and is in a central tourist location, which welcomes visitors around-the-clock, passing by. I wasn’t a huge fan of Crisis; it wasn’t an awful game, but with most games that are painted white, the dirt and grime were clearly visible. I felt that game was mostly fun but it didn’t have me rushing back to AEG. Let’s forget about that though, since we’re not here to discuss Crisis.

Venue: America’s Escape Game - Orlando

Location: 8723 International Drive Suite 115 Orlando, FL 32819

​Website: https://americasescapegame.com/orlando/

Cost Per Person: $35.00 per player

Game: The Lost Tomb of Monthu

Difficulty: 4 out of 5 (per players’ perception)

Room Capacity: 10 website recommended; 5 players seemed very optimal

Game Duration: 60 Minutes/Public

Type: Mostly Gen 1 with some tech

So the story is Indiana Jones-esque in that your old pal, Professor Lowsley, has gone missing while trying to find a treasure that supposedly holds the power to link Ancient Egypt with a long forgotten and lost civilization. The treasure you are seeking is in the Lost Tomb of Monthu…or at least that’s what Professor Lowsley had indicated before his disappearing act. Just like any other (Hollywood-themed) Egyptian setting, the tomb is filled with traps, riddles and puzzles that are intended to slow the progress of the most intelligent and capable explorers.

So there is a bit of a loose plot here: the motivation to hurry is there (kind of), however, the fact that you will be “sealed forever” is briefly mentioned in the intro video (the video itself is pretty exciting). How or why we would be sealed? No idea. Who exactly was Monthu and why is his/her tomb relevant? No idea. To our group, this in no way hindered our experience, but I have to put it out there.

And so here we stood, in the entry way of the tomb (with another family of four). From both experiences at AEG, they really have a LOT of real estate within their rooms. On top of that, unlike other venues, we really didn’t feel as if the props or the décor diminished or deteriorated as we progressed through the experience.

Another AEG trait is that there is always plenty of things to do for everybody in the group. We discovered that even though some of the puzzles couldn’t quite be completed in the first act of the experience, players could most certainly start some puzzles which are intended to be finished later. This helps spread out larger groups and tries to ensure not all players are focused in one area.

Because of the amount to be worked on, I can’t, for the life of me, remember every step that led us from the entry way, deeper into the tomb. However, I can safely say that in the first room, no puzzle type was repeated or remotely the same.

I wouldn’t be giving a fair review if I didn’t insist that at least two of the steps within this room felt a bit like time sinks. They didn’t particularly bother me too much, but it just didn’t feel right in the setting of an Ancient Egyptian Tomb. Thankfully, many other aspects of the puzzles/steps fit right and felt VERY MUCH in place and in theme.

Just when you felt like you had reached the deepest part of tomb, there were yet even more places to explore and puzzles/riddles to be solved.

Another highlight (subjective) for me: I very much feared that this room, because of its theme, would be filled with a silly amount of hieroglyphics and deciphering. And while symbols and deciphering existed, the designers of this game, in my opinion, kept it simple and not overbearing. Needless to say, I wasn’t mentally drained after any of the symbol driven puzzles.

An equipment low light, occurred within the second of the several rooms/chambers. The puzzle itself was kind of cool, but part of the tool used to make some connections, wasn’t exactly clear. It looked damaged and a bit beat up. For the sake of clarity and to help make the puzzle NOT difficult due to wear and tear, I would recommend a replacement of the tool.

One of my favorite puzzles was actually solved fairly quickly. It involved a large device, found within the furthest chamber, figuring out where this thing actually goes and using the elements around you to make a connection between the function of the device and a code to advance in your quest. I hadn’t experienced a puzzle like that in the previous 56 games I’ve played. Everything worked as intended and it enhanced our experience.

After getting off to what felt like a very slow start, everybody kind of got into a groove and most of us, in our group of seven, contributed in positive ways. That’s always a question mark when you’re grouped with people you don’t know.

We ended up finding the jewel, discovering the ancient link and escaping the tomb (via key code) with 7 minutes remaining. This felt odd…not the key pad, but that there was at least one unopened lock and two stone tablets that hadn’t been completed.

It turns out, one of the locks that we needed to open towards the end of the game, wasn’t reset or placed back where it was supposed to go, before we entered the experience. Thus, we skipped about one or two puzzles, which very well could’ve put us past the 60 minute mark. Also, I have no idea what was involved in any of those puzzles and cannot give an accurate or fair statement on them.

My teammates, Sarah and Brian, had a great time as well and felt like that was a lot to be completed, but it wasn’t to the point of being overwhelmed.

Brian’s Rating – 8.47

Sarah’s Rating – 8.50

John’s Rating – 8.53

I had to make it even…OVERALL RATING = 8.50

We thank America’s Escape Game for (at least to me) unexpectedly providing a very fun, adventurous and rewarding experience. As stated earlier, I was hesitant to come back but now, after the Lost Tomb of Monthu, I’m already trying to figure out, which of their other FOUR experiences should be next.

And I’m hoping some of those games being added to the Sawgrass location can eventually make their way up here!

Note: I decided not to include photos from the company's website as I am not sure that is something allowed. I also was unable to obtain photos of my own, so I apologize to any potential players. This IS a fun game though.