Thank you to Clues & Keys Family Escape Room in Fargo for sponsoring this article. All opinions are 100% our own!
Mission: Family Escape Room
Challenge: Siblings ages 5, 8, and 10 plus Mom and Dad locked in a room for one hour.
Can we solve the challenge and escape victorious? Will we even make it through with no meltdowns?
Result: Read on…
The Kid’s Review
We chose the new Clues & Keys Family Escape Room in Fargo because they are specifically designed for kids and families.
I will admit, I was a bit apprehensive about how this activity would go. Our kids are 10, 8, and 5, which brought about a few nervous questions from this mom:
With that age gap, will they all even be able to participate and have fun?
Since it’s designed for kids, will my husband and I be bored?
Three siblings locked in a room together for an hour… how much arguing will there be?
Getting Started
We entered the room and right away Luke, our 5-year-old, was in heaven. Locks and boxes of all kinds awaited him. This was going to be right up his alley!
5 year old happy… Check!
Josie, age 8, was a little more timid at first. But after recognizing that there would be no scary surprises, she got in the groove. She even solved a puzzle that neither Dad nor I could get! That tickled her quite a bit.
8 year old happy… Check!
Now, our 10 year old. Evie dove right in. It was so fun to see her brain work and decipher what was in front of her. This first born loved getting to be the leader and enjoyed the rush of success!
10 year old happy… Check!
Why It Went So Well
What impressed me most about Clues & Keys was that the room was so perfectly designed for a family with kids of all ages.
Afterward, when I chatted with the owners Kay and Steven, they shared that their goal was to have kids leave feeling lifted up in accomplishment rather than let down and frustrated because they couldn’t figure it out.
Kay and Steven have owned Puzzled Escape Rooms for 6 years, so they are expert adult escape room designers already, so when it came to a room designed specifically for kiddos, they said:
“We made Clues & Keys for our grandkids,” shared Kay with a smile. “We have the best kiddo test subjects to help us make sure each room is fun with the perfect amount of challenge.”
And perfect it was.
Each puzzle was at a different challenge level for the kids (and even some for me and my husband) that not only stretched our imaginations and reasoning skills but gave us reachable achievement. I could see my kiddos minds working each problem and my heart smiled with joy as I saw their light bulb moment when reaching the solution.
Mom & Dad happy… Check!
There were shrieks and giggles, gasps and a few fumbles.
The game gave us the opportunity to see how multiple heads are better than one. We used family teamwork, engaged our brains, high-fived on victories, and had only a few tiny spats.
The Final Result
And, the result you’ve been waiting for….
We escaped with 9 minutes remaining!
The ride home was buzzing with chatter remembering fun puzzles and reflecting back on each unique aspect we encountered. And mostly, the car was filled with one echoing question…
“When can we do that again?!?!”
4 Tips for Your Family Escape Room Adventure
- If your kids are under the ages of 5 or 6 they may not be able to mentally solve most puzzles, but all the puzzles have fun hands-on solutions. They will love inserting keys and manipulating the boxes, locks, and more! So don’t worry about them being too young and not getting it. They will have a blast!
- Use the white board to write any clues you may have found. We solved a clue but accidentally took apart the solution, then ended up needing it again and had to start over because we didn’t write it down. And with 5 people in a room all talking at once… we needed a central location for information.
- The game manager on site who welcomes you and will also give you bonus hints if you need them. Because this is a family room, getting an extra hint doesn’t cost you any time or points! So, if you get really stuck, don’t be hesitant to ask for a hint. It keeps anyone from getting too frustrated and keeps the game moving.
- Set up some kiddo ground rules and expectations before you arrive. Taking turns with who gets to unlock/open solved boxes, talking about teamwork and solving things together, and sharing what to expect. (Our middle kiddo got a bit nervous thinking it would be more haunted house-like and felt scared. Whoops! We forgot to better explain to her what being “locked” in a room really meant!)
Don’t over think and just have fun! You are going to love watching your kids shine!
Clues & Keys Family Escape Rooms
You can find Clues & Keys Family Escape Room in Fargo at 3120 25th St South.
At the time I’m writing this article, Clues & Keys has the holiday themed room “Reindeer Rescue” available as well as the room “A School Art Show.” Opening in just a few weeks is a third room “Happy Birthday to Me.”
Rooms can hold 6-8 participants and each game lasts one hour.
The rooms are super cute and well-decorated with some really unique puzzles, and the entire studio is clean, professional, and welcoming.
Booking a room at Clues & Keys would be a memorable for:
- experience gift for your kids for Christmas
- family activity during holiday break
- birthday party for your kids and their friends
- indoor activity during the cold winter weekends
You can bet our family will be back!
PROMO CODE FOR FARGO MOM READERS!
Since we enjoyed this escape room in Fargo so much, Clues & Keys is offering $4 off each ticket with a group of 4 or more with the code FARGOMOM. Use THIS LINK to book and enter the code upon checkout!
