Hongdae escape room with 12 minutes to spare: Pyramid at Cube Escape

Today I'm introducing an escape room café — Cube Escape Hongdae Branch. Out of all their themes, I went for Pyramid, which seemed like the perfect fit for a total beginner like me. And in the end, it was a huge success! Here's my detailed, blow-by-blow escape review.

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch: hours, location and prices

• ⏰ Hours: Mon–Thu 11:00–23:45 / Fri–Sat 10:00–00:05 / Sun 10:00–23:45
• 📍 Notes: Reservations and group bookings available
• 🚗 Parking: Not available

Inside the 4th floor on Yanghwa-ro 16-gil: atmosphere and price list

Take the elevator up to the 4th floor and you're at Cube Escape Hongdae Branch.

The interior is spacious and pretty comfortable. It's a bit dark, but not uncomfortably so — just take it as part of the concept, haha.

Wearing indoor slippers is optional, so if you come in comfy shoes, you don't need to change.

First, check in at the desk with your reservation and get guided from there. Price list below ⬇️

You get ₩1,000 off per person if you pay in cash, so it might be worth bringing some.

Which of Cube Escape's 8 themes should you book?

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch has 8 themes in total.

There's a fun variety of horror, thriller, and espionage themes at different difficulty levels, so picking one is half the fun.

If you're on the fence about which theme to pick, this reference might help. I had reserved the Pyramid theme, so I got guided in right away.

You submit a consent form via QR code and complete a little challenge. The challenge is optional, but it's fun to try before the theme starts. Show it to staff afterward and you can get an extra hint too 😉

There are plenty of tables and chairs, so you can sit comfortably while doing this. It took about 5 minutes altogether!

Finally, staff explained how the locks work, and

once we stored our bags, we were all set 🙌 Off to escape, haha.

Pyramid theme review: 60 minutes, up to 6 people, ★★★☆☆

• Location: Cube Escape Hongdae Branch
• Theme name: Pyramid
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Max capacity: 6 people
• Official difficulty: ★★★☆☆

Pyramid's story and interior 🏰

You're a world-traveling explorer! Your final goal: the pyramids of Egypt! You've gotten intel on the source of a massive treasure.

How hard is Pyramid, and how many players? 🧩

There were barely any forced or illogical puzzles — everything felt intuitive to solve. Observation is especially key in this theme, which staff also emphasized in the pre-game briefing, so I'd recommend looking closely at everything. Even a total beginner like me could play it without much trouble, so while the space is roomy, I'd say 2–3 players is the sweet spot ✨

How many puzzles are in Pyramid? 📱

There weren't too many puzzles overall, so it was easy to work through them step by step. You can check the puzzle count on the hint phone, which was handy for tracking your pace.

Devices vs. locks: a 5:5 split ⚙️🔒

Devices 5 : Locks 5. Pyramid leans fairly heavily on devices, so if you enjoy device-based mechanics more than locks, you'll probably have even more fun with this one.

How active is it, and what should you wear? 👗

There's no crawling or jumping required, so wearing comfortable clothes or even a skirt is totally fine.

Is Pyramid scary? Scare level and staging

Overall it wasn't too dark or scary — just enough tension to fit the explorer theme. There was one small jump-scare moment, but even I, a self-proclaimed extreme scaredy-cat, could laugh it off after a small jolt. You can go in without worry.

The result: escaped with 12 minutes left and 1 hint

⏱️ Escaped successfully with 12 minutes left, using 1 hint 🥰 My goal was to escape hint-free and take a Polaroid, but... ㅠㅠ I thought getting one extra hint would still count, but turns out I was wrong about that. Instead, I got a discount coupon and yakgwa (Korean honey cookie), haha. Hope you all manage a no-hint escape!

Final verdict: an ideal first escape room in Hongdae

With a reasonable number of puzzles and friendly guidance, this theme is tailor-made for escape room beginners. Highly recommended if you're new to escape rooms or just want the satisfaction of escaping cleanly without failure. If you're looking for a low-pressure indoor activity in Hongdae, definitely give Cube Escape's Pyramid a try!