Local artists open new ‘Escape Gallery’ in Poulsbo

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 21, 2026

The term “escape artist” takes on a whole new meaning at Kitsap County’s newest escape room.

Escape Gallery, located on 7th Avenue in Poulsbo, is owned by business partners Eva Pinto and John Lyon-Smith, who are both artists. The space includes a gallery, but the exhibits are escape rooms. Right now, there is only one exhibit to explore, a Viking-themed room packed with touchable artisan pieces, many of which were created by local craftsmen and the puzzles were designed by Pinto and Lyon-Smith themselves. Even the software used to run the puzzles was designed by Lyon-Smith.

Four more exhibits are in the process of being built and will be ready to open in the coming months. Pinto and Lyon-Smith chose to open the gallery with a Viking-themed room to honor the Norwegian legacy of Poulsbo. Being a part of the community is an important element to Pinto and Lyon-Smith’s plans for Escape Gallery by creating spaces for people to work together without the hindrance of their phones and adding a gathering space that will eventually include puzzles, for larger groups to be together while members of their party try to solve the room. They wanted the gallery to act as a third space for team building.

Pinto went on to explain that her favorite part of this endeavor has been meeting the people in the community. “Customers and other business owners have been so supportive,” Pinto said. “We’ve had so much fun and really gotten involved in the community.”

The rooms are designed to have an adaptive difficulty so they can be accessible to a wide range of ages and abilities. They have also created an escape box that customers can order, where the clues are found in the town of Poulsbo. Unlike most escape rooms, these boxes do not have a time-limit and can be played at your leisure.

Building the rooms individually has allowed Pinto and Lyon-Smith to hardwire all of the elements of the room in place, so there is nothing in the room the players cannot touch. They were also able to create in-game timers out of elements of the puzzle in order to create a more immersive experience for the guests. “We wanted it to be like a theater set you could play in,” Pinto said, later going on to explain that being in an escape room is “a lot like seeing a play,” because the guests spend an hour in another world without the distraction of their phones. “It’s been a really positive experience.”

Pinto said a goal of theirs is to eventually win a Terpeca, a special award for escape rooms, for one of their designs.

For more information, visit escapegallery.net