Escape Rooms…Oh My!
My husband and I are obsessed with escape rooms. If you haven’t done one, you’ve got to give them a try. Do you like solving mysteries or puzzles? Check. Do you enjoy working with a partner or team? Check. Do you like the thrill of trying to beat the clock? Check. Escape rooms offer all of those things!
I can’t even remember how we first started playing escape rooms. All I know is that we have been hooked after the first time we did one. And once you do one, you’ll be hooked too!
We have probably done close to two dozen escape rooms, and they are not all created equal, though they do have basic similarities. First, there is a mystery that you are supposed to solve. Perhaps you’re trying to figure out who killed the butler or who stole the missing painting.
Next, a time limit, usually of 60 minutes, is imposed. Once you are in the room, you have a set amount of time to solve the mystery and escape. Don’t worry; you’re not actually locked in the room, and staff are always monitoring if there’s an issue you need. My husband and I use every minute allotted to us, and even then, we often run out of time. It’s so annoying when we get to the end and the clock runs down, signaling our time being up.
Third, the room is decorated with some sort of theme. If you are trying to escape from a train, then it may be a car on the train. If you’re trying to solve a mystery in a hotel, then you might be in a hotel room. Often, there is another room that is connected to the main room, but you won’t know that until you solve one of the clues. Lastly, fun and intrigue. Every escape room is different, but the premise is the same…to escape! You must use critical thinking skills as the clues are not obvious. Every little detail can mean something. If it’s in the room, there is usually a use for it. You might need to unlock a box, but have to find the key first or know the code. You might have to use a blacklight to shine on an object in order to find a clue. You might have to lift up furniture or do some snooping to find a clue. And in the meantime, you may end up triggering a door to open or a light to turn on or some other interesting aspect once you unlock one of the solutions to a clue. Escape rooms keep you on your toes!
To ensure that you can win the escape room, it helps to have more than two people. My husband and I have lost more escape rooms than we have won, namely because additional people would have made it easier to solve. But we still have fun, and we have won several escape rooms, which makes me feel like a boss! However, I would highly suggest you have at least four people to play. Some escape rooms require this minimum, while others allow you to book as few as two people. The pandemic also changed some of the usual requirements since escape rooms often allowed perfect strangers to get booked into the same room; now, you can usually buy the minimum amount of tickets and have the room to yourself.
Another tip is to make sure that you work together. Divide and conquer, but frequently communicate and compare notes. My husband and I were at odds with each other with the first few escape rooms we did. We are both “alphas” and that doesn’t help when you need to work together. I would get a clue and he’d want to immediately take it and analyze it, or he would start working on a part of the escape room and I would want to take over. Eventually, we learned a balance. “Hey, you work on that clue and I’ll do this one” or “Ooh, can you hold the flashlight while I write down these numbers?”
An escape room we personally like is Escapology. It’s a high quality escape room that provides an excellent experience. Escape rooms often offer at least three different escape rooms, so you can go to the same place more than once. Escapology is our favorite because they offer so many different rooms, the decor is unique, and the storylines are interesting. In the Bay Area, they are located in San Francisco and San Ramon, but they also have two locations in Las Vegas (and we’ve been to the one in Oregon too!) When you enter the lobby of Escapology, you’re greeted with its signature chocolate brown leather seating, clocks, and hand-held puzzles. It’s a whole vibe!
If you haven’t done an escape room, do yourself a favor and sign up for one today. You’ll be hooked; I guarantee it!
