Escape Attempt

            Last weekend I got to try something new and exciting – a rare occurrence for me. My wife and I went to an escape room with my in-laws. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

            For those of you who don’t know what an escape room is, it’s where you go with a team to this place where they lock you in a room and you have to solve clues and puzzles in order to escape.

            It was a fun and fascinating experience, although I can’t give you specific details because that’s part of the agreement – no spoilers for people who haven’t gone. In the hour we were locked in (it felt like about 15min), we rushed around, finding clues and solving puzzles. What I found absolutely amazing was that there was enough there to keep everyone constantly busy and contributing to escaping. Going in, I think that we all expected one person to be solving most of the puzzles while everyone else crowded around, but it was quite different. I don’t think a single task was completed that didn’t involve a group effort.

            The best comparison for it is a puzzle based video game (like Zelda) or books where the characters and/or you follow clues to solve mysteries – only you’re actually there and able to interact with absolutely everything. It’s amazing.

            Alas, we didn’t manage to escape in time and we ended up being blown up (that was part of the story for this particular escape room). However, I hear rumblings from the rest of the team that there is an intention to go back and actually escape this time. We’ll get you next time, escape room, next time...!

            So, yes, if you get a chance to go to an escape room, do it. It’s loads of fun and worth the trip (and this is coming from someone who thinks leaving the house once a week is a bit much).

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.