Between mid March to the first week of May, there are several birthdays and celebrations on my husband’s side of the family. This year, we decided with my in-laws that we would celebrate all the spring time festivities at one big event. I don’t know where he found it, but my father-in-law discovered Room Escape Adventures: Locked in a Room with a Zombie.
So what did this event entail? We were locked in a room with a zombie and had to escape within an hour. That’s pretty much it. You are locked in a room and the key to get out is hidden among several riddles, clues, locks, and keys. Even if you were to find where the exit key is hidden, you would need to have solved the other riddles in the room to get to the key.
I don’t want to give too much detail away and ruin the challenge for anyone, so here is the blurb from the website: Prepare to be locked in a room with up to 11 other people and a Zombie that is chained to the wall! Hidden in the room is a key that will unlock the door to your freedom. To find the key you must locate numerous clues and solve riddles. Every five minutes the hungry Zombie’s chain will be released another foot. Within an hour, the Zombie will be able to reach you. You have 60 minutes to the find clues, solve the puzzles, unlock the door and escape the room without getting eaten! Are you smarter than a Zombie? Find out!
With such vague information, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. I thought he was crazy and the whole experience would be cheesy, but this turned out to be one of the best times I’ve had in a while. The site describes the whole adventure as a “team building experience.” That sounds a bit corny, but it isn’t the normal type of team building experience. It isn’t like we were trust falling on each other, or having someone blindfolded and guide them. We were locked in a room with a zombie. We had to gather clues and solve riddles (word riddles, number riddles, puzzles, all kinds) all while dodging a zombie and/or distracting him from someone who is trying to gather a clue. Ok so the zombie was an actor, but in the moment you sure as hell don’t want to be tagged by the guy.
We had 2 extra tickets, so my friend Meg and her boyfriend Dave joined us, and thank goodness they did! They were responsible for solving some of the riddles. In fact, everyone was responsible and helped in some way. The riddles were varied enough that each of us had our own strengths, and pretty much everyone was solved at least one riddle to help out the team. At the end of the hour, the game host gives an analysis of the team as a whole and points out each person’s strengths and how he/she helped the team. My favorite analysis was of my mother-in-law, who offered to sacrifice herself to the zombie even though we still had a good 25 minutes to finid the challenge. Only 30% of teams actually come out of the challenge “alive,” and we were one of them! with less than 30 seconds left, we tumbled out of the room and escaped the zombie.
I’ve seen coupons for it on Living Social, but even without them it’s not an expensive night. It’s also a really fun family night. Even though it is a zombie theme, it really isn’t scary at all. Players can be as young as 8 years old, and according to the host kids are better at riddles than adults. The only negative part is that you aren’t allowed to take the challenge again until a new sequel story comes out. Every few month there are new clues, riddles, and stories. I really hope we can do it again. Try it out here! http://roomescapeadventures.com/
