Review: The Escape Game

You are locked in a room. There is a mission at hand. A single hour is all you have to complete the task. It’s a task that requires patience, persistence, intelligence, and even some dexterity. With these things, you hope to find the code that unlocks the door to freedom. There is a lot at stake, namely your pride, and you wonder if this will be deemed “mission impossible” or “mission accomplished” when that last minute is up.

This is the basic concept for a new type of entertainment. Escape rooms are an adventure game in which a group works together to find clues and solve puzzles, eventually allowing them to escape the room of their confinement. It veers away from the digital entertainment we’ve all come to expect. Cell phones and other technological devices are stashed for the hour. Instead, there is a reliance on other people in a live environment. The collective observational and critical thinking skills of the group are what determine the end result.

The Escape Game on International Drive is an example of this type of entertainment. Having never experienced an attraction like this before, I didn’t really know what to expect when I recently walked in with some friends. Feeling partly intimidated and partly intrigued, I agreed to be locked in a room and watched like a lab rat as I scurried through a maze of riddles and puzzles with my fellow rodents. It was a very unique experience that I will not soon forget.

THE GOOD

The primary thing that I liked about The Escape Game was that it felt a bit “old school” in style. It wasn’t passive, and it wasn’t digital. It was fun in the same ways touch football or board games with the family are fun: a tactile environment, full engagement, and an energy that feeds off the others around you.

Most of my days are spent behind a computer screen or absorbed in my phone. It’s a huge part of my life, and when I am unplugged, it feels as if I were missing a limb. Unexpectedly, I didn’t give thought to my cell phone or the notifications that were waiting for me during the entire time I was involved in The Escape Game. I was so immersed in my present situation, and there simply wasn’t time to be bothered. Nothing else existed for the hour that I was in that room. In truth, when my phone was returned to me, I was jolted a bit and thought, “Oh yeah. There is that. I’d almost forgotten.”

Along with having “old school” appeal, this experience had a more mature quality. It moved past the base forms of solitary and parallel play. A more cultivated notion of teamwork was necessary to win, and it served as a reminder that working conjointly can be incredibly rewarding.

One of those rewards was a very real human connection that happened as I stumbled, laughed, strategized, and progressed with my teammates. An exciting energy filled the room while we all coordinated and cooperated. I left unexpectedly bonded with the others because the last hour of my life was spent in comradeship as we worked towards a common goal.

Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. The level of difficulty inherent to the game brought on moments of frustration. In fact, I found the critical thinking involved slightly daunting at times. It’s worth noting, though, that our group wasn’t left helpless when the line-up of riddles stumped us. The game was set up with little pushes along the way to keep us from hitting dead ends.

For example, our group was given an allotted amount of “free clues” that assisted when we needed help. It was The Escape Game’s version of phone-a-friend, and these clues came in very handy. When our team started going down an unproductive rabbit hole, we were put back on the right path with timely hints. It was the encouragement that we required to keep the end goal in sight and within reach.

Possibly the greatest take-away from this attraction was the strengthening of positive character traits. Patience, persistence, and cooperation were only a few of the things exercised in this type of experience. There were other things such as adaptability, efficiency, optimism, thoroughness, and attentiveness that were employed. From this perspective, even if I had lost and wasn’t able to escape the room in time, the lessons learned would have been an absolute win.

THE BAD

Another trait required was commitment. I paid online at the time that I booked my game reservation, and the charge was non-refundable. Should something have come up and I changed my mind, the best they would have done is reschedule my game (and only that would be granted if I’d given 24 hour notice).

There was another added risk to signing my name on the dotted line. I might have unknowingly signed it alongside strangers who were less than agreeable. Most of the escape games have spaces for up to 7 players. When my group of three reserved our timeslot, we left 4 open spaces that could have been filled by others that we didn’t know. Hypothetically, those spaces could have also been filled by others that we didn’t like.

Due to the competitive nature of the game and the pressure of a stopwatch, The Escape Game can get heated at times. Just as the experience worked to pull us together, it could also have put us at odds if there was a display of bull-headedness, exclusion, or lack of respect. In gathering our group of familiar people, this was less likely to occur. However, had we been paired up with others we’d never met, it’s possible we might have faced more personal challenges than expected.

THE TRUTH

Seeing as neither of the downsides came into play during my time at The Escape Game, I have to tell you that this experience was awesome. It was a lot of action packed into an hour, and in all sincerity, I rank this as one of the best times I have had during my five years in Orlando. You will be hard-pressed to find another activity that connects people as swiftly, and the memories that are created from the kerfuffle keep you smiling long past the ticker’s last tick. I can’t recommend this experience enough because I found it to be a very powerful way to bond with family and friends.