So I have one more obsession/love I want to share with Steemit: Escape Rooms. I was introduced to them by a friend of mine about three months ago. Do you remember those old click and point adventure games? Well, escape rooms are a real-life implementation of those rooms. Most rooms give you 60 minutes to puzzle your way to the objective of a room. Since they usually don't want to actually lock you in a room, there is some type of goal to accomplish to "escape the room". This could be as simple as opening the lockbox beside a door to "escape" or find some hidden object that indicates you have completed the adventure.
So far I have done four rooms. Most rooms are handcrafted and have widely varying themes. For example, I have tried the following the themes so far:
- Solving a murder in a haunted study of an Indiana Jones style of archeologist
- Finding a film canister in an 80's era Russian spy's hotel room
- Escaping from an old west Sheriff's jail and office
- Finding a pirate captain's treasure on his ship before he gets back
As you can see they have a wide variety of challenges and equally varied puzzles within. A common puzzle is trying to discover a numeric or letter based combo lock or finding a key to unlock another padlock. Some puzzles get more clever by utilizing magnets and completing electrical circuits to reveal hidden compartments. For example, one puzzle had us placing four books in a certain location on the bookshelf, which would swing it open to reveal another room. Another puzzle had us arranging items just so on a mantle, which revealed a hidden compartment.
So far I have escaped from 3 of the 4 rooms I have tried and am itching to try some more rooms. They help challenge your brain by presenting puzzles that you are forced to solve under a serious time constraint. These rooms force people to use good teamwork because they are not solo endeavors. Most rooms can hold a max of 8 to 12 people who are all working together to solve the same puzzle. Coordinate and communication are key as is utilizing each person's strengths. For example, I am good with numbers, so I can solve some of the number based puzzles, but some of my compatriots were much better at the word based puzzles. These rooms can be stressful and will tire you out, but the rush when you escape the room is quite amazing and leaves you wanting to do another one right away.
If you have any questions about escape rooms please leave a comment. I am going to do another escape room this weekend, so I will report back on my success or lack thereof.
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