Monday, March 2, 2015

Real Escape Game

My latest activity was a super fun game called the Real Escape game. Ten people are locked inside a room and the aim of the game is to kind a key to get out of the room. There are lots of puzzles and clues hidden inside and solving all of them ultimately leads to the key.

I have never done something like this before and was absolutely thrilled when I heard a friend mention this. Since it is more fun doing this activity with people you know rather than with strangers, I managed to convince a few friends to join me. And I'm so glad we played the game. 

The concept of the game originated in Japan and is now popular all over the world. In the Bay Area, it is located in San Francisco and San Jose. We went to the one in San Jose. You have to reserve tickets online in advance. The duration of the game is one hour with an extra half an hour for introductions,  explaining the rules and questions.

The room in which we were locked looked very ordinary but was full of puzzles, crosswords, clues and mystery. As a team, we had to figure things out. I can't really say anything more about the game without the spoilers so I'll stop. We did not manage to find the key in time and escape but I'd say we did pretty well for ourselves and everyone was pleased. There was a lot of collaboration, creativity, time management and brain work involved and it was thoroughly enjoyable. 

Sad face: Real Escape Game

They have a few different themes for the rooms to choose from. The one we went for was called 'Escape from the Mysterious Room.' It is a very good activity as a corporate team building event as well as a day out with friends. Even if you don't have a group of ten, you can always book your tickets and you will be clubbed with others who reserve that slot. I'm excited about trying some of the other rooms and puzzles.

Happy face: Real Escape Game

What: The Real Escape Game
Where: http://realescapegame.com/
Cost: $39