Escape Room At Home – How Does It Work?
During quarantine, you may have found yourself getting seriously bored. Being housebound for months on end has been challenging, both physically and mentally, for everyone. The new normal has taken its toll, and we have all been forced to slow down, take a break, and stay indoors. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we see the world and has made everyone feel grateful for what they took for granted before. We are reaching the end of these quarantines now, and will emerge with a sense of reawakening to all the opportunities that are in store!
If like most people, you’ve been bored out of your mind during the lockdown, you might have started planning everything you want to do once it’s over. The classic activities all seem new – going to the movies, to museums, bars, and theatres – and have fresh new appeal. There are more contemporary activities, however, which are being developed and improved upon by the day. For example, VR, which stands for Virtual Reality, is becoming an ever-popular activity for young groups of friends looking for a thrill. Why watch an action movie when you can be inside one?
Escape Rooms
One activity that has become ever-popular in recent years is the escape room. Escape rooms have a very simple premise: you and your group are locked in a room within a studio, with challenges you have to figure out as a team, in order to escape. Usually, the time limit is one hour, and at the end of the hour, you have either failed to escape or succeeded as a team!
What Are Escape Rooms?
Similarly to a group VR experience, escape rooms are best completed in small groups of four or five. Here is how an escape room works, step by step.
- The Backstory
Escape rooms always come with a theme and a backstory. This means that you will be presented with a situation that you are placed into, and which corresponds to the theme of the room and the clues you need to escape! The room is designed as a site from any geographical location or time period. It could be a disused train station during World War II, a pirate ship, a bank vault, or something totally different!
- The End Goal
Not only does the backstory let you be imaginative and get into the game, but it also helps with the solution to the game. Most of the time, your goal in the game is just to escape. Usually, though, the stakes are pretty high. Just like the backstory, you are presented with a unique purpose for escaping the room. You might be having to pull off a heist of stolen treasure; save a man’s life in the nick of time; or save your own lives from the threat of danger. The goal is always the same: to escape. But the stakes of the game, what makes you motivated to escape, come along with the backstory of the escape room’s theme.
- The Clues.
Once you have the backstory and a goal in mind, you must work as a team to crack the clues laid out in the room. Escape room creators set up difficult, well-hidden clues in the room which help you to figure out how to escape. It could be a hidden note, a cryptic riddle, or something else entirely. Working together to crack these clues is the only way to escape.
When the adrenaline runs high, people often argue and turn on each other! This can lead to high-intensity arguments and debates, and you and your friends’ true colors are bound to shine through. Who dares enter the adrenaline lair?
- The Time Limit
Most of the time, escape rooms have a time limit of one hour. This means that the pressure is on to crack the clues, and every single minute counts. Some people have formed escape room teams among their friends who attempt to crack the clues and escape within record time. Most companies have leaderboards that document how well you and your friends have done, depending on the number of minutes it took to escape!
Staying Safe: Home Escape Rooms
If you are still concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic, and you want to stay safe by remaining at home, there’s a solution. You can now complete an escape room at home with a new starter pack that sets up an escape room wherever you are. Here is how it works!
Setup!
In your group, whether it be family, friends, or housemates, you nominate a games maser. This person lays the clues out in the room and is the head of the operation. They do not help you escape the room, unless you request hints, as is the case in an actual escape room!
Play.
Once you start the time, you’re off. Of course, you aren’t actually locked inside the room in your own home, but the challenge remains the same. You must crack the code and escape from the room before the time is up.
Timings.
You can submit your escape time to the company and be in with a chance of winning a free expansion pack!
How Many Scenarios Are There?
In the starter pack, there are three totally unique escape rooms to play at home. After you have completed these, the expansion packs are available, with new escape rooms being developed all the time!
Why Choose an Escape Room At Home?
Depending on where you live in the world, the effects of COVID-19 are still everywhere. Many people, particularly those with health conditions, are not keen to start life again just because things are re-opening. If you identify with this feeling, then helping yourself have fun, laugh, and play games at home is even more important than ever.
With the help of technology, contemporary gaming techniques, and development, you can have an awesome escape room experience without having to exit your four walls!
