There is new trend emerging on Sydney's entertainment scene - real life interactive Room Escape games. The games are based on popular computer games and their real life counterparts are proving to be just as popular. Having already taken Asia by storm a few rooms have now opened in Sydney.
The way the game is played is: your team gets locked in a room that contains a mystery. You have exactly 60 minutes to solve the mystery and the answer to the final piece of the puzzle unlocks the room.
My friends and I decided to test our investigative skills at Clocklocked on Wattle Street near Broadway.
Clocklocked
The reception at Clocklocked is decked out in Halloween style and features a set of monitors which allow the game keeper to monitor your progress and offer clues to nudge you in the right direction if you get stuck. There is also a wall of fame featuring photos of the past winning teams and the time it took them to escape the room.
Reception at Clocklocked
There are two mystery rooms: Dexter - a murder case and Da Vinci – loosely based around Dan Brown's Da Vinci code.
We chose the Da Vinci room and after a quick introduction and a brief set of instructions, such as - "Please don't take apart the air conditioning unit, it is not part of the puzzle" we were let into the room and the door was locked behind us.
Inside the room there is nothing obviously out of place, but as you start to pay closer attention to your surrounds the first clues emerge. Every successfully solved puzzle gives a clue to the next one. And the clock is always ticking leaving you less and less time to escape.
The puzzles are challenging enough and require some 'out of the box' thinking. After successfully solving a couple of puzzles the excitement of the hunt sets in and the game becomes a real race against the clock.
Once the final piece of the puzzle is solved you unlock the door and emerge victorious into the main hall. If you didn't quite make it in 60 minutes there is no punishment, apart from somewhat bruised pride. The game keeper unlocks the room and you are set free.
Due to the nature of the puzzle each room can only be played once. Once you know the pieces of the puzzle there is no mystery left to figure out. Which is probably why there are at least two other Escape Room centers in Sydney: The Escape Hunt and Mission Escape, both in the CBD.
We had such great time figuring out the clues in Da Vinci room that we already committed to trying our luck in the Dexter room next. The game is challenging, fun and a great adventure for a team, be it friends, colleagues or a family.
