As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, part of our Napier holiday celebration included a surprise escape room, courtesy of Alex and Prescott. It turned out to be an excellent choice and a strong reminder that surprises are best enjoyed when you don’t know you’re about to be locked in a room.
This was my first escape room. Not for any principled reason – it had simply never come up. I also can’t say my wife has ever forced me into one, which feels like an important detail worth noting.
I’ll admit I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Somewhere between “solve a few puzzles” and “quietly panic while pretending to be helpful” seemed like a reasonable range. Thankfully, that second option wasn’t necessary. We solved the puzzles, escaped the room with minutes to spare, and only relied on a handful of hints – which I choose to view as efficiency, not assistance.
The experience itself was far more elaborate than expected, involving multiple rooms, a storyline, and an all-knowing guide named Max whose voice periodically boomed over the loudspeakers to gently steer us away from bad decisions. The puzzles were clever, occasionally humbling, and just difficult enough to keep everyone engaged without turning on one another.
All in all, it was a fun, memorable way to celebrate the year behind us and kick off the one ahead. Highly recommend an escape room if you’re looking for a challenge, a few laughs, and a safe way to test your problem-solving skills – without actually being locked in anywhere.
