Last weekend we went on a double date to try out a new escape room in downtown Denver, Solutions Lounge & Restaurant Featuring Escapology.   It was completely mind blowing awesome.  I have been thinking about it all week and just cannot wait to go back and try to solve another mystery.  We didn’t quite escape but we were super close and had a fantastic time.  As I have been pondering the reasons why I loved it so much and want to go back, I decided that I should share my thoughts.  We (almost) completed the Budapest Express.  It is one of the harder rooms so I feel great about how far we made it.  I can’t really show you the room itself, you will have to check it out on your own.  Don’t worry, you will get a game master who will be sure to get you off to a kicking start.

Before I share why you need to go do a gameroom, let me just say that Escapology has created an environment that is intriguing down the very last detail.   The restaurant, bar and lobby are all amazing and create a feeling of being in a steampunk heaven.  The furniture, wall decor and lighting are all on point.  Oh and the staff, it is phenomenal.

Meet the game master.  This is right before we entered the murder scene.

Here we are after completion (and a reminder…ALMOST escaping).

Okay….

Here are my top five reasons to get out and go do an escape room.

FIRST REASON:  It is a great time to connect with your spouse, family and/or friends.  The hour spent madly trying to solve a mystery in a room secluded from the outside world created an amazing opportunity to connect and work together.  The bonding time is practically magical.  With all the crazy stresses of life and real world problems, solving a fictional one is just plain old fun!

SECOND REASON:  There is not any place for cell phones or screens.  That is an escape of it’s own kind in this age of constant contact.

THIRD REASON:  It’s good for your brain.  The amount of problem solving it takes to get out of the rooms requires concentration and lots of thinking.  I mean it takes real thinking!  Our brains need challenging to stay healthy.   I learned so much about what it would be like to be stuck on a train in a storm.  It felt like I was really there and experiencing so many new thoughts and ideas.  I was so sad when our time was up.  The clues/puzzles are so clever and require some thinking out-of-the-box.

FOURTH REASON:  It creates great teamwork.  I loved to see how we all interacted with each other and then later discuss what worked and didn’t work.  The opportunity for team building in an escape room is as good as doing a ropes course outdoors.  I think it is an excellent resource for families, work groups, teacher grade level teams, Girl Scouts, etc.

FIFTH REASON:  It is fun.  It is really really really fun.  I am not kidding.  It is crazy awesome fun!

I create a little puzzle with things I learned in my game.  I am excited to share it with you.  I have never traveled by train so this was quite an experience.

You can make reservations for the escape rooms online ahead of time, which I highly recommend.

We can’t wait to go back and dine in the restaurant after doing ANOTHER one of the rooms.  Maybe we will see you there.

Cheers,

Laura