Wander & Wonder

The first time I ever went to an escape room was for my 23rd birthday. Tony actually planned a surprise party at A/Maze in Montreal with one of my friends from school and my sister. I had heard of escape rooms but honestly did not really understand what it was. Indeed, I think you can only truly understand after you have done one for yourself. Essentially, each room has a theme and a series of puzzles you have to figure out in order to get out of the room. The puzzles are often a mix of logic-based and physical challenges. Typically, every puzzle require teamwork and communication, as sometimes you have to split up from your team members and some of you may see clues that others may not.

I really did not expect the escape rooms to provide such a real-life sensation of solving a mystery. After all, you go to an escape room knowing that you are in an artificially-created room! But the combination of the lighting, sound effects, props, and the fact that you have a limited amount of time creates such a strong sense of urgency and really makes it so realistic. As someone who loves thrillers and crime novels, I really enjoyed being immersed in this kind of environment.

Now, onto the heart of escape rooms: the puzzles. When you finally solve a puzzle, especially when you’re the one who figures out how to do it, the sense of pride you feel is unbeatable. If you are into coding or have taken a computer science class, you will know this feeling; the feeling you get at 2am, after spending hours trying to solve an unsolvable bug for an assignment that is due the next day.

Another reason I love escape rooms is that it’s all about teamwork. I am not sure how it works out, but I always seem to notice the things that others don’t and vice versa. It really takes a group effort to solve the clues. In our most recent escape room (called The Void in Bucharest, 10/10 HIGHLY recommend), I had to climb up on a platform while Tony was in the other main room. This meant that we had to communicate what we were seeing and doing without actually seeing on the other side. Some clues even needed two things to be done at once (like lifting up a metal barrier with a claw hook to reveal a small slit in the wall, while Tony puts his hand through and hopes that I don’t drop it on him).

Escape rooms are underrated. I don’t know who invented this genius activity but I am just so fascinated! I also find that it’s a way to be active and challenge your brain while still being so much fun (definitely more fun than bowling…I don’t like bowling). Also I forgot to mention how impressive the people who create these rooms are, both on the creative side and also on the technical/structural aspect. Bottom line- if you have never done an escape room, the time has come. You will thank me (do reach out to me, I would love to hear about your experience)!