Imagine being trapped in a locked room with only a handful of your friends, co-workers or even perfect strangers. How would you work together to escape the room? That's the premise behind Escape the Room Arizona, a new interactive "live puzzle" attraction that just opened its doors in Old Town Scottsdale.
Escape the Room Arizona is a real-life juggernaut designed to test your puzzle-solving skills and your ability to work well with others. The attraction features three theme rooms: a typical Scottsdale apartment, an Old West bank heist room and a fun retro-styled '80s room.
The Old West Bank Heist room is one of three theme rooms at Scottsdale's newe interactive attraction, Escape the Room Arizona — Photo courtesy of Escape the Room Arizona
If you choose the apartment puzzle, you and a group of up to 10 players are locked into a small room that looks and feels like a real apartment. The room is outfitted with furniture, clothes and other everyday personal items, all of which are clues that will help you and your teammates escape the room.
Over in the bank heist room, the challenge is a little different. You and a group of 11 other "accomplices" must rob a bank and get out with all the loot in less than 60 minutes in order to win the challenge.
In the '80s room, you and a group of seven other team members must solve puzzles, unlock combinations and successfully answer '80s-themed riddles in order to escape the room.
According to the creators of Escape the Room, the key to succeeding at this unique, interactive challenge is teamwork. What happens to teams that are struggling to solve the puzzle? Will team members be stuck together in a locked room indefinitely?
Not to worry: Staff members monitor the progress in each room using cameras. If a group gets stuck during any point in the challenge, staff can step in and help.
Escape the Room was designed to appeal to people of all ages and skill sets, so you don't need to be an expert puzzler to have fun or succeed at each challenge.
Escape the Room was designed to help promote intense teamwork, which makes the attraction ideal for office team-building exercises, girls' night out or even a unique birthday celebration.
But you don't need a large group to visit Escape the Room. Guests that aren't part of a large group are simply grouped together with other people in the same game.
The Scottsdale location of this new attraction is currently only the third Escape the Room venue in the United States. Individual guest admission tickets are $28 per person. Be sure to book your day and time in advance, as time slots fill up quickly.
