This Game Really Bites
Words by Jolene Polyack
‘Trapped in a room with a zombie’ may sound strange, but it is becoming a popular past time throughout the country. The premise plays off reality television shows such as Amazing Race and Fear Factor, where contestants have to think fast in order to win. The room is filled with a variety of clues, some obvious and some very obscure. Twelve people are sent into the room and locked in. They must solve the clues that will lead them to a key to escape the room. The sense of urgency is enhanced with a zombie who’s on a chain. At first, it’s tethered close to one of the walls, however every five minutes the chain is lengthened giving the zombie more opportunity to bite you when you’re not paying attention. Once you’ve been bitten, you have to stand in a corner and can no longer win.
We did this activity with family members. As the twelve of us walked in, we noticed a white board which indicated the current record to beat. At the time, the record was 37 minutes. You only have 60 minutes to win, so a group had shaved 23 minutes off the allotted time. Less than 30% of participants will win. There are no individual winners. If someone finds a clue and doesn’t share it with the rest, the entire group is doomed. Going in with people you know is definitely an advantage. Our family’s strategy was to have one person as the central clearing house for all clues. Before we were locked into the room, we assigned another person to be in charge of gathering the clues closest to the zombie before the chain was lengthened, assuming that as the chain got longer, it would be harder to get the clues closest to the zombie. It all sounded so structured and thought out. We were sure we would beat the 37 minute record. Then, the door slams and is locked. A clock starts ticking. The zombie is looking awfully hungry and a bit agitated at all of the new arrivals. No one wants to be the first to be bit so we’re all trying to search for clues and then figure out what they mean, while keeping one eye on the zombie. The time pressure and dual mental focus makes the challenge much more difficult. Our central hub designee was taking notes as fast as she could write with eleven of us providing her with information all at once. Every five minutes the blasted buzzer would sound off and the zombie would crawl closer to everyone snapping teeth and making awful gurgling sounds. At one point, toward the end of the 60 minutes, none of us had been bit, however the zombie had us all trapped against walls, which meant we had to work even harder as a team to communicate and disseminate information, since we couldn’t walk around freely to obtain information on our own anymore. Sadly, we did not win, but the zombie didn’t win either; none of us were bit, at least we have that as a bragging right.
If you go, bring people who are good with puzzles and problem solving. Definitely assign a person as the hub for information, do not take your eyes off that zombie for very long because they are, after all, being paid to bite you. I think it is more fun to go with people you know. However, you can just go and end up with strangers, which might be even more fun if you get the right dynamics. This would be a great experience to strengthen teamwork among co-workers or, as we did, provide entertainment for a family get together. Definitely worth the time and money. There are 13 locations in the country, two in California – Los Angeles and San Francisco. To find out more or book your adventure go to www.roomescapeadventures.com. Happy hunting.
Words by Jolene Polyack
‘Trapped in a room with a zombie’ may sound strange, but it is becoming a popular past time throughout the country. The premise plays off reality television shows such as Amazing Race and Fear Factor, where contestants have to think fast in order to win. The room is filled with a variety of clues, some obvious and some very obscure. Twelve people are sent into the room and locked in. They must solve the clues that will lead them to a key to escape the room. The sense of urgency is enhanced with a zombie who’s on a chain. At first, it’s tethered close to one of the walls, however every five minutes the chain is lengthened giving the zombie more opportunity to bite you when you’re not paying attention. Once you’ve been bitten, you have to stand in a corner and can no longer win.
We did this activity with family members. As the twelve of us walked in, we noticed a white board which indicated the current record to beat. At the time, the record was 37 minutes. You only have 60 minutes to win, so a group had shaved 23 minutes off the allotted time. Less than 30% of participants will win. There are no individual winners. If someone finds a clue and doesn’t share it with the rest, the entire group is doomed. Going in with people you know is definitely an advantage. Our family’s strategy was to have one person as the central clearing house for all clues. Before we were locked into the room, we assigned another person to be in charge of gathering the clues closest to the zombie before the chain was lengthened, assuming that as the chain got longer, it would be harder to get the clues closest to the zombie. It all sounded so structured and thought out. We were sure we would beat the 37 minute record. Then, the door slams and is locked. A clock starts ticking. The zombie is looking awfully hungry and a bit agitated at all of the new arrivals. No one wants to be the first to be bit so we’re all trying to search for clues and then figure out what they mean, while keeping one eye on the zombie. The time pressure and dual mental focus makes the challenge much more difficult. Our central hub designee was taking notes as fast as she could write with eleven of us providing her with information all at once. Every five minutes the blasted buzzer would sound off and the zombie would crawl closer to everyone snapping teeth and making awful gurgling sounds. At one point, toward the end of the 60 minutes, none of us had been bit, however the zombie had us all trapped against walls, which meant we had to work even harder as a team to communicate and disseminate information, since we couldn’t walk around freely to obtain information on our own anymore. Sadly, we did not win, but the zombie didn’t win either; none of us were bit, at least we have that as a bragging right.
If you go, bring people who are good with puzzles and problem solving. Definitely assign a person as the hub for information, do not take your eyes off that zombie for very long because they are, after all, being paid to bite you. I think it is more fun to go with people you know. However, you can just go and end up with strangers, which might be even more fun if you get the right dynamics. This would be a great experience to strengthen teamwork among co-workers or, as we did, provide entertainment for a family get together. Definitely worth the time and money. There are 13 locations in the country, two in California – Los Angeles and San Francisco. To find out more or book your adventure go to www.roomescapeadventures.com. Happy hunting.