Matthew Bennett / Post Independent
The Glenwood Escape Room has a new location and brand-new rooms for players to navigate and attempt to escape from before their time runs out.
According to Glenwood Escape Room Co-owner Ken Murphy, a few misconceptions about the growing industry continue to persist.
“Escape rooms aren’t claustrophobic,” Murphy said. “We’re not trying to scare you. …It’s not a haunted house.”
Instead, teams of between two and generally six players work together to solve puzzles and decipher clues, hopefully, before their 60-minute time limit expires.
Previously, the Glenwood Escape Room was situated in the 900 block of Grand Avenue but has since relocated to 923 Cooper Ave.
“[In] our old facility, our lobby wasn’t very interactive. It was, sit there and wait.” Murphy said. “One of the highlights of this new lobby is, we’ve made it very interactive.”
In addition to Egyptian relics, the Glenwood Escape Room’s lobby features key mazes and puzzles that players can practice on before their actual countdown clock begins.
The three new escape rooms include one with a Christmas theme, another Murphy described as “PG-13,” and an elevator.
Taking place on Dec. 24, at first glance, nothing about the holiday-themed room’s stockings, cozy fireplace and Christmas tree appear out of the ordinary.
However, once the timer starts, the unsuspecting holiday room quickly turns into “Christmas Chaos.”
“It’s called Christmas Chaos, which we all have in our family,” Murphy said. “Standing in here you wouldn’t realize all that’s going on.”
While Christmas Chaos certainly caters to the holiday season, things get a little darker, literally, in the escape room’s Serial Doctor room.
Geared more toward teenagers and adults, players must escape from a deranged “doctor’s” lair by using a variety of senses.
“We want to get all of your different senses working together,” Murphy said. “Or, working against each other.”
The final room, which Murphy hopes to open by Christmas, includes the Elevator.
In the elevator, players take on the role of Fortune 500 Company executives trapped with a ticking time bomb.
According to Murphy, thus far roughly 40-percent of players have successfully completed Christmas Chaos whereas just 27-percent have finished the Serial Doctor escape room.
Co-owner and game master Logan Bartek, who gives clues to stumped players along the way, said he tries to make each team’s experience as unique as possible.
Especially, when teams range from corporate parties to bachelor and bachelorette parties.
“We want to make it fun, not frustrating,” Bartek said.
