Some of you have probably heard about the big hype that was created around the escape-game “Quest room” in Vancouver. It’s a relatively new activity, but thanks to this popularity it has already been exported all over the world. The idea is simple: people gather into groups and then they are locked into a room for 60 minutes (the time limit is usually set by the hosts).

People need to cooperate and use their logic and communication skills to find clues and solve riddles – within one hour. If we succeed we win; if we fail – we lose, pay money and go home… What exactly happens next? We decided to check it out ourselves!

And so the story begins…

We assumed that people who like thrillers would definitely like such an activity. So, we invited our friend – an English teacher from Canada – to join us! We took the tickets beforehand and chose the only slot available on that day, 12:15 pm. The room was located in one of the office buildings in downtown Vancouver.

The door to the room looked like any other door in this office building. There were no signs pointing at it. There were no hints or puzzles around either, so when we got there after 15 minutes walking through corridors it felt like “okay..so where is the game?” Then we saw two small cameras over the door…we looked at each other smiling realizing what’s about to happen!

And then… the door opened! There was a corridor with paintings on walls and skeletons hanging from the ceiling. One of them had a mask and we were supposed to take it (this was one of the first clues). We started thinking how could we get to that mask without touching any skeleton – because we were told not “not to touch anything” and each step and each clue cost time and money, so you don’t want to waste either. After several minutes of discussions where my 3 friends approached every possible solution differently, I decided to just grab the mask! It’s not like they are going to release us now!

So what happened next?

Well…it turns out these skeletons are pretty sensitive. And yes, just as soon as my hand touched the mask it triggered all kinds of creepy sounds – including screams! That scared me half to death though luckily everyone else just laughed 🙂 Then we entered the room. It was dark and there were scary looking skeletons hanging on walls along with several paintings that looked pretty creepy to me personally, but all in all it wasn’t that scary.

There were also two props that looked like stones -but sooner or later you would realize they are actually touch screens. The guys immediately started touching them…and nothing happened! There were no clues on them, no information whatsoever! Okay what’s going on.. Where are the riddles? So, I sat down next to one of these touch screens and decided to figure out myself what does this mean – I only had little time left anyway to find everything.

I lifted my arm up and saw a padlock! I felt a huge relief – finally a puzzle! I was trying to figure out how to unlock it but my English is not that good and this puzzle wasn’t easy at all. In the meantime, others were exploring the room and finding clues on paintings. We divided roles – one is going through clues, the other is looking for possible locks, the third guy is listening to everything and giving us ideas about what could be behind a door if there is any…

The next step is supposed to be unlocking the padlock using a combination from paintings with numbers on them. We managed to open it only after 20 minutes of tough struggle. Next we had another lock with letters instead of numbers! First everyone tried both asian languages as well as languages they know – no result. The time was slowly running out and we were nervous and stressed…

And finally!

I pushed one of the touch screens and a painting with numbers appeared! We rushed to check it out and finally – we found all 3 combinations! One for padlock, one for another lock and third combination opened a secret door behind which there was another clue that helped us unlock the safe in which we found our keychain that meant we won the game! At this point when everything started making sense – when all pieces fell into place, excitement overwhelmed us! There was only 5 minutes left on the clock when we got to the safe though so overall it took us 55 minutes!

We became more aware of what teamwork is thanks to Keyquest Escaperoom. Of course, it also helped our communication to improve. I think it’s the best way of spending time together with friends – you are not only having fun , but getting to know each other better as well! The game is quite challenging and for us it came like a nice surprise that we were able to solve all riddles (when usually I’m the one who gets stuck in puzzles).

However, if you don’t want to be stressed out – this is definitely not your game! When you feel like giving up – keep pushing yourself because at the end there’s an amazing feeling of accomplishment when everything fits into place.

  • Barbara Minogue