“The most common question we get is – Are we really trapped in the room?” Allyssa, co-owner of Room For Escape, explains in describing her business.
At Room For Escape, players work in small groups to find clues and solve puzzles in a themed room. They must uncover the final key to the room within in one hour in order to win the game.
“But don’t worry,” Allyssa says. In keeping with fire code, the final lock is located next to the door instead of on it. You’ll also have a sidekick who monitors game activity and sends the players hints when needed.
Creating the themed rooms has been a challenge and a delight for Allyssa and her father Rich Hynes. This father-daughter duo opened Room For Escape at 112 Woodland Ave, Suite 202 in Somers Point, NJ last summer.
Room For Escape currently has two rooms running. One is a super hero themed room called “Super Trapped!”. In this scenario, players are part of a super team that needs to defeat an evil villain by deactivating his Doomsday Machines and escaping his trap. They have one hour to do so or the villain will take over Somers Point, and then – the world!
The other room is seasonal and changes every few months. When it opened in the summer it began as the pirate themed “Apartment Arrr” and for the fall it was the ghostly “Spell-Bound.” For the winter it is a room called “Snow Bank” where players are jewel thieves at an arctic bank. They have an hour to steal the rare Glacier Diamond and find the key to escape – before they get cold feet and accept a nice warm jail cell. What will the seasonal room’s theme be in the spring? Players will have to check back to see.
“Having a room that changes its theme allows players to keep coming back and challenging themselves with new puzzles. It also keeps things exciting for us!” Rich says.
Rich comes from a business background and found that he just couldn’t stay retired. When his daughter explained what a room escape was, he thought it would be the perfect opportunity for them to undertake. He also thought it would be something fun for people in the Somers Point area to explore.
Allyssa worked as a Script Coordinator for a TV show and first experienced a room escape with a group of mystery writers in NYC. “They were also comedy writers,” Allyssa explained. “We almost didn’t escape because someone was doing a bit about dropping the final key we found!”
“It seemed like room escapes were a big deal in cities, and we wanted to bring one to the South Jersey Shore.” Rich says.
Allyssa comes from a playwriting background and has published a holiday mystery novel (“Claus for Concern”, A Mrs. Claus Murder Mystery, under the pen name Allyssa Mirry.)
The father and daughter decided to join their business and writing experience, and open the room escape together. They are proud to say that they create all the room scenarios and puzzles in house. They are either created by the owners of this family business themselves, or with the help of some team members who feel like family. Teacher Gerry Janasky took the lead on the spookiness for “Spell-Bound”, and scenic designer Heather Knoll’s painting skills can be seen on the Doomsday Machines.
Another aspect of their business that Allyssa and Rich are proud of is that they offer a family friendly version of their rooms as well. This is an easier version of game play for when there are a lot of younger players on the team, around age 12 or so. They had a summer camp play through the room and the campers had a lot of fun.
Another unique aspect of Room For Escape is that they feature “Rooms on the Road.” In this version, the puzzles travel to your room. Great for fundraising, “Rooms on the Road” allows for puzzles and a gamemaster to set up the escape at your location.
Room For Escape also has a (non-puzzle) room that can be booked for parties and such after game play. It is a nice spot to unwrap birthday gifts, host a mystery book club, or to just relax after an hour of exercising your brain.
People who are interested in playing a room can visit www.roomforescape.com and visit the “Booking” page. There customers can select the room they would like, a time slot, and the amount of players on their team.
