Columbus escape rooms offer groups problem-solving fun
Imagine you’re locked in a room with your friends and have only 60 minutes to complete unusual tasks, solve puzzles, find a key and make your way out.
While that may be a nightmare for some, “escape rooms” are growing source of entertainment in Columbus and around the country.
“We will put you into your room, and you will have one hour to solve all the clues, riddles and puzzles inside,” said John Kelley, the general manager of Breakout Columbus.
Scenarios vary widely. Sometimes, the group will have to steal a painting.
Other times, one of the tasks might be to escape from a crazed zombie.
Of course, the rooms are never locked, participants are never in any danger, and everyone paid an admission fee to be put through their paces.
There were only a handful of escape rooms around the country in 2013. Now, there are more than 1,950, according to Room Escape Artist, an industry blog that aims to track the market’s growth.
Columbus currently has about 10 companies operating escape rooms. Several have gone through name, website and location changes, and at least two are owned by the same person and share office space.
One of the first in Columbus was Room Escape Adventures, owned and operated by Marty Parker.
“It hit me in a flash. Wouldn’t it be great if you had a zombie on a chain and you had puzzles in the room?” said Parker, describing the idea behind his first escape room. “But the zombie’s chain — every five minutes — got a foot longer. Wouldn’t that be hysterical? And then I laughed for an hour.”
It should be noted that the “zombie” is played by a wisecracking improvisational actor who will not try to eat your brain.
Both Columbus Escape Room and Room Escape Adventures, two of the earliest entries in Columbus, are owned by Parker and have seven different scenarios offered at their 1495 Morse Road location.
Parker opened Room Escape Adventures in February 2014 and bought out Columbus Escape Room, established by a competitor, in December of that year.
Room Escape Adventures has five other locations in the Midwest and Texas, all owned and operated by Parker. He also owns Axe Throwing, which has four locations including one in Columbus, and has operated mud runs, color runs and tomato fights through his company, Bucket List Productions. Before leaping into live experience production, Parker worked for years as a professional mascot, then as a day trader.
The boom in escape rooms in the U.S. coincides with millennials’ interest in experiences over material goods. The games typically cost between $25 and $28 per person.
Escape rooms have expanded beyond pure entertainment into the corporate world as a team-building activity, Parker said.
“We’ve seen the full gamut of (game-room) companies that are targeting corporate markets, and the appeal there is that if you can successfully do that, you can get business during the day, during the week,” said Dave Spira, co-founder along with his wife, Lisa, of the Room Escape Artist blog.
Room Escape Adventures and Breakout Games, another escape room in Columbus, both offer post-game analysis and debrief sessions for business clients.
While the corporate events help keep the lights on during the week, the relatively high number of companies in the Columbus area offering similar experiences is driving a need for differentiation and a battle to have the biggest, most impressive rooms.
“As the years progress, that quality will need to go up, the budgets need to go up, the amount of Hollywood needs to go up,” Parker said. “I think we are getting close to that now. We have a lot of repeat players, and so does everyone else.”
The improv actors
— Marty Parker, Room Escape Adventures owner
in Parker’s room are unusual for the industry and, he hopes, set him apart in the industry. In rooms run by other businesses, groups are often monitored by camera or an in-room “gamemaster” who might offer players hints and guidance, but doesn’t take part in the action.
Given the number of escape rooms now in operation, the issue of whether there’s room to grow is now on the minds of some in the industry.
“Nobody has the perfect crystal ball on this one. My best guess is that we will continue to see growth, but growth will slow,” said Nate Martin, CEO of Puzzle Break, based in Seattle and calls itself the first escape room company based in the U.S.
“Over time, it is going to shift from more companies to the bigger getting bigger and the smaller ones specializing to survive.”