Mystery, logic puzzles, laser obstacles, hidden treasure and 60 minutes to escape out of a locked room–these are the things you’ll encounter and more at Omescape, the real-life room escape game that has swept across China and now into the USA. Creative thinking and a certain degree of familiarity with numbers are essential to escape from the rooms.
It all started last winter when the founders, Ethan Zhu, Alli Zheng, Sarah Zhang, Jody Burford, and Abby Liu, visited China together and played at a room escape center. After loving the experience and wondering why it hadn’t yet existed in the USA, they decided to start their own branch in the Bay Area, redesigned with American players in mind. The four of them felt audiences in the Bay Area would find the hands-on puzzles and hidden clues to be an exciting new experience, and they were right–since Omescape’s Spring 2014 opening, they’ve had over 4,500 players and are a top-rated activity on sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp. The rooms are all-ages friendly, and a great way for friends, family, and co-workers to bond.
Founders Abby Liu and Sarah Zhang (from the left)
Fun wall to take pictures with after you’ve completed the room!
Omescape’s first USA branch is located in Richmond at 5327 Jacuzzi Street, Suite 3H, and features three different themed rooms: Room Omega, The Penitentiary, and Forgotten Treasure.
Room Omega:
-Most suitable for beginners
-Escape Rate: 39%
-# of Players: 4-8
The Penitentiary:
-Perhaps the trickiest, with a laser room
-Escape Rate: 12%
-# of Players: 6-10
Forgotten Treasure:
-Teamwork is essential
-Escape Rate: 14%
-# of Players: 6-10
My friend and I had the chance to visit Omescape in Richmond to try out one of the themes for ourselves, Room Omega. After signing a waiver and turning in our cellphones (don’t want to spoil anything for future players now, do we?), we were partnered with 4 other players into a team of 6 people and we quickly introduced ourselves to one another. Upon entering the room, we watched a short 1-minute video giving us the backstory of our room, and what our mission was, then the clock started.
Now, I don’t want to give too much away, but it was an incredibly engaging, hands-on, immersive, and social gaming experience! Completely different from video gaming and the virtual room escape games that Omescape was inspired by. We each rushed to begin looking under tables and objects, behind things on the wall, scrutinizing every detail. When you find yourself stuck* in a room with 4 other strangers, you realize communication is key. (*Don’t worry, Omescape doesn’t actually lock you into the room, you can exit through the front door if you need to use the restroom or get scared–but where’s the fun in that?) Every team has a different method of getting out–some assign tasks to each person–but we just went for it and scrambled around, shouting out excitedly when any one of us found a clue or piece that seemed important. Seemed to work just fine for us however, because we got out of Room Omega in 40 minutes (20 minutes to spare!). We definitely encountered more than a few challenges in the room, and often found ourselves stuck on one puzzle for minutes longer than others, but in the end it was our combined efforts and knowledge that helped us escape.
I really enjoyed the experience, because it really is more thrilling than virtual gaming in so many ways! For one, you can’t cheat by Googling the answer on the spot, making it truly challenging, and second you cannot ‘pause’ the game as you normally could on a computer, making the urgency and sensation of “escaping” the room that more real!
After our team escaped, we were asked to make a team name for ourselves to scribble onto a whiteboard and take a winner’s picture with!
Our winning team: Timestoppers!
Omescape’s space features a massive photo collection of every single one of its players, separated by winners and losers (those who didn’t manage to escape within 60 minutes) of each room challenge.
Room Omega Winner’s Wall!
Photos of construction Omescape’s space and rooms! (Fun Fact: The space was hand-built by the founders!)
Real escape room challenges is a trend that continues to grow across the world, and here in the Bay Area, Omescape provides a highly creative and collaborative social activity for friends, family and popular team-building exercise for companies. The great thing about Omescape is that it attracts non-gamers and gamers alike, as well as players from all different backgrounds and parts of the world. The founders plan on adding a San Jose branch in early 2015, making it easier for South Bay players to get in on the fun, and also creating more rooms and themes to expand the interactive and unique experience.
紅遍亞洲的密室逃脫，今年也開始在灣區流行了起來。在短短兩年的時間，灣區已有超過三間的密室逃脫。你知道哪裡可以玩到密室嗎？
真人密室逃脫到底是甚麼?它原是一種十分流行的在線遊戲，需要一步步尋找線索逃離密室。後來演變成現實時空裡的真人版遊戲。遊戲規則很簡單，一般一組玩家約4-8人 (依主題而異)，玩家進入真實的密室後，要在遊戲時間內 (通常為一小時)，透過房間內的線索，互相合作完成任務成功逃脫密室。
今天小編要為大家介紹位於Berkeley北邊 Richmond市的 Omescape – 奧秘之家，是灣區今年5月剛開幕的新店家。才剛剛開始營業，就達到Yelp 及 Trip Advisor 5顆星的佳績，想必有它的原因。
一走進店家，牆上琳瑯滿目的照片，瞬間吸引了玩家的目光。
Omescape提供三種不同的主題密室，分別為「Room Omega」， 「The Penitentiary」及「Forgotten Treasure」。網站上詳細列出每間密室的闖關難易程度，可以依據玩家的喜好及經驗來選擇密室主題。
今天小編要為大家介紹位於Berkeley北邊 Richmond市的 Omescape – 奧秘之家，是灣區今年5月剛開幕的新店家。才剛剛開始營業，就達到Yelp 及 Trip Advisor 5顆星的佳績，想必有它的原因。
一走進店家，牆上琳瑯滿目的照片，瞬間吸引了玩家的目光。
Omescape提供三種不同的主題密室，分別為「Room Omega」， 「The Penitentiary」及「Forgotten Treasure」。網站上詳細列出每間密室的闖關難易程度，可以依據玩家的喜好及經驗來選擇密室主題。
Room Omega是以時間為軸心，有許多精心設計的謎題，適合初玩者及小一點的團隊。玩家需要有好的洞察力找出與時間相關的線索， 來一步步解謎。
The Penitentiary需要相互配合，除了腦力挑戰還有雷射通道挑戰大家的柔轉度。這一切的目的只有一個 ─ 一起逃出這陰森的監獄！
最新開發的密室─ Forgotten Treasure ─ 難度最高謎題最多。金銀財富得來不易， 唯有團隊分工及合作，才有機會贏得寶藏！
每間密室都有連環機關的設計，必須揭開第一關，才可順利往下個房間去，最終逃出。每一個團隊有一次使用無線電對講機求救的機會，所以一開始別急，有邏輯的去尋找答案。如果突然發現過了幾十分鐘，第一關的門還沒解開，可以討論使用求救機會。畢竟，就像在現實生活中，在密室裡懂得利用資源也是十分重要的！
如果團隊順利在時間內過關，便可以登上這面牆，跟大家炫耀炫耀！光看這些過關的照片，很明顯發現有些主題比其他主題來的容易些。雖然難度有別，但樂趣不減。
才剛開幕不久，許多大公司像是 Oracle，Twitter，Yelp 及 Workday都已經來這邊包場舉辦公司活動。Yelp及Trip Advisor上的好口碑，絶對不是蓋的! 躍躍欲試了嗎?
更多信息及預約網址: http://letsescapesf.com/
Omescape地址: 5327 Jacuzzi St.， Suite 3H， Richmond， CA， 94804
交通便利， Freeway I-80 Central Ave. 交流道下
