The Great Escape!

What are Escape Rooms?

“It is an interactive form of entertainment where you go on a real adventure for one hour. Each escape room has its own unique atmosphere, which you are part of. It is like a film, but everything is real and you are the hero…” 

So says Maria Khodykina, of Lock-Clock Escape Room in Barcelona, one of dozens of creative and enterprising locals who have helped established this global trend right here in the Catalan capital. Whilst the very first game of this kind opened in Kyoto in 2007, the trend really kicked off in Europe when a Hungarian video gamer created a real life series of puzzles using the ‘escape the room‘ dynamic that he used to play digitally, and then installed his labyrinth in the basement of one of Budapest’s legendary ruin bars. The concept proved so popular, with both locals and tourists, that the Hungarian capital now boasts well over a hundred exit rooms to try out, whilst many of those who fell in love with the experience turned themselves into entrepreneurs, opening their own businesses and taking the trend back to their own towns and cities.

“It is a new interactive form of entertainment where you go on a real adventure for one hour. Each escape room has its own unique atmosphere, which you are part of. It is like a film, but everything is real and you are the hero…”

If you’ve yet to try an escape room, the basic structure common to nearly all rooms, is that your team of up to six players (or sometimes eight) is locked in a confined space, and you have 60 minutes to try and get out of the room.

Standing in your way are a series of keys and codes that need finding, and clues and puzzles that need solving, if you are to crack the final conundrum that will allow you to leave. Each room has its own storyline that describes who you are, why you are stuck in the room, and why you need to get out (more on those below!) and they are decorated according to this fantasy scenario.

Can you get back to the Earth’s surface?

In other words, you might find yourself playing the role of one of Antoni Gaudi’s protégés trying to save his masterplans from his studio in the crypt of La Sagrada Familia before the building goes up in flames. Or perhaps you’re a family member of a rich art collector who stands to inherit millions, if only you can solve the riddles your eccentric uncle left behind in his office to guard his will? Maybe you’re trapped in a post-apocalyptic nuclear bunker, with only 90 minutes to get back to the Earth’s surface.

In the best adventures you’re almost certain to feel a bit like Lara Croft, Sherlock Holmes or James Bond…

In the best adventures you’re almost certain to feel a bit like Lara Croft, Sherlock Holmes or James Bond as you attempt to demonstrate your own hero material.

Why Try an Escape Room?

There are dozens of reasons you might want to try an escape room, to begin with, enthuses Fabio Messina of Xcape Room: “They are something very different to usual forms of entertainment, and they brings people to play together in the real world, not just on a games console or online.”

Maria Khodykina from Lock-Clock goes further and says: “It is a unique adventure where you forget about the real world and its problems. No internet, no routine, nothing common. You have to go out of your normal bubble and complete the mission with your team… I don’t know anything else that gives such bright emotions!”

In Mission Gaudi, you must rescue the architect’s blueprints…

Teamwork and communication are the two words that crop up in conversation time and time again when speaking to the passionate men and women behind Barcelona’s best escape rooms, and perhaps then it’s no wonder that companies are sending their staff to try out these puzzles as part of team building initiatives and to improve their in house communication skills. Some are even using them to assess potential employees (as they watch on!).

Whether you’re a professional team or an informal group of friends, having tried several rooms ourselves, the Barcelona Life staff can say that there’s  something very rewarding about pooling your skills and brainpower to defeat the dastardly challenges before you.

Why Try an Escape Room in Barcelona?

With its mostly sunny weather and billions of fun things to do, heading indoors into an escape room might not seem like the first thing you’d want to do when in Barcelona. However there are several reasons why it might be too:

1. Bonding

When was the last time you actually had to communicate and work together with the people you’re on holiday with? Sure there’s a small chance you’ll drive each other crazy and ruin the entire holiday (we’re kidding… we hope!), but most likely you’ll end up bonding over a highly memorable experience.

2. Cultural Tie-ins

Many of Barcelona’s escape rooms have cultural tie ins with the city, and you’re likely to learn something and get a flavour of the Catalan capital as you frantically race against the clock.

3. New Challenges

There’s also a very practical reason why it’s a good idea to do an escape room whenever you’re abroad, as Fabio Messina points out: “Every escape room is a one time time experience, meaning you do not do it twice. In the city you live in the number of escape rooms might be limited, so on holiday you can try a new one!”

4. Quality & Variety of Rooms

Finally, we don’t like to boast, but Barcelona has some of the best games anywhere in the world. Marta Lopez from Maximum Escape says it best: “Escape rooms in Barcelona are very popular in comparison to other European cities, and we offer more quality, adventure immersion and innovation than in most countries.”

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The Best Escape Rooms in Barcelona

There are now scores of rooms in Barcelona, but let’s start with some of the ones we’ve tried first hand – and loved! Here they are, in no particular order. All of them are available in English.

1. Lock-Clock

With five different challenges in the centre of Barcelona, Lock-Clock has a room suitable for everyone. If you’re looking for something suitable for the whole family, their Aztec Treasure room is the perfect fit. In this fun, fast and furious adventure you must discover the treasure of Captain Pablo Sangria before the ship sinks and you become shark food. Mission Gaudi is trickier, but a great one for anyone who wants to enjoy a connection with the city at the same time as challenging themselves, and this room comes with some nifty special effects that keeps the tension riding high. In Secret Service you play the role of counterespionage, protecting vital data from falling into the hands of enemy spies. Perhaps the most irreverent and fun escape room in the city is their Afterparty storyline. If you’ve been overdoing it on the nightlife scene then this scenario might seem all too credible (think of the movie Hangover and you get the gist!), whilst the range of multimedia puzzles infused with a ribald sense of humour means you’re in for a wild hour. Finally Lock-Clock have recently added an open-air challenge called the Labyrinth of Time, that will pit adventurers in a two-hour race around the Gothic Quarter. It’s pitched at a harder level and perfect for advanced puzzle solvers!
www.lock-clock.com

2. Xcape Room BCN

This large complex opposite the wonderful Hospital de Sant Pau, just up the road from La Sagrada Familia, boasts three distinct rooms. Two of them mix murder-mystery and horror to great effect, and if you’re squeamish or easily scared then perhaps give Gallery of Corpses and Miko’s Diary a miss! Otherwise put on your detective’s hat, and prepare for some spine-tingling sleuthing. Their third room is styled as a heist, as you’re charged with robbing Barcelona’s Casino Royal. This game sprawls over five rooms in a tense race against the clock, and employs many of your favourite movie cliches, including cracking safes, hacking computers and hot-wiring doors. The difficulty levels are pitched just right, although you’ll need almost every one of your sixty minutes to get out alive.
www.xcaperoombcn.com

3. Maximum Escape

They only opened a few years ago, but Maximum Escape’s pioneering approach has won them many plaudits, and they now run a total of nine games, in three locations (all around the corner from one another). Each of their games is an attempt to break the mould, and you won’t find any of the padlocks and number codes that are ubiquitous in most rooms. Rather the emphasis is on immersing their guests in a fantasy (or nightmare!) reality, that challenges them and provokes their emotions. Their stories include Prisoners of Alkaban, where you play shackled wizards attempting to escape the dank and dark dungeon of Alkaban, with a touch of magic and dexterity; Gangsters: Money, Guns & Whiskey, in which you play Prohibition-era gangsters locked in a blood feud; and the groundbreaking Darkness, where you will have to rely on just four senses to get out in time. Most recently they launched Overlook Hotel, a creepy lodgings where not everything is as it seems, as well as an outdoor citywide adventure called The Secret of Cerda. You can read more here, on on their official website below:
www.maximumescape.com

4. Enigmik

Another great option for escape room artists, Enigmik boasts two games, the NW6 Bunker, a 60 minute challenge for 2-6 people with tough non-linear puzzles and a horror theme. Their other room is called The Brewery and is an 80 minute challenge for 3-6 people which was developed in tandem with Spain’s famous brand, Estrella Damm. The business is based in the Eixample district.
www.enigmik.com

5. The Conquest of Troy

It took the Greeks 10 years to conquer troy… and only then through a stroke of genius by the wily Odysseus, who conceived the legendary Trojan Horse as a way to infiltrate the city. You on the other hand have only 70 minutes and an ‘army’ of just 2-6 people. Still, you like a challenge right? This escape room on the very edge of the city (nearest metro station is Baró de Viver, on the Red Line) is known for its stunning scenery extending across multiple rooms, the variety of different puzzles you will need to solve and the epic atmosphere. Conquista de Troya is rub by Neverland Escape and available in English and Spanish, and with your choice of two difficulty levels.
www.neverlandescape.com

Tips for Escaping The Room!

Everyone loves a winner… but what does it take to beat the room and make your exit before the 60 minutes are up? We asked some game owners and designers to share their tips, and add a few observations from our own experience.

1. “Think it simple and work together! The most obvious solution is almost always the correct one,” says Fabio Messina.

2. “Listen to each other and you will find the right solution. It works like magic in 100% of situations. And also, even though it sounds obvious, relax and enjoy the experience. Doing an escape room is like meditation, if you are relaxed and focused on the game good ideas will come on their own,” says Maria Khodykina.

3. “First, your motivation in the story is very important. Then, listen always carefully to the briefing. Look everywhere, be curious and stay simple. Don’t overcomplicate everything or you will end up frustrated,” says Bertrand of 60′ Escape.

4. In Barcelona Life’s experience, all of the puzzles you encounter are within your mental abilities to solve. Getting stuck happens when you approach the puzzle from the wrong angle. This is where having several brains, instead of just one or two, can really help, as there’s more chances to see the puzzle from a different perspective or with more clarity. In every room you have the opportunity somehow to communicate with your games master, and if you find you’re stuck on one puzzle for more than 10 minutes don’t be afraid (or too proud!) to ask them for a clue, because otherwise you’re going to spend the majority of your time frustrated by one riddle you’re approaching incorrectly, and not get to experience the rest of the conundrums. You only have one hour and getting stuck sucks. Getting a few clues along the way is part of a better experience and, by the way, still does not guarantee that you will succeed!

5. Another piece of Barcelona Life wisdom would be don’t bother interacting with props that you’re not sure are part of the game. If that book doesn’t reveal a secret compartment within a few seconds of examination then you can be 99% sure it’s just there for flavour and not an integral piece of an unrevealed jigsaw.

6. Finally don’t waste any time. At first glance it might only seem that you have four or five conundrums to solve to exit the room, but most of the time there are a few tricks and surprises along the way that will make the challenge bigger and harder than it appears at first glance. We’ve said enough already.