Virtual Escape rooms

Escape rooms can be a fun day out with family of friends. Picking the date when everyone is available, or in my case finding friends to go with, can be a challenge. Off course in this time of social distancing escape rooms are closed. But there are boxes that you can order to play one at home, or there are virtual escape rooms to discovered.

This last one is just what I did last weekend. The first one I saw in a Facebook message was a Harry Potter themed one.  It is created by a librarian at Peters Township Public Library in McMurray, PA. Except for having to google a map with the states of America this wasn’t a really difficult one. It didn’t have that much puzzles. So it was a nice diversion and didn’t take too long. But it wasn’t catered for my age group I presume. If you or your kids want to have a go you can find it via following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflNxNM0jzbZJjUqOcXkwhGTfii4CM_CA3kCxImbY8c3AABEA/viewform

I also found an online escape room created by different Dutch escape rooms. This game is free, but if you like it you can donate to support them.  The English link is: https://alostmemory.com/#oa_shop

In this escape room you just moved into  your new house and find a chest in your attic. Your interest is peaked and you want to know what is in it and return the content to the owner. The site promises between 3 and 10 hours of gameplay.  You can do it alone, which is great for those quarantined by themselves. Or you can invite your friends and make a zoom, facetime, etc. game with them. If you play it with family/friends I suggest you each login that way you can maybe see what one of your teammates doesn’t discover. For this one Google maps and google search (or another search engine) is really your best source.  The best part is that you can print clues, so you can take a closer look.  As with a real escape room, you can’t leave any stone unturned and have to click on any clue to check if there is no sound clip or secret message on the back of a postcard or letter you missed.

If you are stuck there is a forum that will provide you with clues, and even the answer if you are really blocked. I must admit that I had to look for the answer a couple of times. But if you play with multiple players you can easily bounce ideas and possible answers around with each other.

The game has 3 parts and because it is a collaboration with different escape room, the design and puzzles are varied. It took me 5 hours to complete the entire journey and I was able to return the content from the chest to its original owner. The variety of puzzles was really fun and challenging.

I enjoyed this one very much and hope that I can visit and escape a room in the real word again this year.