As a real-life escape adventure space opens, we crack codes in a lost kingdom that we’re locked in for 60 minutes
In a lounge dotted with a sand timer, mini telescope and other curios, we are all ears as Sandeep Pagaria gives us instructions. “You’ll be locked in a room and have 60 minutes to complete the mission and escape it. Be alert, observe clues carefully and communicate with each other. It’s all about teamwork. If you can’t escape, you will stay there and be forgotten forever,” chuckles Pagaria, the co-founder of The Amazing Escape, a real-life escape game adventure space that opens in Kamala Mills on Friday. Its first outpost was first launched in Bengaluru a few months back.
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The lounge area of the space highlights the various themes of the rooms. pics/datta kumbhar
Housed in a basement, the massive venue comprises seven themed rooms — in one you have to solve a bank heist, in another you’re supposed to diffuse a bomb, there’s a room called The Evil Lucy, where the mission takes place in a dark haunted house and in another room, you need to decode sealed crypts and dangerous catacombs since The Illuminati has resurfaced. “You don’t necessarily need to know about them to play the game. It’s suitable for everyone who is 10 years and above; adults should accompany kids below 10,” he adds.
The midday team tries to unlock a furniture piece in a section of the room
Enter the kingdom
With two colleagues in tow, we step into The Lost Kingdom, an atmospheric room with a distinct forest-like vibe. A timer on the wall starts ticking as soon as the room shuts and the lights come on. For the first few minutes, we feel bogged down by disjointed props — from keys to photo-frames, animal figurines, torches and glass bottles — that hold cryptic codes and clues to opening a variety of padlocks. We use a blackboard suspended on a wall to make notes.
Hunt for clues
A CCTV camera monitors our actions at all times, which helps the team provide us with hints each time we press a buzzer present in the room. Much to our chagrin, we require them to come to our aid several times, especially in the beginning when we have no clue what to look for. Following their hints, we bend, stretch and frantically search above and beneath various furniture pieces to decode a bunch of puzzles.
The founding team includes Sandeep and Nivea Pagaria, Poonam Sanghvi and Jaideep Pagaria
We realise the importance of teamwork when we have to figure out mathematical calculations using our fingers (oh did we mention, no phones allowed?). Time flies, as we put our brains together and get immersed in the game, forgetting the world that exists outside the realms of the room. Adding to the experience is a lilting score playing in the background with bird chirping et al. At one point in the adventure, we almost feel like we’re part of the kingdom of Narnia!
A collective whoop of joy engulfs the room when we crack the final code and walk out. Though a steep experience, we’re happy to have spent an hour playing a good old Legends Of Hidden Temples-style adventure that helped remove the rust off our smartphone-addled brains.
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