Through clever riddles and puzzles, escape rooms have stayed popular over the years by challenging people’s wits and creativity. Local escape rooms offer various interactive rooms to break out of.
According to Expedition Escape guide Sophia, King of Prussia’s Expedition Escape’s escape rooms have remained popular and have experienced little to no fluctuations in business.
“In the last two years, business has really picked up, especially after COVID,” Sophia said. “We’ve definitely become more popular.”
Expedition Escape’s continual business is mainly due to the company expanding its variety and not switching out or changing rooms very often unless they get “outdated.”
Sophia feels that since everyone thinks differently, there aren’t specific rooms that are harder than others.
“Some [rooms] are more user-friendly while others require people to think using skills they maybe aren’t as comfortable with,” Sophia said.
Sophia recommends using Expedition Escape’s website to decide which room is the most compatible with a group and to answer any customer’s questions.
Sophomore Katie McClure appreciates how escape rooms test her mind in a different way than how she’s challenged in school. McClure feels that escape rooms encourage players to use “the other side of their brains.”
“You find puzzles and complete them and normally you do it with a big team, so it’s a teamwork activity,” McClure said.
From her experience, McClure offers the advice of “looking at all the clues, taking your time and not freaking out when you see something new.”
The Souderton area has a handful of escape room options nearby.
Local escape room businesses include Expedition Escape, Escape Trappe, Escape Game and Brain Box VR.
McClure’s favorite escape room place was Play It Out, LLC. which has gone out of business, but used to be located above the Broad Street Grind coffee shop on Broad Street in Souderton.
“[Play It Out LLC.] was really good, but I kind of just go wherever,” McClure said. “We have a bunch around us and they’re all pretty good.”
Sophomore Kendall Moyer has done several escape rooms and from those prior experiences combined with feedback from her friends, Moyer believes she gets “bossy” during escape rooms.
“I sometimes feel like I’m too controlling,” Moyer said.
Moyer emphasizes that people should go to escape rooms because they build teamwork and “brain power” and get people outside their comfort zones.
“It’s a good thing to do to get out and off your phone and be with people,” Moyer said. “I always do [escape rooms] with friends and it’s fun to solve them together.”
Contrasting with Moyer is sophomore Charlotte McNeill.
McNeill has done two escape rooms so far and has “barely escaped” both, but she enjoys them anyway because they encourage participants to work as a team.
Even though McNeill doesn’t think she’s very good at them, she would do more escape rooms in the future because she likes watching everybody work.
“I’m just kind of there,” McNeill said. “I like to see everyone else solve [the clues].”
McNeill advises people who are going to escape rooms to “double-check everything, not be afraid to ask for help and have a good group to go with.”