The creators of the Quest2Escape attraction have announced the grand opening of a new Christmas-themed physical adventure game called “Saving Christmas”, providing a new interactive and immersive holiday activity for the family or a group of people.
Escape rooms are reminiscent of the action in video games in which players solve a series of puzzles and riddles using clues, hints and strategy to complete the objectives at hand. Players are given a set time limit to unveil the secret plot which is hidden within the rooms.
Quest2Escape is locally owned and operated by Bill and Cheryl Harris. Mr. Harris is an electrical engineer and Ms. Harris is a food scientist at McKee Foods. They opened Quest2Escape in November 2016 as a creative outlet for Mr. Harris's engineering talents. Every storyline, puzzle and prop are designed and built by Mr. and Ms. Harris. Quest2Escape’s games are set in a variety of fictional locations with specific themes.
Many businesses use escape rooms for team building exercises because they are a way to get people working together to solve various puzzles and riddles.
"Everyone loves Christmas, and we wanted to build an escape room that creates a fun family experience for bonding around the holidays," said Mr. Harris.
The premise of “Saving Christmas” is that it’s Christmas Eve and Santa has a problem. One of his elves has had a bad day and turned very Grinch-like. He has hidden Santa’s bag of presents. Santa has a tight schedule to keep if he is going to visit everyone on his “Nice” list. If he doesn’t get moving in 45 minutes, Christmas is going to be ruined for someone. The rogue elf is a sporting fellow and has left a trail of clues as to where he has stashed the bag. Teams must follow the clues, solve the puzzles and find Santa’s bag before time expires.
The 45-minute game costs $19 per player, available for those ages 8 to 80. All groups must include at least one player 18 years of age or older. “Saving Christmas” is recommended for four to six players, but can be played by as few as a couple or as many as eight in a group. The activity is designed with families in mind. Most escape room scenarios are intended for ages 14 and up. “Saving Christmas” was designed so that younger kids can make significant contributions to the success of the team. The game is an introduction to escape rooms as it follows a linear path and is not particularly difficult compared to Quest2Escape’s other games.
The game joins Quest2Escape’s original escape room, “Sabotage: Chattanooga 1944”, which takes the players to 1944 during WWII. The game takes place in a small train depot somewhere near Chattanooga. The goal is to foil a Nazi attack on a troop train by uncovering his plot. While the game highlights Chattanooga’s rich railroad history, no special historical knowledge is needed to play the room. As in all well-designed escape rooms, everything a team needs to complete the challenge is in the room.
Five star rated “Sabotage: Chattanooga 1944” is a 60-minute game for two to eight players, ages 12 and older. The cost is $26 per player. In terms of difficulty, it is rated as eight out of 10 with a challenging multi-threaded storyline.
Quest2Escape guests also have the option to play a game introduced in April 2017 called “Locker Room Lockdown”. The hour-long game, also $26 per player, is for players ages 10 and older, accommodating between three and eight players per round. In the storyline, a rival team has taken your Mascot and hidden it in their locker room. You must go in and get it while they are on the field. You have 60 minutes before they come back and catch you.
The players are divided into the coaching staff and the team, with the coaches trapped in the equipment cage. Each group has specific puzzles to solve, but must rely on each other to acquire needed items and clues. At one point in the game the team frees the coaches and from there everyone works together to solve the final puzzles.
“Locker Room Lockdown” is rated a five out of 10 in terms of difficulty level. Mr. Harris said it is also a great choice for family-friendly activities and group parties because it emphasizes teamwork and strengthening bonds. Families, sports groups and youth groups of all kinds have played the room and consistently give it five star ratings.
Quest2Escape is at 432 Market St. #204. They are open from 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m. To schedule a game for a group, visit https://quest2escape.com/book-now/