Escape room entertainment concept to open locally

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal Natalie Kostelni

A trendy entertainment concept that involves players getting locked in a room with a group of people and figuring out how to get out is coming to King of Prussia, Pa.

Escape Room Mystery of Chambersburg, Pa., has leased space at 801 First Ave. and is planning to begin selling tickets to its events in April, according to its website.

Referred sometimes as puzzle rooms or just escape rooms, the increasingly popular concept was inspired by online games in which a player would solve a puzzle to open door and go through a variety of complex, challenging scenarios. Each room is different, giving players a variety of experiences that are enhanced by light and sound effects. A maximum of eight players participate in the game for an hour or until the puzzle is solved allowing for players to be released.

While the concept has been around in other countries for some time, it was first introduced in the United State in 2012 when SCRAP Entertainment Inc., which is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, opened up in San Francisco. It had been “creating immersive and adventurous puzzle events” since 2007 in Japan. There’s a 2 percent success rate of getting out of their rooms by solving the puzzle.

A similar concept with an equally similar name, Escape the Room, has a Center City location at 1528 Walnut St. The two companies are not connected,

Escape Room Mystery will join iFly as another new entertainment concept coming to King of Prussia. Ifly is an indoor flying facility that is under construction at 300 Goddard Blvd. near the Imax movie theater. It has a special tube – called a vertical wind tunnel – in which people go into and have the sensation of leaping out of an airplane without going through the risk of actually jumping from a plane.