Asylum or prison cell? Regina's new escape room gives puzzle solvers the option

Does being locked in a asylum room or prison cell sound like your idea of a fun Friday night?

The owners of Regina's new escape room hope so.

These type of puzzle and problem solving experiences have been growing in popularity in North America. On June 10, Escape Manor will open its doors andfalse bookcase to the public.

"We lockpeople up in precarious situations and story-lines and then we have fullimmersion that they are actually in an asylum or a deathrow prison cell," said Escape Manor co-owner Steve Wilson.

"They have to solve puzzles and then other puzzles and hopefully to a final key that will get them out before theimpending danger happens after the 45 minutes are up."

Not a haunted house

Wilson, who helped co-create the Escape Manor franchise in Ottawa,said it is not meant to frighten.

"A lot of people think it's a horror house but it's much more cerebral," Wilson said."It becomesmore of an adrenaline rush to beat the clock, as opposed toshock and awe where you have people runningout to scareyou, not to say that doesn't happen. We'll have to leave a couple things to the imagination."

Shaun Hesse, who lives in Regina,visited Escape Manor in Ottawa last year with his sister. He had such a good experience that afew months later, he becamethe co-owner of theRegina location.

"I had no idea what an escape room was and after going to the experience of Escape Manor I thought ...I've got to bring this to Regina," Hesse said. "This is good for family, friends and co-workers."

No cell phones needed

Wilson said cell phones will not help someone solve the puzzles. He said part of the attraction of the escape room trendis that it separates people from their screens.

"It really gets you back to basics, back to interacting with each other,co-minglingand the puzzles are also built that one person can't do them by themselves."

Two rooms to start

Escape Manor will be open to the public June 10. It will start with two rooms, 'The Asylum' and 'Prison Break' both built for up to six people. In a few months, two new rooms will open up:'Wine Cellar' and 'Apocalypse'.

Escape Manor entrenched in Ottawa

The Escape Manor franchise started in Ottawa and has three locations, including the Diefenbunker Museum. The bunkerwas built between 1959 to 1961 as a place for government and military leaders to take cover if Canada was under nuclear attack. The thirdfloor of the former federal government's nuclear attack safehouse is now where people canstop a launch sequence and transmit a red alert to the public before escaping.

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