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“What is an escape room?” That was my first thought too, when my friends told me about it. Now here I am. I see everything dark. I am hooded and handcuffed. I hear the sound of a siren in the distance. But why did I let my friends talk me into it?! They told me, “Come with us to the escape room. You’ll see, it’ll be fun!” I remember thinking, “An escape room? What is an escape room?”
Of course, I couldn’t ask them what is an escape room: I would have looked very bad… So I made up my mind to go, and here I am. In the dark, unable to move on my own, with the hope that the others, I mean my friends, would come and free me as soon as possible.
If you’re wondering what is an escape room just like me, worry not because I finally discovered that this is how an escape room works: there are people locked in a room who have to try to get out within a time limit defined by the master. Usually, there are riddles set up, and small tests to be passed, to continue in the game.
Obviously, put in these terms, the goal seems ridiculous, just as ridiculous as the motivation to play it may seem… But it is not so, believe me. Even, and especially, when it comes to online escape rooms. It’s a whole other world.
First, you do not run the risk of being blindfolded and with handcuffs on your wrists. You play from your own home, standing in front of the screen of your PC, tablet or smartphone (click here for more details).
I would also add that the proposed challenge is definitely on a high level: a case to be solved, a person to be tracked down, a double agent to be cornered… It is no longer, simply, a matter of trying to solve one mini-game after another to try to get to the exit of the room.
It is a much more inclusive, totalizing experience. Clues, images, and research cues are provided. There are videos to be carefully analyzed to try to catch those small details that make a difference and can help in the continuation of the game. An adventure with MysterU leads to the heart of a real investigation to be carried out with care, attention and thoroughness.
One becomes an agent in the employ of a spy agency. One is catapulted into a world of secrets, encrypted messages, and conversations concealed and, at the same time, placed in the public eye. There are no objects to move to discover a code, as happens in an escape room, but information to be analyzed and filtered so that the search becomes useful for the continuation of the investigation.
Let me talk about another thing: the fact that there is no countdown; yes, that’s right, no time limit on MysterU, is really an advantage. As I stand here, gagged and bound, waiting for them to release me, hearing the sound of that countdown gets on my nerves. If I then stop to think that it might hit zero before we’ve managed to get out, what a rage!
At this point, you might make an objection, “In a real escape room I can go with friends. If I play online, how do I do that?”
Simple! Each adventure is designed to be played by several people: you can work together to solve the case, or you can challenge each other, in groups of two or three, to see who will reach the correct conclusion first.
In-depth investigations, partial and final goals to achieve, clue analysis and collaboration: that’s what makes this experience special. Now you know better the answer to the question of what is an escape room. I’m going back to waiting for them to release me…
