On Monday, two strangers locked me in a room with four other people and gave me an hour to find my way out.
Don’t worry — there’s a happy ending. When I lost this game, I was given goofy props to pose with for a picture and well wishes to come back soon.
Knoxville’s “Which Way Out” opened this June as the first “escape game” in the area; although it already faces competition from several new venues.
The premise of the game draws inspiration from older role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons as well as more modern online escape games. The idea is that this “escape game” brings the online game to life in a three-dimensional world.
“Which Way Out” offers two rooms in which to play. The first room holds the Casino Heist, the original game, and the second room presents the Professor’s Challenge, the newer, more extensive addition to the venue.
My friends and I, being UT students, chose the Professor’s Challenge. It is recommended that players tackle the rooms in groups of close to eight people, but our group of five felt confident enough to face the challenge a few people short.
We were led into a fully furnished study by the Game Master where he told us the story of an eccentric professor who traveled the world searching for the perfect board game. This professor hid his research findings with a series of riddles and codes which only his worthy successor could unravel.
The game master explained the rules to us: no electronics usage, no breaking items or messing with the electronics rigged in the room, and a few more precautionary statements.
After pointing out the emergency key hung by the door and assuring us that no business would ever actually lock its customers into a windowless room with no way out, the Game Master wished us luck and instructed us to turn to the monitor mounted on the wall.
The monitor showed another short safety video and flashed a countdown before starting a one-hour timer on the screen.
Naturally our first move was to pace in circles around the room babbling incomplete phrases that translated to mean we had no idea where to start. However, we quickly came to our senses and made the logical decision to try to tear open anything that wasn’t locked and to shout about how nothing made sense.
After five minutes of this, followed by a brief argument over when was too soon to give up, my friends and I fully analyzed our surroundings for the first time and spotted our first clue.
Throughout the game, the Game Master monitored our progress with cameras mounted in the room, and if we seemed to be hitting a wall, he would type a hint on the monitor to nudge us in the right direction.
Each challenge or puzzle was hands-on without being physically demanding. Communication among the players was necessary, but nearly each task could be accomplished individually.
As we progressed from one clue to the next, I adopted the mantra “What would Nicolas Cage in National Treasure do?” when analyzing the next task.
Despite our best efforts, one hour later we were still locked in the room, but we had progressed further than any of us had anticipated.
The Game Master opened the door and congratulated us on our impressive failure. Then he offered to explain anything that had stumped us or that we had not fully understood.
After a group photo shoot for the “Which Way Out” Facebook page, I stepped into the parking lot and reflected on the unusual recreational activity I had just tried out.
Overall, “Which Way Out” left my mind humbled, energized and hungry for more.
“Which Way Out” is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Special bookings for organizations or other large groups can be arranged in extended hours.
