Have you ever been in a situation with a group of people and were suddenly asked to take on a huge task in a limited time frame? Odds are you have and know how challenging it can be to work quickly and smartly with multiple personalities and different ideas. It can be fun, stressful, and ultimately rewarding to conquer a challenging activity.

I recently partnered with Mystery Room NYC which is a small escape room company based only in NYC. I’ve been hearing about the latest craze of escape rooms for awhile now, so I was super excited to see for myself. My 9 year old son and a group of his friends made up of 9 and 10 year olds gathered at the SoHo location for a chance to escape “The Forgotten Library” in 1 hour.

To be fair I had no idea what to expect so after a brief synopsis of our story and the rules, our door was locked and the mystery began! The kids were overly excited so to be fair there was ALOT of screaming and shouting as they were “discovering” the room. There are cameras in the room so the guide can watch the entire time to make sure 1) everyone  is safe and 2) give clues when he feels it’s appropriate or the group is going down the wrong path

I stayed in the room as an observer only. Of course the kids immediately thought I could help them, but I assured them I was invisible and not talking. Ha! It blew my mind to see their different personalities at work. There was everything from the logical thinker who was writing everything down to the kids who jumping in front of the camera trying to get more clues!

There was a TV screen in the room and when they heard a “ding” , everyone screamed with excited to read the next clue. The kids really surprised me at how they were working together and all trying to help solve the mystery. They were giving each other well deserved compliments, high-fives and really encouraging each other along the way. No one got upset or mad because they just wanted to solve the mystery as quickly as possible.

The room had a pressure aspect which was the constant counter on the TV scream. The kids would always look over to see how much time they had left and were clearly getting nervous. For some reason they all thought they were going to “die” if they didn’t solve the room, so for this I broke my silence to assure them this was not the case! Kids!

It was made clear in the rules not to try and disrupt any of the props that were in the room to uncover a clue. Everything was placed in a way that could be moved but there was no need to break or open something. Violence is never the answer at Mystery Room NYC.

The kids worked so hard, and to see them uncover a clue was so rewarding! They really put their minds to work and it paid off. For awhile they got into a stride and worked smartly which was helpful. It was definitely a positive learning experience without even realizing it! Team building at its best!

I will mention although the room was not necessary scary, the kids did get slightly creeped out at certain points and once again I had to break my silence to assure them it was all fake and not real. If you have a child who scares easily I would recommend waiting until they are older or make sure they have an adult near.

Ultimately our brave little crew did not solve the mystery, but my son is already eager to go back with his friends and attempt to solve another room. This was such a great activity and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for something unique and different. It would make an awesome birthday party or even a great team building event for adults.

The rooms are clearly thought out from a very high level thinker. The company owner/lead game designer, Eric Siu, is actually a biology teacher in the NY Schools System so he incorporates educational aspects into each room. This makes for a positive learning experience and of course a challenging activity as well.

Mystery Room NYC Games are one hour long and no more than 10 people can be in a room at one time.

Tickets/Info – www.mysteryroomnyc.com . For special lunch/daytime bookings during the week or for special events and corporate group requests, e-mail [email protected].

For information on custom built pop-up escape rooms of various themes, e-mail: [email protected]

Good Luck!

Suzanne