Escape room business breathes life into puzzles with clues, tasks

The group was so close to escaping. They had figured out the code that would release the door with five minutes to spare, but they couldn't get that information from the group to the door's keypad lock.

"This is ridiculous; we're not going to make it out," said Shadra Good. "Try it again; that's got to be the number."

The minutes ticked away, and the group tried every conceivable variation of the code to no avail. It had been a challenging hour, including a variety of tasks, clues, red herrings and puzzle work presented to the group taking part in the team-building exercise. At the hour's end, a door opened, and one of the staff members of Countdown Live Escape Games, 2959 Westwood Drive, entered and showed them where they had gone wrong. One team member was translating a code and reciting the numbers to another team member, who was entering the numbers into the lock. Somewhere in the mix, an extra number was being added.

Was the team-building exercise a failure because of a last-minute miscommunication? Probably not. In the hour before, the group had worked together as one and sorted through everything and solved multiple puzzles and problems, using logic, lateral thinking, hand/eye coordination and educational materials, and even a little judicious begging to get very close to the final solution.

"If the group gets really stuck, there's a phone in the escape room," said manager Frankie Rivera. "If everyone in the group votes on it, we'll give them a clue. Not the answer — just a clue to get them back on the right track.

The business has been tucked away in the industrial area between the Strip and the 215 Beltway since May 2014. Countdown Live Escape Games bought it and updated the rooms. Updating and changing the rooms is a regular activity to prevent the solutions from getting out and to keep it fresh for return customers. Customers are locked into a room and given precisely an hour to figure out the clues to get out.

Currently, there are three rooms, including the Sherlock Room, which stymied Good and the rest of her group. It is the most sedate and family-friendly of the rooms, set up to look like one of the titular detective's rooms might have looked, with an ornate desk, a wardrobe and some maps. There are a few items that seem out of place in a Victorian setting, including a flat-screen TV and a modern cordless phone, which allows the operators to impart clues and mood music.

The other rooms add elements of fear and horror to the mix, including Atelophobia, a horror-based room with dim lighting, life-sized mannequins, skulls and other creepy objects. The Chop Shop is a suspense-based room. The operators would prefer that the actual details of the room remain secret, but it is telling that the Sherlock room is well-lit and entered by simply strolling in as a group. The participants of the Chop Shop escape enter individually and are blindfolded prior to entering and attached by a tether to ... something.

As part of regular renovations, the Chop Shop is set to be replaced sometime this winter by Project Poseidon, a science fiction-themed room.

Typically, only one room is open at a time and by appointment. On the evening Good and her group were there, all three rooms were running at the same time, and it was apparent why that was the exception, not the rule. In the sedate, reflective Sherlock Room, the sounds of loud thumps and squeals of terror could be heard coming from the other rooms.

Gerard Aguilar, another member of the group in the Sherlock room, felt that it had really brought the group together and refined their teamwork skills.

"When we started out, we were all going off in our own direction," Aguilar said. "When we started working together, it all started to make sense."

Countdown Live Escape Games is open from noon to midnight Wednesday through Monday. Admission is $35 per person in advance or $38 at the door. Visit countdownescape.com or call 702-901-4205.

— To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.