As soon as they enter the dimly lit room, a man appears out of nowhere and handcuffs Divya and Preety to a table, locking them in. Terrified, they start shouting for help even as the room fills with scary noises as they struggle to uncuff. This is not a scene from a Hollywood horror movie but a real-life incident experienced by two friends at Mystery Rooms 2.0 in Delhi’s Rajouri.
They find a cupboard that’s locked, posters of six dead people and some black clothes hanging on one of the walls. With some courage, Divya rummages through the clothes to find the key that opens the handcuff. Both run toward the other room but are arrested in a blackout. From the darkness appears a man in white clothes, his face covered with long hair. He disappears as soon as the two friends switch on the lights.
The duo weren’t trapped or forced into this room. They chose to put themselves in this ‘dangerous situation’. All for an adrenaline rush and an escape from reality. The posters, the man with the long hair, and the scary voices were all playing as a prop inside an escape room at Mystery Rooms 2.0.
Escape rooms have become the new hangout zones for NCR’s youth, especially zillennials. Bored of other passive entertainment forms such as movies and web series, and regular clubbing and outing, they are flocking escape rooms across Delhi and Gurgaon. The youth is choosing application of logic, analytical skills, and testing their mental acumen by deciphering codes and clues over lazy binge watching. All within 60 minutes. These places are also becoming preferred spots for birthday celebrations and kitty parties that see large groups gather for a team activity. The Mystery Rooms also host PlayStation games, a library, board games, and a VR zone, among other entertainment offerings.
“It is a means of safe adventure that you can experience without having to jump from the mountains or diving deep in the sea! Besides being an entertainment destination,” Sapna Bhutani, co-founder of Mystery Rooms told ThePrint.
And these rooms seem to be acting as point of release for many visitors.
“When we talk about live escape games, we want to feel something different from online games. And when I entered the room, the dead people posters, the blood on the wall, the old cupboard, multiple doors, the ghost-like figure made me shout hard and loud, giving me a totally different experience,” said 24-year-old Divya, a B.ed student as she exits The Circle of Fear, one of the many escape rooms.
It’s the element of surprise and shock that’s the USP of such gaming entertainment centres that are taking virtual gaming to a real world.
Holistic trauma therapist and founder, I Am Wellbeing, Akanksha Chandele says that people are choosing such games because it may give them a sense of accomplishment and achievement. It may seem to them like they are problem-solving while withstanding something that is considered challenging. But at a deeper level, it can also be an indicator of a stress response.”
“And in order to unfreeze from that response, a lot of people unconsciously choose activities that may stimulate the nervous system to a point of shocking it into feeling something. High indulgence in escape rooms, horror movies, adventure sports, spicy food, excessive work out, all of these can become attempts to experiencing something deeply activating so that we can feel present and alive.”
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The advent of escape rooms
At the Mystery Rooms, the visitors have a range of options to choose from. Every game has its own theme with most based on the themes of Hollywood movies and series — Lock out – The Prison Break Challenge, Abduction – The Final Hour, Cabin in the Woods – Murder mystery, The Silent Legacy – A story untold, A Night in Bhangarh- The Mystery of a Cursed Forest, The Kon of Kohinoor – A Mission Impossible, The Forgotten- Tale of the Dead, The Conjuring into the Darkest Hours, The Ring – The Circle of Fear, Hocus Pocus – The Chamber of Secrets and many more.
“We wanted to create something new because there were very limited options in the entertainment gaming industry. There are either mobile-based or virtual reality games where one is just trying to simulate the real world. We wanted to create something which is family oriented, which is good for kids, works for adults, corporate and to give an experience of fun, skill development and learning as well,” says Bhutani.
In 2007, it was a Japan’s Takao Kato that transformed this concept into live escape rooms where players would physically play inside themed rooms and accomplish the mission to escape within the allotted time by finding hidden clues, answering riddles and solving puzzles.
China was the second country to adopt the concept of real-life escape games and later it was followed by the western part of the globe.
The concept of real-life escape games came into India in 2013 with Clue Hunt in Mumbai and Mystery Games in 2014 in Delhi. However, in the last few years, these live escape-room games have become massively popular and there are companies like The Hidden Hour, Escape Room, Breakout, Unlocked operating in this space.
Inspiration for different escape room themes is often drawn from popular culture. “We always tried to make our games easy, which can be the popular one sometimes, so that one can always connect with the theme and story of the game and can imagine it,” says Bhutani.
Of all the rooms and different themes, murder mysteries are a preferred choice for many visitors, says Muskan, one of the employees at the Rajouri centre. But Chandele cautions against “excessive indulgence.”
“Escape rooms or mystery rooms releases high quantities of adrenaline and cortisol, which results in further dysregulation of the nervous system. But because it provides an instant relief/happy high, we can see why a lot of people are participating in such activities.”
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Mixed experiences
Escape rooms give the visitors some break from the digital world as well. As soon as one enters the building and confirms the slot, they are made to put their gadgets and phones, including smart watches, in a locker. But visitors are watched and guided by the team through the CCTV cameras located on every corner of the room.
Before entering a room and starting a game, the Mystery team always guides and tells the rules of the game. There are different types of lifelines and clues one can use during the game whenever the participants are stuck.
While it’s not easy governing, managing and shaping real life, inside escape rooms, you are your own master and have the freedom to choose and decide how challenging your next 60 minutes are going to be.
“We can play these kinds of games online also, but when we enter these rooms, they give us the atmosphere according to our chosen games. We can touch things, find clues, communicate, have fun by playing, there will be real elements around us, which gives a different moment from digital life,” says Divya.
Coming out of the murder mystery room, Usha, 23 tells her two sisters — Disha, a Class VII student and Trisha, who works in a corporate — that she did not have much fun. The other two seem quite excited having solved the murder mystery.
“We had watched some reels and read reviews regarding these escape games and I thought it will be really fun. But I didn’t enjoy it much. I feel Rs 700 for a one-hour game is a bit too much,” says Usha, who works with a corporate in Noida.
Giving visitors the value for money means setting up infra and themes for these rooms isn’t a one-time job. With the appetite for fun increasing with time, these companies have the task of updating the place regularly to ensure customer retention.
Mystery room, says Bhutani, is the first of its kind in India that added a live horror element in their games.
And it seems to be paying off as appetite for shock and horror grows.
“You have absolutely no idea what will happen next in these rooms. Next time, we will come with more of our friends and try the horror rooms,” said Divya.