DISCLAIMER: The room featured in the video is NOT the Peddlers and Parchments Escape Room. Illustration only.
You have probably heard about Escape Rooms, but have only have a vague idea what they are or why they are so popular. If so, you came to the right place!
An Escape Room is a real-life, immersive adventure game.
Another way to describe it is a "Scavenger hunt in a room". You and your team member(s) will enter a room themed to a mission. You will have 60 minutes to complete the mission and escape the room by solving puzzles, completing tasks and finding clues. Everything in the room is potentially a clue, so be careful not to overlook things that might not seem important.
Why Go To An Escape Room?
An Escape Room is a great place to get out of your routine and try an interesting, fun, new challenge. (New things are often exciting)
They help people bond to one another. Playing an escape room is a group activity requiring your team to communicate (even if only two people). Everyone on your team has something unique to contribute and escaping will leave everyone with a positive, memorable experience. Even if you don’t actually get out of the room, the whole team will have a blast and make memories that you will share for a long time.
They feed adrenaline rushes. It feels amazing to accomplish something you never thought you could do, especially as the clock winds down to the end.
Excellent exercises for your brain, especially "out of the box" thinking
They can teach important lessons.
Still not convinced? Check out our Top 8 Jewish Reasons to Visit an Escape Room! This piece from USA TODAY is another resource to check out. Why Escape Rooms have a lock on the US
What does it take to beat an Escape Room?
You don't need to know anything in advance to play an escape room, but certain qualities definitely make it easier. How well your team can work together to solve complex problems depends on your speed, teamwork and creativity. Make sure to be attentive to every detail, have patience and work together with your team.
Learn more here: How to beat an Escape Room
Who Should Go To An Escape Room?
Escape Rooms are perfect for family vacations, corporate team-building, or just having fun with your friends. It's a great place for a date. Guests of all ages have something to gain. You can have a birthday party, friends or family outing, school or camp trip to an Escape Room. Many have a Party Room on premises where you could serve food and celebrate!
Escape Rooms have been recognized as a superb date destination, they allow you to see how well you can work together and improve communication while having a lot of fun. See here, for instance: What Escape Rooms Can Teach You About Your Relationships.
History of Escape Rooms
People have always loved real-life adventure. Even in ancient times, people entertained themselves with quests such as labyrinths and corn mazes. Labyrinths and mazes eventually migrated to the world of video games. Remember Pac-man?
Especially in today's world of digital overload, we find the idea of a real life adventure extremely exciting.
Unusual in the world where experiences of all kinds migrate online, the concept of an Escape Room migrated into the physical world from video games! Crimson Room was one of the first Escape Room video games, made by Toshimitsu Takagi in 2004. In 2007, SCRAP, a Japanese company transformed the Crimson Room concept into live Escape Rooms. The founder wanted the rooms to be immersive. The rooms were themed and the players had to complete a mission before their time ran out. The game was so well received, the concept soon they spread throughout Asia and Europe!
According to the Economist, the escape room industry is booming. There are probably over 10,000 escape rooms all over the world. A horror movie called Escape Room, where "six strangers find themselves in a maze of deadly mystery rooms and must use their wits to survive", spread the popularity of Escape Rooms even more.
Here at Peddlers and Parchments, we follow all fire safety regulations. You can always exit the room in case of emergency or even to use the bathroom, and we also have panic buttons which unlock an exit door immediately.
What is unique about Peddlers and Parchments escape room in Brooklyn?
We are the FIRST Escape Room in the Western Hemisphere that has stories based on Jewish historical experiences, which not only appeals to the Jewish community, but also extends to people of all denominations. Escape Rooms are a lot of fun, to that fun we add A LOT of inspiration and a tremendous amount of learning the you will absorb without even noticing:
European Jewish history (from 11th to 20th century) you will touch as you meet the Medieval Sages, feudal lords, wandering mystics and ordinary thieves
Love of Your Fellow and Self-Sacrifice you will witness when you hear about the Zeide and the Rashi who risked their lives for others
Jewish Pride, Education, and Assimilation you will learn about as you reconstruct a real Family Tree of an immigrant family
Thirst For Meaning, authenticity and depth you will appreciate as you learn about the greatest treasure of the Jewish people hidden in one of the rooms!
Tell me more? See here!
Over the 4 years since we launched, the singular educational and inspirational value we offer to families and their feedback helped us earn a top rank among 60 of TripAdvisor Fun & Games establishments in all of Brooklyn. And that's just the beginning! Moreover, we have been crowned as the Best Ethnic Escape Room Experience - New York by LUX Life Magazine in 2019 Family & Visitor Attraction Awards category!