Spotlight on… escape games
What are escape games?
Not for the claustrophobic. You are in a locked room, or series of locked rooms, with a limited amount of time to get out before you are visited by some unpleasant fate: death, permanent incarceration, mild embarrassment at your failure to escape. Extracting yourself involves teaming up with fellow inmates to identify clues and solve various puzzles.
Sounds stressful.
But they're incredibly popular. The concept, which evolved out of online games and harks back to TV shows such as The Crystal Maze, is believed to have originated in Japan; the earliest known real-life escape room opened in Kyoto in 2007. It's taken off in the US in the past three years and it's having a moment over here too: according to the Escape Room Directory, there are more than 60 sites around the UK. Target audiences include students, stag parties and companies in team-building mode.
