Escape Games Go Wild: 5 Craziest Animal Escapes

Think escape games are only for clever human types? Think again! Animals are masters of the genre, and as long as we humans have been putting them into corporals and cages, they’ve been—well—escaping them.

For their daring, ingenuity, and sheer determination, we have no doubt the animal escape artists listed below could crack any one of our Vancouver escape rooms.

5. A Mob of Emus in Texas

Emus are native to Australia, which means they don’t really belong in Texas—and they most definitely don’t belong in the suburbs. That didn’t stop four emus from making a break for it in Round Rock, Texas, in October of last year.

Emmitt, Huey, Dewey, and Louie were eventually apprehended by slightly amused police (who filmed the entire thing) and were returned to their owner’s garden.

4. The Toronto IKEA Monkey

How did he get out of his owner’s car? Does he know how to work locks? Did he choose that coat himself? We may never know, but the Toronto IKEA monkey—aka Darwin—will forever remain in our hearts for his totally relaxed and casual approach to escape. Darwin now lives in an animal sanctuary, and probably has no further plans to go on the lam.

3. The Calgary Zoo Hippos

The most terrifying animal escape on the list is definitely the hippos who managed to slip out of their enclosure at the Calgary Zoo, thanks to rising flood waters in 2013. Luckily, that’s as far as they got on their unexpected escape run, though they were in danger of making a clear break into the nearby Elbow River.

2. The Swiss Elephant

Perhaps even more strange than emus in Texas is an elephant in the Alps. Back in 2010, the 10-foot tall elephant Sabu made a break for it from his circus handlers, spending two hours calmly wandering around the city, taking in the sites. Sabu was calm through the entire jaunt, and there was no recorded damage.

1. Evelyn and Jim take LA

The Los Angeles Zoo had to take serious measures to keep tabs on Evelyn and Jim, a pair of gorillas. The clever escape masterminds broke out of their enclosure not once, not twice, but five times—that we know of—using teamwork to make their multiple breaks.

While there might not be any animals at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game (except maybe the occasional werewolf), they’re still plenty of fun to play. Book here: http://bookeo.com/krakit

Can’t Escape the Mystery: The Shugborough Inscription

The Shugborough Inscription -- Krakit Vancouver Escape Game

We’re willing to bet that most escape game fans are also big mystery fans—we know all of us here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game sure are. And what’s better than a mystery? A real-life mystery. Especially one that involves ciphers, shepherds, a famous artist, and an even more famous scientist.

In the relatively unassuming county of Staffordshire in the English Midlands, there stands a Shepherd’s Monument from the eighteenth century. The sculpture at its centre is an adaptation of the painting The Shepherds of Arcadia by the famous Baroque artist Nicolas Poussin. But that’s not what’s most interesting about the monument.

Beneath the sculptural relief, there is a sequence of eight letters—O U O S V A V V—positioned between two more: D and M.

Photo: Edward Wood (CC BY-SA 3.0)

For more than 250 years, the meaning of these letters—this cipher—has been a mystery.

While some people are convinced these letters are nothing more than old-school graffiti (chiseled very finely, we might add!), other, greater minds have taken the code more seriously. Among the would-be codebreakers who have visited the Shugborough Monument are Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens—neither of whom was able to figure out what exactly the Anson brothers, who commissioned its creation, were trying to say.

Along with the mysterious cipher, there are a few other clues to deepen the mystery. A handful of details from Poussin’s original painting have been changed for the sculpture, including the addition of two faces, one of which appears to be the horned god Pan, and—get this—an extra sarcophagus. Weird, to say the least.

However, even with these extra clues, it appears there is no escape from the mystery of the Shugborough Inscription. It remains unsolved, making it one of the world’s greatest enigmas.

Although some of the mysteries at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game are hard, rest assured they are at least designed to be solved! Test out your codebreaking skills by booking a spot for you and your friends here: http://bookeo.com/krakit

Escape, Murder, Sleepaway Camp: Top 5 Summer Horror Films

Don't let that scenery fool you—camping is far from peaceful

Summer is the best time for horror films. Or at least that’s how we feel here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game. In summertime, everyone is free and easy, and even people who aren’t usually up for a scary movie will watch one when the sun stays up until 9 pm.

Not only is summer the best time to watch tales of escape, murder, and sleepaway camp, but it’s also one of the classic horror film settings. It’s probably for the same reasons we listed above: everyone is free and easy—making the appearance of a decidedly uptight murderous maniac all the more unexpected.

1. Jaws (1975)

With one simple line, Steven Spielberg ruined summer for millions of kids: “Don’t go in the water.” The beachgoers in Jaws likewise have their summer ruined, when the resort town they’re all hyped to be at turns out to have a monstrous man-eating shark trawling its pristine waters. Oh well, there’s always next summer.

2. Friday the 13th (1980)

Arguably the most iconic summer-themed horror film, with little (or not so little) Jason Voorhees unable to leave the grounds of Camp Crystal Lake after tragically drowning there. His mother doesn’t help the situation either, making sure Jason’s death is never resolved thanks to her murderous rampage on the camp counsellors.

3. Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Playing on the success of Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp has a similar premise to its predecessor, with one crucial difference: this time it’s a girl who is bullied at camp! Or—is it? Bizarre moments and plot twists abound in Robert Hiltzik’s film, making it a cult favourite.

4. Cabin in the Woods (2012)

In the more recent Cabin in the Woods, an unsuspecting group of friends is heading for a—you guessed it—fun and carefree camping trip. Unlucky for them, the summer horror film is by now a well-studied phenomenon, with the bizarre moments dialed up to 11 by a team of experts. Unfortunately, this means their chances of escape aren’t looking good.

5. The Final Girls (2015)

By now, the summer-themed horror film has developed into pure parody, as seen with 2015’s The Final Girls. Though escape and murder are still on the menu, the top priority here is comedy. After falling through a cinema screen into a Friday the 13th-esque horror film set at Camp Bloodbath, a group of friends must figure out a way to dodge the murderous maniac and also somehow get back to reality.



Try your luck with Krakit Vancouver Escape Game’s own homicidal maniacs in our Saw or Asylum escape rooms. Book a slot here: http://bookeo.com/krakit

Experience Immersive Entertainment in Vancouver: Escape Games and More

The trend is being witnessed all over the world: millennials don’t want entertainment that merely entertains or adds to their “pile of stuff”—they want experiences.

From Secret Cinema in London, who turn classic films into catered, costumed extravaganzas, to the rise of escape rooms, beginning with Takao Kato’s Real Escape Game in Japan, entertainment that offers more than a way to “turn off and tune out” is on the rise.

In fact, experiential entertainment is more than just “on the rise.” In 2014, JWT Intelligence—whose business is identifying the “global zeitgeist”—identified immersive experiences as the “leading trend changing the entertainment industry in 2014,” a trend that is continuing to play out as we roll our way through the decade.

Vancouverites craving immersive experiences of their own can find a variety of options right here in the GVRD.

Darkened Theatre (photo: Lloyd Dirks)

Interactive Theatre: Forbidden Vancouver

Not a fan of theatre’s “fourth wall”? Do you love it when actors come into the aisles and maybe even pull you up to dance? Well, then, one of Forbidden Vancouver’s city tours or special events is probably right up your alley.

For their “Lost Souls of Gastown” tour, Forbidden Vancouver combines a walking tour with a theatre piece to bring the history of the downtown neighbourhood alive, while their “War for the Holidays” event combined a holiday party with a WWI-set play.

Find more on Forbidden Vancouver here.

Expanded Cinema: Scent-sory Cinema

Taking a page out of Secret Cinema’s book, the Vancouver-based duo Here There put on experiential cinema as one of the many immersive events they run.

Their Scent-sory Cinema series has featured screenings of Strange Brew, complete with local ales, Montreal smoked meat sandwiches, and Hawkins Cheezies, and a showing of Amelie, paired with a Parisian tasting menu, to name just a few.

You can details on upcoming Scent-sory Cinema screenings here.

Immersive Gaming: Krakit Escape Room

Those looking to take their gaming off the screen and into the real world can immerse themselves in one of four imaginative scenarios at Krakit Escape Room in Burnaby.

Escape games present a way to bring gaming, puzzles, and mysteries into the three-dimensional world, putting you—literally—in the middle of the action. Whether surrounded by zombies or under threat by a mad doctor, you have 40-minutes to solve the mystery in front of you and emerge triumphant.

Investigate Krakit’s escape room themes here, for teams of up to eight.