Once inside our Vancouver escape room, you have 45 minutes to get out. You will need brains, guts, and nerves of steel to make it out - before it's too late.
Technically, a fairy tale should come from a folk tale and be so old we’re definitely not sure who the “original author” was. But who needs technicalities!
Here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game, we think any good story that has a little bit of magic and a whole lot of delight for both kids and adults is worthy of being called a fairy tale. We refuse to discriminate against recently written stories—especially when they’d make top-notch escape games, like our three faves below.
1. Alice in Wonderland
Has there ever been anyone more desperate to escape their situation than poor Alice? Lewis Carroll’s beloved children’s tale sees Alice thrown into all sorts of bizarre situations that take some serious wits to escape, along with a riddle-spewing Cheshire Cat to throw spanners into the works.
Could you get out of Alice’s mind-altering Wonderland in 45 minutes or less? Because we’re not so sure.
2. The Princess Bride
Whether it’s Wesley trying to escape the torture dungeon of his true love’s soon-to-be husband or Princess Buttercup trying to flee from her captors (and the shrieking eels), The Princess Bride is all about daring escapes. Really, you could do an entire escape game themed solely on the Fire Swamp and those dastardly ROUS’s.
3. Spirited Away
The most recently written fairy tale we’d like to see turned into an escape room is Hayao Miyazaki’s modern masterpiece Spirited Away. Like Alice, Chihiro finds herself engulfed in a strange and unusual world full of tasks she must complete to get herself and her parents home to the real world. And a Spirited Away escape game wouldn’t be lacking in great visuals, that’s for definite.
Hansel and Gretel ... Once upon an escape game (Illustration: Alexander Zick)
If there’s one thing that every fairy tale is good at, it’s helping us to escape. Because who needs reality when you can have gnomes and never-ending childhood and talking gingerbread men?
While we at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game often visit the darker regions of our brains to come up with our eerie escape room themes, we’ve also got soft sides too. To prove it, here’s our the top three classic fairy tales we’d like to see made into escape games.
Beauty and the Beast
One of the classic tales of incarceration, ain’t it. Boy meets girl, girl meets Beast, girl meets Beast’s custom-built jail cell. Ultimately though, both players in this escape story triumph (what with finding true love and all), which makes for a nice change of pace from the ending of our Zombie Apocalypse room.
The Princess and the Pea
Imagine the confusion on the escape gamers faces when they enter the room to find nothing but a stack of mattresses. A scaled-back escape room like Princess and the Pea would offer opportunity for some seriously inventive clues. Plus, watching participants search for something as tiny as a pea would be highly entertaining for the escape game master.
Hansel and Gretel
If there’s anything that will provide more motivation to solve an escape game than a cannibalistic, candy-loving witch, we can’t think of it. Also, imagine all the fun clues you could plant in a Hansel and Gretel-themed escape game: jellybean counts that lead to lock combinations, maps made to look like chocolate box selection cards, and a whole lotta sour keys (wonder if they make sour locks ...).
Got any other escape game themes you’d like to see, Vancouver? If so, you’re always welcome to drop us a line and pitch the idea here.
What’s more impressive than outsmarting law enforcement—time and time again—through nothing but your own fast thinking? Being that quick on your feet when you’re just fifteen years old.
We’re sure that solving escape games are no tough feat for Frank Abagnale Jr., who, although he is now a trusted American security consultant, is best known for his time as a teenage con.
Despite his criminal career ending at the tender age of 21, Abagnale remains one of the most famous imposters in history. He took on eight different identities—from airline pilot to medical doctor to lawyer—before he was arrested. Made famous in the movie Catch Me If You Can, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Abagnale’s tale of hijinks and narrow escapes is one of those true stories that most definitely is stranger than fiction.
Not only did he—as a teenager—work in a hospital for nearly a year in addition to clocking upwards of a million miles on commercial flights, he also managed to escape police not once, but twice.
His first escape from the authorities happened on a runway at JFK, where he scaled a fence and went by rail to Montreal. Unfortunately for him, a Mountie recognized him and sent him back into US custody. Abagnale’s second escape happened from within a prison—by convincing them he was an undercover police officer.
Ah, must be nice to be blessed with a platinum tongue.
Abagnale’s legendary con streak eventually came to a close in 1969, when he was incarcerated for five years. These days, at the age of 68, Abagnale works for the authorities, as a security consult who stops the kinds of crook he used to be. (You can read more about his current work in this recent TechCrunch article.)
Though we at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game certainly don’t commend criminality, we can’t help but be impressed by Abagnale’s extreme quick-thinking confidence and aptitude for escape.
Escape rooms and padlocks go together like peas and carrots (CC BY 3.0)
One of the major features of an escape room is solving clues that will either lead you to a key or provide the code to open a lock. Solve enough puzzles and open enough locks, and you might just win your freedom.
Being such an essential part of play, you should fear any escape game that uses locks beyond the regular padlock or keypad lock. Keep your eyes peeled for these.
1. The Houdini Dead Lock
You might’ve guessed it from the name, but this lock has a few tricks up its sleeves. The Houdini Dead Lock may look like a simple padlock, but this puzzle lock is anything but. If you come across one of these in an escape room, you’ll probably use up all your time just trying to figure out how to get it to pop.
2. The Android Pattern Lock
Sure, they may look cute on your smartphone, but could you imagine trying to crack one of these while under the pressure of an escape game countdown, with zombies clawing on the other side of the door? Using just nine dots, the Android Pattern Lock has 389,112 possible combinations. Yikes.
3. The Lunatic Lock
Looks like a lock, walks like a lock, doesn’t talk like a lock. The Lunatic Lock is another that on first glance looks like any regular old padlock—but once you look closer, you realize there’s no spot for a key to go. Repeat: NO KEYHOLE! This one would keep your escape room all tied up, for sure.
4. A Musical Lock
While this type of lock—which requires the correct musical tones to open it—might not be uncrackable, it would mean you have to do a little acapella for your escape room team. If we had one of these at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game, it’d probably be set to Meatloaf’s “I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That).” So, watch out.
5. An Iris Scanner
If you encounter any escape room that features an iris scanner—run, don’t walk. You really don’t want to have to deal with any Minority Report-esque enucleation situations on your Friday night out.
Lucky for you, our Vancouver Escape Games don't include oubliettes
1. Assemble your team
Pretty simple: get the gang together. You want to make sure you’ve got a nice mix of people, so see our guide on putting together the perfect escape game team here.
Remember: most people are pretty curious to try escape rooms, so be sure to ask around. You could be surprised who wants in—maybe even Steve from HR who never wants to go to anything!
2. Do a teensy bit of research
Right, we get it—research isn’t typically fun. But this kind is! Make sure you read over the game options available. Like it super scary? Like it more mysterious? Looking for an easier game or one that will drive your brain to its limits? Make sure you read about all your options—Krakit Vancouver Escape Game has four rotating themes—and figure out what will be most fun for you and your pals.
3. Do some cerebral jumping jacks
Before you find yourself behind lock and key, take time to prime your mind for the impressive leaps of logic and untangling of riddles that await. It’s basically like doing stretches before you go on a run—except you don’t have to wear any spandex.
Check out BrainDen.com for a treasure trove of excellent brainteasers.
4. Dive in and let go
A major part of having an amazing escape room experience is letting yourself become immersed in the situation. Yes, some rooms at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game can be a little scary—but go ahead and let yourself get spooked. It’s half the fun! And definitely don’t forget to laugh. A lot.
5. Recap for next time
Didn’t make it out? Doesn’t matter! Because it’s not over till you say it’s over. While playing the same escape room over again isn’t recommended, that doesn’t mean you can’t do a post-mortem in preparation for the entirely new escape challenge that awaits you—just down the hall.
Or are you clever clogs who busted the puzzle wide open? Well done! Figure out your top tactics so you can try a harder room next time
