Escape Game Soundtracks: The Coded Music of Tool, Radiohead, and Messiaen

Although musicians are better associated with black leather and bad life choices than with math and cryptography, there’s a long history of musical types playing with coded messages.

Really, it shouldn’t be surprising: What is a musical score but mathematics and symbology?

Below we list three famous instances that show musicians are just as into cryptography as we are here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game.

1. The song “Lateralus” by the band Tool

Although those of us who just jam along to the beat may not realize it, musically impressive metal songs are impressive precisely because they use complicated time signatures, which is basically complicated math. The more intricate the time signature, the more talented the musician.

It’s no surprise then that the highly capable musicians of Tool upped the game by composing the song “Lateralus” using the Fibonacci sequence. Like the Fibonacci sequence, “Lateralus” lyrics “spiral out,” and the song uses the time signatures 9/8, 9/8, and 7/8 to refer to 987, the sixteenth integer of the sequence.

2. Radiohead’s coded messages

The albums and songs of Radiohead—often called a “cerebral” band—are more than what they seem. The band leaves “Easter eggs” in all of their albums, but perhaps most interesting of all is In Rainbows from 2007. It includes multiple references to the numbers 01 and 10, which you may recognize as the digits that make up binary sequencing.

There’s plenty of theories that spin out from these 01/10 references, but perhaps most significant is that In Rainbows came out exactly 10 years after OK Computer. Believe or not, the tracks of In Rainbows and OK Computer combine together create an entirely new mega-album. You can find out more about the mega-tracklist on Diffuser <link: http://diffuser.fm/radiohead-01-and-10/>

3. Olivier Messiaen’s musical cipher

Decades before Tool and Radiohead were building codes into their rock albums, the 20th-century French composer Olivier Messiaen was putting cryptography to classical music in a very real way. Messiaen’s Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité, a 1969 composition for organ, is actual a musical cipher, with its pitches and note lengths making up the code.


Jump into the codes and ciphers on offer at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game by booking a round in any of our four themed escape rooms: http://bookeo.com/krakit

Game Theory vs. Decision Theory

Iain Banks’s 1988’s novel The Player of Games is all about gaming and game theory. The main character Jernau Morat Gurgeh finds himself in an intergalactic gaming competition versus some of the universe’s most elite gamers. Banks uses some of the novel’s unique game platforms as a reflection of social conditions.

The game-based society Empire of Azad had created a labyrinth as a prison for convicted criminals. The basis of the labyrinth was moral insofar as each criminal could be free within a couple of weeks by successfully passing certain virtue-based scenarios; or, upon failure, would be damned to fall deeper into the labyrinth. If the offender were to fail these moralithms continuously, they would eventually be deported to a penal colony. How fair: the most epic escape game where freedom is a prize for the condemned.

In a more advanced society, could a realistic decision theory-based simulation bypass legalities and assess someone’s moral compass? Yes and no. The catch-22 in The Player of Games ‘legal labyrinth’ is that it could only assess its participant’s morality if the scenario isn’t exactly the same as the one in which they were convicted and/or the perpetrator has prior knowledge of their conviction within the moral scenario. Otherwise, Azadians are only testing for systematic manipulation.

Escape games like Krakit use gaming cryptarithmic scenarios to outline parallels to real life conundrums. It doesn’t mean that you are a bad person if you can’t pass a Krakit escape game, but it may mean you need to practice puzzling in order to develop keener lateral styles of thinking.

In Burnaby’s escape room, you might develop mental tools for taking care of business you never knew you were capable of using—and, you can have a ton of fun. Nothing sucks about that!

5 Horror Films That Were Scarier Behind the Scenes

We love giving you the creeps with the horror-themed escape rooms at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game, but sometimes, setting out to freak people out puts you in danger of being the one who gets the biggest scare of all.

That’s definitely something that the cast and crew of these five famous horror films learned the hard way.

1. The Exorcist (1973)

Inarguably one of the most successful horror films of all time, The Exorcist hasn’t just been terrifying audiences for decades—its cast and crew also received a good dose of fear. Several odd occurrences made filming a nightmare: rigging fell down, sets burnt to the ground, and star Linda Blair nearly broke her back from a prop malfunction. Then there’s the large number of people connected to the film who died or fell ill during its production. It was all convincing enough that a priest was brought in to bless the set.

2. The Omen (1976)

Where to begin with “The Omen Curse.” It shouldn’t be surprising that the crew of a film about the spawn of the devil was subjected to a little bit of terror, but they definitely got more than they bargained for.

Not only did lightning strike the plane carrying novelist/screenwriter David Seltzers, lightning also struck a plane carrying star Gregory Peck. On the first day of filming, crewmembers were in a head-on car crash. After that, Peck nearly boarded another plane to Israel, which crashed and killed all onboard. Director Richard Donner didn’t escape the curse either—he was both hit by a car and stayed in a hotel that was bombed by the IRA. Worst of all: this isn’t even a complete list of what happened to the poor crew of The Omen.

3. The Shining (1980)

The behind-the-scenes horror of The Shining comes in two forms: eerie coincidence and director Stanley Kubrick’s notorious antics. At the end of filming, a massive fire broke out at the hotel that stood in as the Overlook—which is exactly what happens at the end of Stephen King’s original novel.

But the more menacing onset horror might be Kubrick’s treatment of actress Shelley Duvall. He intentionally put her under insane stress, including making her and Jack Nicholson film the famous bat scene a record-breaking 127 times. He even asked the cast and crew to torment Duvall—and the shoot lasted a massive 500 days. Sounds like a fun time.

3. The Amityville Horror (2005)

The set of The Amityville Horror, starring Ryan Reynolds, perhaps offers a better example of how a film can get in your head than of supernatural events. Just like the psychopathic character he portrays in the film, George Lutz, Reynolds woke up precisely at 3:15 am. And it wasn’t just him—several members of the crew found their eyes popping open at this particular hour.

5. The Conjuring 1 and 2 (2013 and 2016)

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga must be braver than the average Hollywood star, because they filmed not one but two Conjuring films—with supernatural events occurring on both sets. The crew’s hotel caught on fire, a member of the real-life family that the film is based on broke a hip, and dogs started barking when no one was around. Creepiest of all, curtains moved when there was no wind, while trees stood still when there was. We’ll see if the stars come back for a third Conjuring, or if they’ve had enough.

Now we dare you to play one of Krakit’s three horror-themed escape rooms with the scary-factor turned all the way up to 11. Book here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

What to Expect at Your First Escape Game

Fun!

This one’s pretty obvious, but it is the number one thing you can expect at your first escape room experience. At Krakit, we kick the fun factor up to its highest level with live actors, who take our horror-themed rooms from eerie to downright heart-racing. Or, you can have a more chill time in our non-horror-themed escape room, which rotates regularly.

Puzzles galore

Along with the experience of being immersed in a fantastical world, puzzles are the other main component of what escape games are all about. Logic puzzles, number puzzles, factoids that make you dig old information out of the dark recesses of your brain—all of these can appear somewhere during the course of play.

Each puzzle will lead to a key that together add up to your escape from the room!

Total recall

Much like all those detective shows we’re all totally obsessed with, escape games require you to not only solve puzzles, but to “read the room” in the truest sense.

In order to access the puzzles that will lead to your freedom, you need to first figure out where they’re hiding. This requires you and your teammates to assess the room, figure out what’s “off” (that is, a clue), put together different elements you see, and remember what’s happened earlier in the game.

Stress, but the good kind

With only 45 minutes on the clock, sniffing out all the clues, putting all the pieces together, and solving all the puzzles can make you feel like you’re in a pressure cooker. But trust us, this sort of countdown-to-doomsday scenario is one of the best things about escape rooms. Gets all your adrenaline pumping, that’s for sure!

To find out what your friends—and you—are made of

You and your teammates will need to work together if you have any hope of solving all the puzzles and cracking the room—leading to your freedom. Find out who’s the leader, who’s the numbers guy or gal, and who’s the one who keeps the calm.

Book your escape game experience with Krakit here: bookeo.com/krakit.

10 Reasons You Should Play an Escape Game RIGHT NOW

1. Escape rooms are fun fun fun

Let’s just get this most obvious reason out of the way. Why play an escape game? Because it’s 45 minutes of pure fun, from the word go to the last second on the timer.

2. All the kids are doing it

Although people of all ages love a good escape game, they’re especially popular with millennials. Clearly, hitting an escape room is the hip thing to do.

3. Escape games work out your brain

Not just fun and popular, escape rooms offer a chance for you to put to work brain muscles you might not have exercised since high school. Keeping those synapse firing and your logic gears working means escape games provide great brain care.

4. You can impress your date with your bravery

Not only can you show your new beau how smart you are, you can impress him with your bravery when the zombies begin snapping their teeth at you, with only 5 minutes left on the clock …

5. Being under pressure is good for you

There’s proof that pressure makes us accomplish more, helps our brains work better, and turns us into more resilient people. Thanks, escape games!

6. Escape games make for some serious bonding

Need to make a team gel? Throw them into an escape room. Then see what a well-oiled machine they are after working together to crack all the codes and clues we throw at them.

7. A little scare never hurt anyone

Although not all escape games are scary, our favourite ones sure are! Here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game we currently have three horror-themed rooms to get your blood pumping. Extra shot of adrenaline, coming up!

8. Belly laughter is the best medicine

What follows a jump scare or a seriously fumbled clue but serious laughter? You and your friends are guaranteed at least three giggle fits with each escape game you play.

9. You get your money’s worth

Pound for pound, a ticket to an escape room provides you with more than any movie ticket or baseball game (especially on Cheap Tuesdays at Krakit!). Why? Because immersive entertainment is more fulfilling and memory-making.

10. Escape is good for the soul

Taking some time for a little fantasist escape is necessary to staying sane in today’s hyper-paced world. It’s like Dungeons & Dragons come to life! What’s not to love.

Test your skill in one of Krakit’s four Vancouver escape games by booking here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Once Upon an Escape Game: 3 Classic Fairy Tales that Should Definitely Be Escape Rooms

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.

In the meantime, book a go in one of the four current themes at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

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

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

The Ultimate Escape Challenge: Alcatraz’s Most Infamous Prison Breaks

Alcatraz—the ultimate escape room?

The island prison in San Francisco Bay imprisoned some of America’s most notorious criminals during its 29 years of operation. A great deal of them were mobsters, many of them were murderers, and all of them were tougher and scarier than any of the spooky characters that haunt the halls of Krakit Vancouver Escape Game.

While the most famous men to ever have the misfortune to sleep within its walls are undoubtedly Al Capone, James “Whitey” Bulger, and Robert Stroud, aka the Birdman of Alcatraz, they also have something else in common—they never attempted to escape Alcatraz.

That distinction belongs to just 36 of Alcatraz’s inmates. Here are the most notorious of the bunch.

Clarence “The Choctaw Kid” Carnes

Alcatraz’s youngest ever inmate was also involved in one of its most notorious inmate-guard standoffs, known as the Battle of Alcatraz. Clarence Carnes and several other prisoners seized weapons and held guards captive in their attempt to escape. It went horribly wrong, resulting in the death of three prisoners and two guards.

Frank Morris

Immortalized in the film Escape from Alcatraz and played by Clint Eastwood, Frank Morris was the mastermind behind arguably one of the most notorious prison breaks in history. He and two other inmates literally used a spoon to help dig their way to freedom, which in itself is impressive enough. The trio was never tracked down, but it’s unclear whether they perished in the Bay or made it out alive, possibly to Brazil.

Arthur “Doc” Barker

Though held in Alcatraz’s most secure unit—D-Block—Doc Baker and four other inmates managed to escape the prison and reach the island’s shore, where they began constructing a makeshift raft. The escape was foiled when the guards spotted them and, after Barker refused to surrender, opened fire, killing him and wounding one other.

John Paul Scott

John Paul Scott has the sole distinction of being the only Alcatraz escapee to make it to the San Francisco shore by swimming. He was also one of the last prisoners to escape from the infamous jail, along with Darl Lee Parker, after cutting through bars with a makeshift saw. Both were captured and re-incarcerated shortly after escaping.

The Perks of an Escape Room Date

The modern-day dating scene is a lot different than it once was. Whether you met your new special someone online, via an app, or the old-fashioned way, the goal is still the same: two people connecting.

But while cell phones have made communication easier and lightning quick, there’s still no substitute for face-to-face interaction—something that millennials are well aware of, of course. The “real world experience” that escape games offer is one of the major reasons they’re so popular—and one of the major reasons it makes an escape room the perfect place for a date.

You and your date actually have to talk.

Unlike a going out to a movie or attending a concert, this is one real world experience that you can’t get through silently. If you don’t start communicating immediately—and effectively—then you might not escape the clutches of the evil genius that haunts our Saw-themed escape game. And that, my friends, would be a crying shame.

You can see how well you work together.

Although it’s probably a tall order for a first date, an escape room with a newish beau or beau-ette can help you figure out whether you gel as a team. As we all know, relationships are ultimately about partnership, so testing those waters early on is never a bad idea. Plus, escape rooms are mighty fun—which is never a bad thing either.

You can dazzle your date with your intellect.

There aren’t too many dating activities out there that give you a chance to show off your brain muscles without seeming like a know-it-all. An escape game is the perfect way to let the new person in your life know you’re not just super suave and good looking and uber funny—you’re also a brainiac. Or—on the off-chance the escape game prevails and you don’t win the evening—you can at least show off your “good sport” skills.

Book two slots at one of our Vancouver escape games here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Modern-Day Escapologists and the Legacy of Harry Houdini

If you’re anything like us at Krakit Vancouver Escape Room, then you’re plenty excited for the new Houdini & Doyle TV show. A grand mixture of Sherlock, illusion, and the supernatural, the series is right up our escape-room alley.

Even though it’s been nearly a century since his death, Harry Houdini still continues to dominate the world of escapology. Although Houdini, and his impressive list of illusions and escape stunts, cast a mighty big shadow over the genre, most escape artists embrace the legendary illusionist, often making nods to him in their shows.

While you may not be able to use the tricks of an escapologist to break out of escape rooms (remember: physical strength is never needed to solve an escape game!), we can all take inspiration from their tactics.

Dorothy Dietrich

Dorothy Dietrich (b. 1969) was the first woman to gain fame as an escape artist and has been called “the Female Houdini.” In addition to her straitjacket escapes (hanging from a burning rope, no less!), Dietrich has also paid homage to Houdini through her Houdini Seances, which she holds each Halloween—the date of the master escapologist’s death. She also regularly performs at the Houdini Museum in Pennsylvania.

Doug Henning

Born in Winnipeg, Doug Henning (1947–2000) was a multitalented man: on top of being an illusionist and escape artist, he was also a politician (no comment on their relatedness). He performed his first magic show at age 14, and went on to study psychology before becoming a professional illusionist. Henning took a page directly out of Harry Houdini’s book when he performed the Water Torture Escape live on television, to an audience of more than 50 million viewers.

Criss Angel

Although perhaps best known for his street magic and television show Mindfreak, Criss Angel (b. 1967) is also one of today’s top escapologists. He’s performed several escape stunts live on television, including the Houdini Death Escape, which had him escape from a straitjacket while hanging upside-down in midair. As a reminder that we shouldn’t try this stuff at home, Angel also once had to rescue a fellow magician, Spencer Horsman, from a water-tank escape trick gone wrong.

Gopinath Muthukad

This India-born escapologist and magician—otherwise known as “India’s Houdini”—performs with a goal loftier than gaining television viewers. With a motto of “Magic with a Mission,” Gopinath Muthukad (b. 1964) uses his feats to spread messages of peace, including spreading anti-terrorism and the ideals of Gandhi. Although he failed to complete his Propeller Escape in 2002, Muthukad tried, tried again in 2012, and wowed fans with his successful mid-air escape.

Feel the thrill of escape by booking a game at one of our four escape games, located next to Lougheed SkyTrain station, here: http://www.krakit.ca/book-now.php.

Best Escape Room–Themed Game Shows on Television

It’s far from a secret that escape rooms are getting more and more popular and landing on more and more people’s lists of things to try. So it’s not really all that surprising that television networks are getting in on the escape room action. 

At last count, there are three currently airing TV shows that not just feature escape rooms—like Big Bang Theory, Conan, and Two Broke Girls have done—but completely focus on them. Like escape games themselves, this sort of puzzle-rific television has deeper roots.

To help escape game fans catch up on this essential TV viewing, we’ve rounded up the best escape room–themed TV out there.

1. The Crystal Maze (1990–95)

One cannot talk of today’s puzzle- and escape-themed TV shows without first mentioning The Crystal Maze. Hosted by Richard O’Brien (aka Riff Raff from Rocky Horror Picture Show), The Crystal Maze was one of the biggest and most beloved UK game shows ever to air.

Many Canadians may have missed out on the craze, so luckily there’s quite a few episodes on YouTube to catch you up. And, if you’re heading to London any time soon, it’s even coming back as a “live and immersive interactive experience” (aka, a sort of escape game).

2. Takeshi’s Castle (2002–04)

From the other side of the world—Japan—comes Takeshi’s Castle. The premise is that contestants are trying to make it through a trap-filled castle in order to reach the count, aka actor Takeshi Kitano. More physical than puzzley, Takeshi’s Castle is nevertheless a forebear to today’s escape room–themed television shows. Plus, it’s by far the zaniest—what else would we expect from Japanese TV?

3. Race to Escape (2015–)

Race to Escape is the brainchild of the folks at the Science Channel. Their inspiration comes directly from real-world escape games, with contestants trying to solve clues and bust out of the various themed rooms. Though perhaps not as exciting as actually playing a game yourself, it’s definitely some useful viewing for anyone preparing to take on the Asylum room at our Vancouver escape game—the hardest room we have.

4. Hellevator (2015–)

Another new addition to the genre is Game Show Network’s Hellevator—but this one comes with a twist. Like our own Krakit team, the people behind Hellevator know a good scare when they see one—or make one, rather. This is unsurprising, as the show’s hosts are Vancouver’s own Soska sisters, the directors behind American Mary.

Contestants of Hellevator are challenged to escape an abandoned warehouse, which just happens to have a haunted elevator. Unsurprisingly, screams abound.

5. Code (2016–)

This show has literally just hit the airwaves, broadcast by Korean network JTBC beginning this month. To spice up the format, Code has celebrities as contestants (it was only a matter of time!). The group starts eight floors underground, with the winners advancing one floor per week by solving puzzles and unlocking doors.

Try out the real thing at our Coquitlam escape room by booking here.

Zombies and Puzzles and Swift! Oh my!

Pop singers routinely do intensive vocal exercises before preforming on tour. Actors repeatedly rehearse their lines before going on stage. Professional athletes practise and practise and practise some more. But how does one prepare for the thrilling challenge of the escape room? 

For success in our Vancouver escape room, Krakit has compiled a list of our top ten escape preparation tips. 

10. Sudoko 

There's a reason seniors snatch up Sudoko puzzles like they were free viagra. Sudoko keeps your mind active and alert.  The simple but challenging mind puzzles offer a break from the tech world. They also demand that your brain rely more on your memory than on your bandwidth. Think of them as yoga exercises for your mind.

9. Sit-ups

Killer abs are essential for escape room success. Tone them with simple sit-ups.

8. Source Material

Jack Skellington's adventure to Christmas Town is the source for this year's holiday escape room. Study up on the Oogie Boogie and all things Burtonesque. 

7. Pre-escape meal

Tis the season for turkey indulging, but make sure to stay away from the tasty bird before entering the escape room. Turkey is full of tryptophan, an amino acid that is renowned for inducing sleep. Load up on protein rich foods like eggs, nuts and yogurt instead. Raw vegetables are also good choices. Avoid fatty foods and sugary drinks.  

6. Sharing Circle

All of the escape rooms at Krakit in Burnaby are group orientated. Knowing your fellow players can be important for delegating tasks. A pre-escape sharing circle might shed some light on Brandon's coding talents or on Suzy's inability to handle pressure situations. 

5. Taylor Swift 

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22. Keep your youthful spirit jacked.  YOLO.

4. Hydration

Dehydration can seriously limit your body's ability to preform. Stay hydrated and keep your energy enzymes active. 

3. Mad Libs

You gotta stay loose before the big event. Don't let the room get in your head. Relax with some fill-in-the-blank fun. Houdini was a huge fan. Just saying...

2. Zombie Do's and Don'ts

Rule 1: Do your homework. There are plenty of movies out there to help you prep. Your list should definitely include "Dawn of the Dead," "World War Z" and "28 Days Later."

Rule 2: Don't turn your back on your friends. Especially Eddie.  

Rule 3: Do keep it together. Your first urge might be to scream in absolute terror, but where will that get you? Killed. That's where.

1. Get some sleep

Bring Out the Big Brains: Code-Breakers and Logicians

Alan Turing, owner of a big, big brain

As far as code-breakers go, there is none more famous these days than Alan Turing. The man who finally broke the unbreakable WWII code, Enigma, in secrecy at Bletchley Park waited a long time for his due props. The code-breaking operation wasn’t declassified until the 1970s—two decades after Turing’s tragic death.

Turing’s powers of logic and brilliant mathematical mind now rightfully sits in history as one of the most impressive the world has ever seen. But he isn’t the only logician to have wowed the rest of us with their humongous brain. Below are three others who sit in good—although incredibly rare—company with Turing.

Akṣapāda Gautama

Gautama, who lived in the 2nd century CE, was such a fan of logic that he just, y’know, founded logical philosophy in Indian. He wrote the Nyāya Sūtras, the founding text of this branch of philosophy, which sets out the steps to achieving “valid knowledge” through logical tests.

In a nutshell, Gautama created a path to spiritual enlightenment through cleverness. Not bad for a life’s work.

George Dantzig

This may sound like a familiar story: Dantzig, running late for class one day, enters the lecture theatre and sees two problems on the board. He copies them down for homework, and—after turning them in late—learns he just solved two “unsolvable” problems in statistics.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck later nabbed Dantzig’s story for Good Will Hunting. But in reality Dantzig was indeed a student (a PhD at that), not a janitor.

Lewis Carroll

Yep—that Lewis Carroll: the one who wrote Alice in Wonderland. While there are many theories about the children’s book being a metaphor for a psychotropic drug trip, it isn’t a stretch to say that maybe Carroll just had one weird brain.

Though remembered as an author, Carroll was also a mathematics professor at Oxford whose pastimes included devising logic puzzles and riddles. He included one in Alice, which became one of the most famous unanswerable riddles of all time: “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

Don’t worry though—While solving Krakit’s four escape rooms definitely takes some brainpower, you won’t need a Turing machine to crack them.

There's Something in the Air at Krakit Escape Game

Are you a Vancouver-area single? Are you on the quest for that special someone, or perhaps looking to get back in the dating game? Ever thought to yourself: “I wish I could find the guy/gal of my dreams—but I really need to know how they react in an emergency situation first?” Well, haven’t we all.

Lucky for you, this Wednesday (July 22) the first of four weekly Singles Dating Events goes off at Krakit Escape Game in Burnaby.

We’re all about the real, live experience here at Krakit. Instead of sitting you down in front of a video game or a scary movie, we drop you right in the action. It’s no different with our Singles Nights: instead of matchmaking online, getting you to fill out an endless form about your likes and dislikes, we throw you all in a room (two, actually) and give you a chance to mingle—while attempting to save the entire group from getting their brains eaten by zombies.

There’s nothing like a ticking clock and a bit of life-or-death pressure to bring out people’s true personalities. Will you fall for the hero? For the clever-clogs who cracks the first clue? Maybe it’s the lady who brings much-needed comic relief who’ll take your heart—assuming the Butcher doesn’t get it first, of course.

It’ll make a much radder story for the grandkids than showing them your matching dating profile checklists, right?

Krakit’s Singles Dating Events take place for the next four Wednesdays:
July 22, July 29, August 5 (LGBT), and August 12 (postponed until further notice)

Play two 25-minute games and meet 6 or 7 likeminded possible dates. Groupings are done by age: 19–24, 24–30, 31–38, 39–45, 45–58.

Pre-registration is necessary; there’ll be no walk-ins allowed, folks. Call 604-484-6552 to register a spot, or to find out more info.

Helpful Hints to Prepare for The Apocalypse: 2 of 7

This is a seven part series outlining survival techniques based on Maslow's hierarchy (beginning with physiological needs). In the final segments (self-actualization and self-fullfilment) I'll work my way into team building culture, role diversification/intelligent responsibility-delegation, and, above all, leadership techniques.

You’ve barricaded yourself into a recently-abandoned, private school: a Victorian-style building six stories tall on about 2 acres of land. 

Leaning your back against a wall in a classroom on the highest floor, you look around and start piling soft objects you’ve found, like hooded sweatshirts and gym mats, upon one another in order to get some rest. You wake up an hour later from a black sleep, your cracking lips and a purring stomach reminding you of what’s happening; you’ve only temporarily escaped from the perils surrounding you. You’re thirsty, famished. Luckily, the school’s cafeteria stock loads your solitary base of operations with a temporary cache of vending machine beverages, cans of food, and various dried goods. 

You’re alive. You’ll remain alive as long as you can stay safe. But, evil is around every corner and you’re unarmed.

• SAFETY: You must use your ingenuity to ensure your immediate vicinity is not susceptible to imminent attack. You break the head off of a mop from a supply closet to immediately arm yourself with this sharp, pointed object while you look for the groundskeepers quarters. Upon finding the tool shed, you load a canvas bag found within with stock of wire, tools, and sharp objects. You return several times. Using a combination of lessons from survival television shows and boy scout training to arm the halls with home-made traps; you arm any possible entrance leading to your base location with trip wires. To further secure yourself from the ambitions of rock demons and diseased walking deceased lurking about the region, you’ve dug a series of narrow, deep holes and furtively covered them with sticks and brush. It’s now impossible to hear your oafish foes fumbling as they occasionally attempt to ransack your base. The first of many wire traps leading to where you sleep proves only partially effective, so you’ve improved and upgraded each part of them until you’re 100% sure you can get a full eight hours of sleep before waking up to put the morning intruders out of their misery. 

Ten Escape Lessons Learned from Horror Movies: Part Two

Horror recap:

Stay with your friends, keep it in your pants, take in your surroundings, hold it for another 40 minutes and always…always listen to the helpful advice of the locals (even if they only have two teeth and three strings on their banjo).

Now for this week's gems.

5. Stairs to anywhere equate to death

• If you run upstairs, you'll be suddenly trapped in little Suzie's posterized bedroom with your only option being a jump from a second-story window. Hint: two broken ankles makes for a slow escape. If you head downstairs, you'll be trapped in Kevin McCallister's worst nightmare. Hint: the undead love the basement. Closer to the ground and full of creepy crawlies. The good news: there is no stairs at the Krakit escape rooms. 

4. Two Taps

• One ain't gonna do it. Countless innocent screamers have been killed because they didn't finish the job. When taking down the main antagonist, always remember two bullets/strikes/stabs to the head. One only stuns; two will finish what you started. This rule also applies to puzzles. Never do anything half-ass. See the job to the end.

3. Bargaining Power (or the Strip-To-Live principle)

• Leverage is key in any bargaining situation. You're going to have to give up something to get out of this blood bath, so try to amass as much power as you can while in the game. The last card to be played is your clothes, ie: strip-to-live. Stripping is a distraction for any creature, killer or no-gooder. It shows you will do anything to survive. Note to escape fans: keep your clothes on. The strip option should only be used when death is an actual possibility. We're sure you have lovely underwear, but we don't want to see it and it won't get you any extra clues. 

2. Be intolerant of bad ideas

• "No! We are not going to take that short-cut." People under duress panic and make poor decisions. Be the levelheaded one and take the reigns. That being said, if all your friends tell you that your idea is bad, it might be worth a rethink. Check the ego, restrain the ridiculous, and keep your head.

1. Teamwork trumps all

• Multiple tasks can be accomplished in a shorter amount of time if everyone works together towards a common goal: escape. Solo missions end in slaughter. Remember that first rule…? Always stay with the group.

Good Luck!