It was back in 2014 that escape rooms had their boom, as they started to appear all over Portugal. The purpose of these spaces is a game in which its players run across multiple rooms where they will be stuck until they decipher all enigmas and mysteries that deepen in each of them.
Many are those who travel exclusively to visit these said haunted homes, places that are created for this purpose, and mystery farms, among other spots where the goal is to solve charades, enigmas, puzzles which allow its participants to advance in the game before the time runs out. The idea is that players work in teams to overcome the proposed obstacles. Intelligence is determinant in solving the quizzes of these engaging games that conquer more and more people.
1. What are escape rooms?
Escape rooms are, above all, a challenge to your reasoning, self-control and free-will abilities, where you’re given 60 minutes to overcome challenges.
Game Over, for example, opened its first location in Bairro Alto years ago and has rooms that take you back to movies and series such as War of Thrones, The Walking Dead, the terrifying Saw, Forbidden Temple of Montezuma, Top Secret or Jack the Ripper, all names of the 6 scenarios that escape room Game Over has to offer to all, looking for a challenge with them.
This month sees the rise of new rooms at Casa da Moeda dedicated to “La Casa de Papel”, where one of the missions is to run away with the money, or “La Misión del Profesor”.
On another perspective, Prison Escape and Ocean’s 5 are part of the range of escape rooms which Mission to Space, one of the oldest of this kind in Portugal, has to offer. The first got its inspiration from Prison Break, one of the most acclaimed about escapes and where participants will have to carry out a truly impressive escape. Ocean’s 5 proposes a team mission taking place in the sewers, for example, where the goal is for all to collaborate in a robbery from which all will have to emerge unscathed.
2. Diversity of challenges for all tastes
Many companies offer such diverse challenges such as that of iconic Harry Potter and his “School of Magic” where a dark wizard breaks out from jail to terrorize the world. Other adventures will be on offer such as “Horror Circus”, where action is set in a circus and players have to run away from a clown.
Still within the horror theme, “Haunted Mansion” is a stimulating game, yet spooky, which consists in the hunt for an object which is also a key that allows the escape from a haunted house. But because imagination is the limit, there is even a game in which all participants must throw light on the influence of Iluminatti in the Vatican, and which plans they have in their hands. The game is set in an accordingly decorated room and is extremely absorbing as it is based in real facts, where the dark side of Iluminatti and the Catholic Church must be unraveled. I could even mention the game “1001 Nights” which mission is to enter a palace, defeat the evil caliph and restitute the Sultain to the throne.
3. Different Escape Rooms
There is now a challenge that uses virtual reality to further impact its participants, its name is “lostroom Portugal” and it pretends to delight all who dare to try it. It is the first escape room with virtual reality in Portugal.
On the other hand, there is a well-humored and with a unique particularity. It’s inspired by the movie “The Hangover” and in this room, players have alcoholic drinks at hand. Each person (over 18 years of age) has the right to a shot before the start of the game and, as the game goes and the clues are deciphered, more surprise shots and discounts at the existing bars are given. The goal is that whoever plays it, will stay sober enough to overcome any obstacles.
What drives companies to create such challenges is to have players dive in the fictitious world of their favorite films and series through immersive and profoundly realist scenography.
Prices start at 17€ and each of the games lasts 60 minutes at most. The number of players, however, or the chosen room could influence the price. There are also discounts for birthday parties or bachelor parties, as well as sporadic giveaways in social networks. If you love to feel alive, try to do this challenges in Portugal. You will never forget the experience.
