The room is dark. You can barely see your friends around you. But as your eyes get accustomed to the faint light, you realise the gravity of the task ahead of you and get to work. Your task is simple as there is a time bomb in the room and you need to get everyone in the stipulated time.
Welcome to Mystery Rooms. The premise is simple: A team of two to eight players are locked inside a room and they have 60 minutes to escape from the room by cracking codes, solving puzzles and unravelling the mystery.
In Bengaluru there are four rooms to choose from currently. In ‘The Hurt Locker’, you are part of a bomb disposal squad and you must beat the clock to defuse the bomb planted by terrorists. ‘Lockout’ is a prison break challenge where the team wrongly convicted, handcuffed and locked in jail. They need to escape before the jailer returns in an hour. ‘Abduction’ is a kidnap experience in a torture room set-up where you must escape from the clutches of the terrorist organisation that has kidnapped you. And in ‘Cabin In The Woods’, you have to track and stop a serial killer terrorising people in the woods and make it out alive.
Co-founded by Sapna Bhutani, Shikhir Bhutani and Prateek Panjwani, the initiative has branches in most cities across the country. “Everybody loves mind games in a realistic setup,” says Shikhir. “Mystery Rooms are for everyone. We have customers from grandparents to children. Everyone feels like a superhero when they pass a level here and in the end, if they emerge victorious, we even have a champions’ medal and photoshoot making them cherish their winning moments. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable experience.”
He adds every customer has happy memories and genuine reactions. “In other places, when customers are stuck and ask for help, the game master goes in and gives them a clue. Our USP is we don’t enter the room at all. It is fully automated. We don’t disturb the environment of the room. The in-room monitors give them the clue.”
Shikhir goes on to explain that at a time when the world is going digital with AR and VR, this experience is still relevant. “It is an adventure like this that does a reality check for people that you can have fun even outside a digital framework.” The 5,000 square feet establishment in the heart of Indiranagar also hosts corporate outings with special packages and even a space for team events. “Corporate outings are a regular affair. We even host birthday parties but all experiences must be part of a Mystery Room package.”
The experiences are realistic, he says. “They are real handcuffs in ‘Lockout’ and a realistic explosion if the bomb goes off in ‘The Hurt Locker’. ‘Abduction’ has realistic torture with sound and light effects and it’s an actual forest in ‘Cabin In The Woods’. We are also launching ‘The Call of Kohinoor’ soon where you are an international thief and you have to steal the jewel. Two more rooms are also in the offing.
Mystery Rooms is located in Indiranagar, Bengaluru. Visit www.mysteryrooms.in or call 9845333058 for details.
