Somewhere in the dark, there’s a clue that can take us forward. But the screen is a rude reminder of the seconds ticking away, feeling faster than they should, we’ve not made headway. It’s a sweltering hot summer Monday outside, but in here, the temperature is cool and the lighting is dim. My colleague and I are in a mission room, A Night in Bhangarh - The Mystery of a Cursed Fort, to be precise. It’s the latest in the escape room sensation that has been gripping Mumbai for a while.
Founded by Shikhir Bhutani, Sapna Bhutani and Prateek Panjwani, in 2014, Mystery Rooms — present in 16 cities across the country — claims to be the premiere attraction in the Capital. With the recent launch of the Mumbai outpost, we at The Hindu decided to apply our wits to the challenge and find out what the fuss is all about. Currently, there are six challenges on offer. In increasing order of difficulty, there’s Lockout - A Prison Break Challenge; Abduction - The Final Hour; Cabin In The Woods - The Murder Mystery; The Kon of Kohinoor - A Mission Impossible; A Night in Bhangarh - The Mystery of a Cursed Fort; and The Silent Legacy - A Story Untold.
On all fours
Bright as we are (more me), we decided our skills would decimate the hardest challenge, so we went for the one after it: based on the real-life urban legend surrounding the Bhangarh fort. With an electronic lantern to guide us, we were told to refer to the screen when a bell rang once to receive clues and press a bell to use one of four lifelines. Going in the wrong direction, touching something that isn’t a clue resulted in pelt of bell zings. The strategy challenges include everything from paying close attention to the writings on the wall (which we often missed) to analysing plastic severed limbs (bordering on the tacky). Certainly, the real Bhangarh fort might just have something paranormal about it, but the scariest part about Mystery Rooms was when an employee slid through a trap door to assist us. Our unwitting screams might have given the poor man nightmares for days.
A Night in Bhangarh makes incredible use of a small space with surprises at most corners. The mission makes you jump into holes beneath the floor and crawl, army-style along a narrow tunnel. Eventually, the crushing realisation of how unfit I am dawned and I begged to be dragged. So pick your companions wisely. I did not and suffered some gnarly carpet burns. Plus, if your group is larger than two, the price reduces and responsibilities can be suitably divided.
There’s no guarantee that the frustration and competitiveness won’t sever ties. But this writer certainly went a little cranky suppressing some anger.
Soldiering on
Our mission was elaborate enough to keep us motivated to continue. And while the premise may be one that’s abused, Mystery Rooms manages to keep things fresh with its implementation. It holds true at least for A Night in Bhangarh.
As we near the end, I’ve tried my best to postpone what must be admitted. Despite our combined and obviously above-average intellect, my colleague and I did not succeed in escaping within the time limit. But let me be humble enough to completely place the blame on the lack of more people in our team and my colleague. On a more serious note, both of us will attempt more of the missions, definitely separately though.
Mystery Rooms, Andheri West. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; ₹1,000 onwards.
