The business is a live puzzle game based off video games and will open on East State Street.
Some people may have nightmares about being locked in a room they cannot escape.
But soon the nightmares will be a form of entertainment in Athens.
Escape Room Athens, a “live puzzle game,” will open April 1 at 1005 E. State St.
Owner Daniel Hutchison opened The Chamber Escape Room in Columbus in May last year. He said branching out to Athens has been in the works for about two months.
He got the idea to open the business after he went through an escape room in Florida and decided he could put his own twist on the game's concept.
Escape rooms started as online video games, which became real-life recreations in Asia about 10 years ago and started popping up in the United States in the last few years, Hutchison said.
Up to 12 people work together as a team to escape the room in 45 minutes or less, according to the company’s website. Hutchison said only about half the groups escape before time is up.
The cost is $32 per person on weekdays and $35 per person on weekends.
Escaping the locked room involves riddles, puzzles, props, codes and clues that lead participants to a key that unlocks the door.
Alisha Valenti, an employee at The Chamber Escape Room, likes how different each attempt is. She said people may think having a big group of people would be helpful in solving the game, but then two people come in and “just kill it.”
"All the stereotypes that you set are just not true when it comes to this room,” she said.
Hutchison, who is from Logan, thinks Escape Room is perfect for a small town like Athens. He said it’s a great way for people to get off their phones and interact with each other.
“You can have your phone on you, but we prefer you don’t use it in the room, which I think helps,” Valenti said. “They really communicate with strangers or their friends or their coworkers.”
Players must be at least 15 years old, unless a private party is reserved, in which case all ages are allowed, according to the website.
Hutchison anticipates having to change up the game in Columbus every year or two, but because Athens has a smaller population, themes will have to be rotated every six months.
Hutchison doesn’t worry about escape rooms being a fad. In fact, he said it will be the new entertainment thing.
“If we keep changing out our themes and keep providing incredible service to people, then they’re just gonna keep coming back to our location,” he said.
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Valenti has been to a few escape rooms, and she said, though she is admittedly biased, the tricks of the The Chamber Escape Room and the upbeat personality of the employees make it the best. She thinks that will translate to the Athens location.
Even with the new location, Hutchison wants to keep the business small and local, with no plans to expand out of Ohio.
Hutchison has been wanting to open his own business since he was a medic during the Iraq War.
Though an escape room is not what he dreamed of starting, it’s what has worked.
“When you go through a room ... and you have such a great time, and you get out of that door and you’re high-fiving each other. That’s something that I’m able to bring to people,” Hutchison said. “This is my American Dream right here.”
@erindavoran
