Escape Room unlocks new game in RVA

Think you'd be good at deciphering codes and finding secret passages? There's a new game in town just for you called Escape Room RVA.

The clock is ticking. You and your team have 60 minutes to look for clues, break codes, and find the secret passage out of this room. So how's your hand at chess?

"We've got some beautiful pieces. They move the pieces in the right place," owner Josh Czarda said, showing off a chess board. "Once they do, it pops open a secret compartment."

Can you find a hidden message on a map? Use hieroglyphics to crack a code? See what a hologram shows you?

"That projection is lining up with symbols on the back of this sheet, giving them an answer," Czarda said,  demonstrating the hologram.

Another example of a challenge you might face: using a remote control to move a ball through a maze. Drop the ball down the right hole and you'll get another clue.

Escape rooms are new to Richmond, but they're sweeping the globe. "They've been very popular in Asia for quite some time, spread to Eastern Europe. It's huge in Canada right now, and it's spreading very rapidly in the U.S.," Czarda said.  

Escape Room RVA was opened by Ravenchase Adventures, a company that coordinates large-scale scavenger hunts and fundraising events for large companies and sports teams.  Escape Room RVA has three rooms with three themes like Hannibal Lecter and the Seven Deadly Sins. The room themes change every few months.

Said Czarda, "For Halloween, we'll get a little creepier, we'll make it slightly scarier. Christmas will have a Grinch theme and stuff that's more kid oriented and family oriented. But we'll still have a Die Hard room, because that will be awesome."

And don't panic. If you can't find the secret passage, the real door to the room is not actually locked for safety reasons. But don't go thinking escaping the room will be easy. The success rate is less than 20 percent. And time is ticking away.

Escape Room RVA is for adults and children, age 8 and up. Kids under 15 must be with an adult. Prices start at $25 a person.

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