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Escape Games Live to open escape room for kids


Ever wanted to lock your kids in a room for an hour while you enjoy some peace and quiet?

Now, parents have that option at Escape Games Live in York.

For about a year, Escape Games Live has been home to three escape rooms – interactive experiences that require participants to solve a series of puzzles to escape from a locked room in 60 minutes or less.

In the last few months, the experience – originally created for adults – has grown in popularity as escape rooms have popped up throughout the region in Lancaster, Annville, Harrisburg and Lemoyne.

But, when York’s Escape Games Live unveils its fourth room – Mojo’s Museum – next month, children will have a chance to join in the fun, too.

“We’ve always had kids play and have a great time even in the grown-up rooms,” special events manager Tom Hopkins said. “But, sometimes they have a harder time keeping up with the intellectual demands.”

That’s why Mojo’s Museum – designed for children between the ages of 8 and 13 – will consist of more direct, less obscure clues. An Escape Games Live host will also be in the room to help children quickly move through the puzzles and activities so they have success every five to seven minutes.

Hopkins described Mojo’s Museum as part-circus, part-science museum and part-Vegas.

The colorful atmosphere of the room makes you feel like you’re walking into a circus, Hopkins said. Crazy, colorful objects are hanging on the walls, and there’s even artwork on the floor.

But when the game begins, it starts to feel more like a science museum, he said. Children will play an instrument, manipulate objects to create shapes and use colored glasses to find secret codes hidden in the room.

Throughout the game, they’ll work together to solve a series of seven puzzles – which could include elements, such as matching games, word scrambles or simple math – in an effort to escape from the fictional character Professor Mojo in an hour or less.

“The room is based on the concept that (Professor Mojo) is allergic to children and wants to entrap them in escape rooms throughout the world,” Hopkins said.

The Vegas aspect of the room comes at the end of the game with a big, dramatic finish, he said.

“I think there’s a fair amount of spectacle built into the room where the jaw drops a little bit and crazy things happen that (the kids) weren’t expecting,” he said. “(Children) emerge laughing and excited, especially after the big finish.”

Mojo’s Museum is now accepting reservations for its grand opening April 9. The room will then be open to the public on subsequent Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays or for private parties on weekdays.

The experience costs $150 for up to eight players.

To book an escape room, visit www.escapegameslive.com.