Breaking News: Team of Super Investigators Cracks 100 Year Old Murder Case!
Okay, so the case was fictional, the suspects existed only on paper and I am definitely not a qualified investigator… but if you’ve ever fancied yourself as a Sherlock Holmes style detective then ‘The Escape Hunt Experience’ might just be perfect for you! Located in West End, ‘The Escape Hunt Experience’ gives you the opportunity to put your problem-solving and teamwork skills to the test – cracking codes and piecing together puzzles to solve (fictional) crimes.
So how does it work? There are three different rooms, each with a different crime to solve and clues to crack – the ‘Murder in the Barber Shop’ room is a race against the clock to solve a local murder mystery; in the ‘Treachery at the Racetrack’ room, a jockey has been killed mid-race and the real culprit must be found; and the tricky ‘Bomb at Government House’ room requires detective skills to locate an explosive before it detonates! Once inside the room, you and your team of two to five people have sixty minutes to crack the case. Plus, if you’re feeling competitive ‘The Escape Hunt Experience’ offers a duplicate of each room so you can split into two teams and race each other!
I’d been keen to try a large scale puzzle-style activity like ‘The Escape Room Experience’ for a while, so when the opportunity came up I jumped at the chance and rounded up three friends to join my crime-solving crusade. We took on the ‘Murder in the Barber Shop’ room challenge, and began our investigation by stepping back in time one hundred years to a barber shop in Brisbane’s CBD. Following the mysterious murder of a well-known council member, the police were stumped and the press wanted answers! That’s where my friends and I came in – we were locked inside the crime scene and had just one hour in the lead up to an important press conference about the murder to solve the case!
My crime solving team (The Sherlock Holmes inspired costumes were provided I swear!)
Armed with an optimistic estimation of our problem solving skills, crime show knowledge built up over years, and some helpful hints from staff, my team and I were ready to take on the challenge … or so we thought. It turns out racing the clock to solve a murder mystery is a lot more difficult and a little more stressful than anticipated, but definitely a whole lot of fun! To solve the crime we required some major super sleuthing skills. The challenge called for us to think logically – matching patterns to piece together suspect profiles, uncover artefacts and crack combination locks to reveal clues. However, we also had to think outside the box – using a keen eye to uncover information in some very unlikely places and thinking creatively to ponder tricky riddles.
So – did we interpret the clues, crack the case and escape the room? Yes (eventually and with a few pointers from the friendly staff). Who did it, I hear you ask? Well, that’s classified – you’ll just have to complete the task for yourself to find out!
I would highly recommend ‘The Escape Hunt Experience’ if you’re looking for something a little different. While challenging, the experience was a whole lot of fun. So grab some friends and get sleuthing!
A big thank you to the team at Griffith International for the opportunity to take on this experience!
