Sitting down with co-workers and the boss, we came up with the craziest stories we have witnessed here at Timed Out Escape. They are divided into categories, from the intoxicated to the common senseless. Here are the weirdest escape room narratives:
The Inebriated 
- “There was a team that wanted to play West later into the night. They just finished dinner and a few rounds of drinks. Instead of trying to figure out the puzzle of how to get into the second room, they attempted to slide under the door. We tried to not laugh while telling them to please not crawl into the room.”
- “One afternoon, a lovely couple came in asking if there was a room available. They had just finished lunch and saw our sign. We could tell they felt pretty good and let them play a room. In one of the areas of West, there is a piano. They sat right down and started playing chopsticks. It went on for 10 minutes, not caring about the time or completing the room. It was great.”
- We are fortunate to have some great neighbors here in our Toringdon Market location in South Charlotte. Miro’s, Tsuki and Buona Vita are great spots for dinner and a drink – either before or after making your escape. We recommend after – otherwise, your team may end up in a blog!
The Children 
- “Precinct takes place in a police station, where there are handcuffs. These teenage kids were playing the room. One kid decides to handcuff himself, and none of his friends tried to help him. He was just wandering around for 15 minutes with his hands behind his back.”
- (As mentioned before, there is a piano in West.) “This group of young kids showed up for a birthday party. Little did we know, there was a musician among the mix. She gravitated towards to piano and played some Beethoven. All of us in the control room dropped our jaws. She didn’t solve the puzzle (for a bit) but earned some extra time for her team with her awesome performance.”
- “When you see cards in an escape room, you think they are important, right? Well in this group of 11 year-olds, they decided to litter the ground with them. All of these playing cards are scattered across the whole escape room. It was really funny seeing all these kids picking up cards once they figured out they were useful.”
- “In West, there is some dynamite you need to solve a puzzle and blow up the ‘mountain’. These little girls thought the mountain was actually going to explode. They repeatedly pushed the plunger and ran to the other side of the room, ducking for the debris they anticipated. When they eventually solved it, with a little help from the adult, they screamed when they heard the explosion.”
No Common Sense
- “A couple of adult teams had no member who knew how many cards are in a deck. Of course that is better than the player who was adamant that a deck has 60 cards”
“A group was playing one of our rooms, and they didn’t know the Roman numerals. Maybe that isn’t common sense, but I thought I = 1 is pretty self-explanatory…”- “In our Precinct room, donuts are used as part of a puzzle. The donuts are coated with lacquer and look very “preserved”. Despite this, one adult let the infant/toddler child he was carrying suck and nibble on one of these petrified donuts, until the game master intervened. We even state in our briefing video not to eat anything in the room…”
- “After a team ‘solved’ a puzzle, the entire puzzle was blinking red. They thought it was the correct answer, but red flashing lights in society generally mean something is wrong…”
Weird Happenings
- “There was a team of people who just kept yelling at each other the whole time. They argued about everything; it was like watching a sitcom.”
- “In Precinct, we have a phone booth with a little folding door. Somehow this person managed to get themselves trapped on the inside. They yelled out for help even though the door was not locked. At least they didn’t try to call 911 on the payphone…”
- “We had a group of younger teenagers come in and play a room. All of their moms drove them, so they were waiting in the lobby. A toddler sibling brought in their live hamster and set it on the table. Then they let it out of its cage onto the table. I immediately told them to put it back in the cage and get it off the table. It was so weird and so gross.”
Never a Dull Moment! 
As you can tell, we are rarely bored! Whether it is influenced by alcohol, children – or merely the bizarre – come join us at Timed Out to make your own story! Who knows, you may just end up in a blog.