Escape room in Shelley brings families together for ‘unplugged’ fun
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SHELLEY — Late one night, you see an old abandoned building. Your curiosity gets the best of you. You let yourself in to see what secrets are lurking inside.
In the basement, you realize the building is not abandoned. The owner is there and is upset you have trespassed. He locks you up. You have 60 minutes to find your way to freedom.
That’s the plot behind Captured, a room inside Escape from South State Street in Shelley.
During a tour of the room, Manager Julie Edwards told EastIdahoNews.com about her favorite part of the experience.
“When people open a door and realize there is another door, that’s fun to watch. Also, I love the reaction of the puzzle finally clicking,” Edwards says.
Deb Evans, the owner of Escape from South State Street, opened the business in January after experiencing an escape room during a family vacation in Australia. Evans says she went in not knowing what to expect, but came out totally hooked.
“The puzzles, the intrigue, the clock ticking down — it was the perfect mixture of mystery and adventure.”
Escape from South State Street offers two escape experiences for customers: Captured along with Lockdown in London.
Edwards let us in to experience Captured where we immediately got off to a rough start.
“This is not cool, Rett,” EastIdahoNews.com reporter Natalia Hepworth joked as she was being locked up.
But then once we found our groove, the adventure of the experience became clear.
“I feel like I’m in ‘National Treasure,'” reporter Rett Nelson said.
One clue after another led us to the end after our time had expired. There were just two of us, but the experience is designed to accommodate up to eight people.
Some escape rooms are geared towards older crowds, but Evans feels anyone six and older will enjoy the experience at Escape from South State Street.
“We’ve created a place for friends and family to escape the busyness of life and enjoy some uninterrupted time together,” Evans stated.
The whole goal of Escape from South State Street, according to Edwards, is to provide unplugged family fun.
“We encourage you to put your cell phones away. Take a break from the world and have fun,” says Edwards.
Since Escape from South State is intended to be a group experience, they only book private rooms. The price is $59 on Monday. For the rest of the week, the price is $79.
Escape from South State is located at 152 South State Street in Shelley. They are open Monday through Thursday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. They open at 1 p.m. on Fridays and 11 a.m on Saturdays and keep later hours on weekends.
“Our aim is to hear families laughing together. That’s when the magic of escape rooms comes to life,” Evans says.