Get Sherlocked!

Gaming arena

From outside, it looks like any regular house located in the many bylanes in Rajouri Garden area. But once you get inside, the narrow fleet of stairs leads to a world of games, puzzles, missions and mysteries. Welcome to Mystery Rooms, a one-of-its kind real life escape gaming experience that challenges all your senses and gives an adrenaline rush.

Brainchild of gaming enthusiasts — Sapna Bhutani, Shikhir Bhutani and Prateek Panjwani — Mystery Rooms is all about solving puzzles, finding hidden clues and escaping from the mysterious room before time kicks you out. It offers four games — The Hurt Locker: A bomb defuse challenge; Lock Out: A prison break challenge; Abduction: A final horror; and Cabin in the wood: A murder mystery. The initiative has centres in Rajouri Garden, Gurgaon and Kolkata.

“We had started working on the concept in the beginning of 2014, and the first branch went functional in September 2014. The idea was to bring something refreshing to the monotonous city life and the escape games fitted best. Bringing online gaming into reality was the key that propelled us to introduce escape games. Why sit in front of a box and play when you can actually be a part of the gaming experience?” says Sapna.

Metrolife opted to experience ‘The Hurt Locker’, which required us to solve puzzles and defuse a bomb placed by the bandits and terrorists. We were asked to role play as members of a bomb squad who had to stop the explosion and save lives. Considered to be the easiest game, it has a success rate of 35 per cent and requires two to eight players.

“Our focus is to deliver real life escape experience, and the missions are based on scenarios people can easily relate to. We believe there is a hero in each of us and it comes out when you are in a real life situation. Mystery Rooms missions stimulate all your senses to help you face a real life challenge in near-reality-like set ups. It’s a common desire to be a part of a heroic bomb squad while you watch an action movie and so on,” she adds.

The games, which have been conceptualised and implemented remarkably, are a result of a process which has dedicated teams working on various areas. Explaining, Panjwani says, “It’s a fun process; we love what we do. A game track has to go through a lot of stages before it is finally released. And there were challenges like the trial runs. The first few runs of the game are usually challenging; it’s a new experience for the team as well.” Twenty-four-year old Garvita Grover, who played The Hurt Locker says, “Definitely a mystery you would like to solve — it is fun and really engaging. A nice and unique way to spend the evening with your friends while sharpening your analytical skills. A must visit for all the Sherlock fans
out there!”

But, how frequently do they plan to introduce new games or alter the existing ones, as someone who has solved a game might not like to repeat it? “We plan to release at least one game every two months for mystery lovers. For some, it’s like watching a suspense movie whose end you missed. So people do attempt the same mission again if they fail in the first attempt,” says Shikhir.