Are you good enough to ESCAPE?

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November 1, 2019

It goes something like this:

You and your team are in a dark room that is "locked," and the only way out is to beat the one-hour timer. With flashlights in hand, you and your team face puzzles that require everything from walking around the room looking for hidden numbers, to turning to a page in a book and using a clear page to highlight a word on the page, which then is used on an alphabet lock, which opens a drawer with another half of a math problem. Sound complicated? It is!

Eight youth and Librarian Chris were up to the challenge last Friday, October 29th at the Escape Room in Salinas. The adventure required looking at vials of "blood" in medical books, newspaper clippings, and a discarded suitcase for clues to solve numerous puzzles. One particularly challenging puzzle required the team to use a string and wrap it back and forth on a peg board using specific coordinates until it spelled out three numbers, which then opened a combination lock with another set of clues.

The entire "escape" required methodical plodding one step at a time until all 20-something locks were opened. The team finished with 49 seconds left to spare in the one-hour time limit! Since the solve rate is only 35%, we think this was an exceptionally bright team of teens/library readers and enthusiasts!

For more information about teen programs like this, please call Chris Brant at (831) 758-7345.