The latest trend in amusement attractions might seem a bit strange to the uninitiated, but escape rooms are sweeping the nation for their ability to challenge groups' mental sharpness and teamwork. Who knew being locked in a room with only a series of puzzles and clues standing between you and your team's freedom could be so much fun? Apparently, lots of folks in Myrtle Beach.
Over the past few years, the Grand Strand has seen the addition of several escape rooms to satisfy the growing demand. Considered a particularly fun family activity or group outing to foster cooperative relationships, escape rooms provide Myrtle Beach visitors and guests at Compass Cove Oceanfront Resort an opportunity to try something new during their vacations.
Although escape rooms feature a wide variety of themes and scripts, here's the basic theory behind the activity: A small group is placed in a room with hidden clues and tricky puzzles that participants must solve in order to escape. Patrons have 60 minutes to solve the mystery and unlock the door to freedom. Of course, your freedom is never really in doubt — players can opt out at any time if they feel the need to exit. Here are five escape room experiences on the Strand:
* Backstage Escape Games: This Broadway at the Beach venue features high theatrical drama as patrons are charged with solving the mystery of Atlantis. Backstage uses special effects like high-tech lighting and sound, as well as realistic props and decorations, to create a realistic scenario. This location is also home to Mirror Maze, a series of eye-fooling reflections, dead ends and other optical illusions that can throw off even the best navigators.
* Break Out: Located on Main Street in North Myrtle Beach, Break Out is designed for trivia buffs and detective-types to solve puzzles and riddles in order to escape from one of four rotating themed rooms. Break Out's unique scripts include a pirate treasure hunt called Red Beard's Revenge, a Serial Killer room in which players must crack the case, the CSI Myrtle Beach room for sleuths who love to solve mysteries, and a Bank Heist scenario in which the participants try to get away with the loot.
* Escape! Myrtle Beach: This escape room, which started the fad in Myrtle Beach after opening in the Five Points section of town in 2015, has folks flocking to the downtown district to test their skills. Themed rooms include Race Against Time, a crime thriller; Ghosts of the Carolina Coast, a pirate-themed mystery; and Trail By Fire, a high courtroom drama in which you try to reach the right verdict.
* Myrtle Beach Room Escape: The escape room trend continues in the downtown district with this new and exciting venue. Located just off the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, Myrtle Beach Room Escape offers several scripts to choose from. The most popular is the Walking Dead Zombie Escape, which sees groups surrounded by the undead, locked in a room with limited supplies, and trying to decipher which of the walkers are safe to allow in. Make the wrong call and your brains become breakfast. Other scenarios include Escape the Island, Jail Break and the Theater, which involves finding and defusing a fake bomb.
* Riddles Escape Room: This Restaurant Row escape room puts your mental skills to the test with a series of brain-teasing riddles that you must solve to escape. Localized themes include Escape from the Grande Strand Hotel, Marooned Five Island Escape and Virtual Reality – Space Station Escape.
You might have a hard time getting out of one of these five escape rooms, but it's easy to get into Compass Cove Oceanfront Resort. Simply book your vacation plans today and get ready to stay in an oceanfront room you will never want to escape.