There is a new way to do escape rooms in Barrie and the best part is that the fun activity can be brought to you and your party.
Escape On the Go is the new business creation of 25-year-old Mathew Lund and came from his love of escape rooms. The latest game craze, escape rooms put a group of people in a room or rooms and let them out once they’ve solved a series of puzzles. Usually, groups are given a set time in which to solve the riddles and puzzles and must work together to do so, giving the task a team effort feeling once accomplished. Lund says it was not just his love of puzzles that led him to start his own business, but his fascination with escape rooms themselves.
“A while back a friend of mine invited me out to one and I had no idea what it was but the sound of it was right up my alley,” said Lund. “I have always loved solving puzzles and the idea of doing that with a team and having me and my friends work together to complete tasks was the coolest thing; I was hooked after one visit.”
The 25-year-old was so hooked that he got a job at a local escape room establishment and surrounded himself with the job, even creating rooms for the people to try to get out of. After many friends told him that he could make his own rooms and start his own business, Lund decided to give it a try but with a unique twist.
“There are many escape room companies around Ontario and they’re awesome if you live nearby, but I kept thinking about people who wanted to stay in and still have a fun time with friends,” said Lund. “Escape On the Go brings the fun of escape rooms to your house or wherever you are and fits the room to your needs. We can bring our props and build the room to fit your dimensions; we also have different times depending on the size of your group and can offer games in lengths of 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes. Right now, we’re averaging about two gigs a month, which keeps us busy as we have full-time jobs as well.”
Lund has friends who help out with everything from setting up and monitoring gameplay to creating music for his games exclusively. Working full-time at Cinema Stage, a local company that installs audio and visual systems, Lund is usually only able to work with Escape On the Go on the weekends. Lund and his group have recently entertained some comic-cons and have a great relationship with the Barrie Public Library, where earlier this year they set up a Stranger Things escape room that was a hit.
“We can do rooms like Stranger Things and Harry Potter for certain events as they are copyrighted and we can’t be making money off them,” said Lund. “But I’ve created our own rooms and am working on another one just in time for Halloween; it is going to be scary but, as is the case with all our rooms, obviously you’re not actually stuck in there should you need out.”
Right now, Escape On the Go has The Sorceress and The Hacker, two completely different games, with one being set in medieval times with kings, wizards and spells, while the other is having players steal a flash drive and overtake a seemingly evil corporation. Lund is excited for October’s debut of Maya and watching players try to escape the nursery room that belongs to a long-dead child who will make you play her games before leaving. While many may not even know where to begin in solving the escape rooms, the thought of creating the riddles and themes seems even more out of reach. Lund says it comes naturally to him when the time comes to create the rooms.
“I have always loved trying to solve puzzles and have lots of them,” said Lund. “I have puzzles I haven’t even attempted yet but I’ll see one and from it will come up with a whole story and background to go with it. I kind of work backwards with the solution first and then put together all the how-tos and storylines; it is so much fun and I hope to keep it small for now before getting too big as we’re having fun at the pace we’re going.”
Escape On the Go is working on a website but for now can be found on its Facebook page. It will be in Guelph on Nov. 3 at the Harry Potter Festival and back at the Barrie Public Library Nov. 10 and 17 for more Harry Potter fun.
