We are also about to release a State by State Issue. Keep an eye out for these coming soon. That way when you are travelling, you can just pull up the state you are heading to and have all the information on all the escape rooms in one place.
Checkout the Article from Blyth Breakout in this issue. Just love the concept of the business you can book in and stay in the Hostel or B&B and do some Escape Rooms whilst visiting, just love their location.
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Max and Nicole Haitana along with their three kids took on the challenge of a tree change by buying the old Blyth Hospital in 2016 and moving the family from the city to a small regional town in mid north SA, on the edge of wine country.They began converting the site into a mixture of accommodation and entertainment with the big picture plan of it being a tourist destination.Whilst maintaining full time jobs and after several years of renovation work on the site we successfully opened The Quarters – a hostel style accommodation for travellers who come to the region to work (harvest, vintage etc) in 2019 and Lovelock B&B – a lovely little self-contained B&B for 6 guests in October 2020.
Whilst working on the other projects and being Escape room enthusiasts ourselves, we decided the best thing for us to do next was bring a different form of entertainment to the region by setting up Escape rooms in the old hospital building.It has taken about 18 months (we all know what fun councils are) to complete and open the first 3 rooms, with plans for 2 more, one due to open in about a month and the last one – a super scary hospital themed room in the actual original operating theatre by the end of the year.
Blyth Breakout
Can you think outside the box? Independent family owned and operated,Blyth Breakout Escape and Adventure rooms opened in December 2020 in an old country hospital just under 2 hour’s drive from Adelaide and are the only rooms operating in regional SA.
Currently running 3 rooms:
Prohibition Bar – 60-minute Escape Room for up to 6 players
It’s the 1920’s during the height of Prohibition.Hiding in the dark alleys of the city is a little-known bar, only regular customers know the way!Whilst enjoying a night out you get caught up in a police raid, can you clean up the evidence and sneak out the back door, to escape in time?
Jail Break – 60-minute Escape Room for up to 8 players
Do you have what it takes to break out of Jail? You manage to get locked inside a maximum-security prison while trying to free a member of your crew that was wrongfully accused.You have set clues needed to escape can you follow them to escape in time?
Genie’s Lamp – 30-minute Adventure Room for up to 6 players
With a crack of thunder and a gust of wind you find yourself trapped in a world of magic.The Genie has escaped and you are trapped in the lamp.To escape you must find the lamp and wish upon it or become the new Genie forever!
Our 4th room is due to open late May:
Pirate’s Peril -60-minute Escape Room for up to 8 players
Your Pirate crew were on their way back to Pirate Cove when you ship was wrecked on a shallow reef on the wrong side of the island.To get help you must find Dead Man’s cave and navigate your way through the secret tunnels that lead to Pirate Cove.Can you find the cave and make your way to help?
Address: 3 South Tce Blyth SA
Phone: 08 8844 5250
Congratulations to our winners.
Sian Tuppen & Sarah Lee
Check your emails on how to claim your prize.
Most of you would be aware by now that the NSW Government is about to release Dine & Discover.
Every person in NSW over the age of 18 will receive 4 x $25 Vouchers to use in the Dine & Discover promotion.
Your vouchers will appear in your services NSW app on your phone.
The GREAT NEWS is that Escape Rooms qualify for the Discover portion of which you can use 2 of your vouchers at, to help you out we have started a list of participating Escape Rooms that will accept vouchers.
- Dubbo Escape Rooms
- Elude Escape Rooms
- Escape Hunt Sydney
- Escape Rooms Albury
- Escape Rooms Central Coast
- Escape Rooms Tamworth
- Get out Escape Rooms (Maitland Gaol)
- Labyrinth Escape Rooms
- Mission Escape
- Narrow Escape Rooms
- Next Level Escape
- Parapark Sydney
- Room Eight Escape Rooms
- Scram Escape Rooms
- Social Escape Rooms Sydney
- The Cipher Rooms
New Room— PICTURE IMPERFECT
Suspecting a photographer has something to do with the disappearance of your sister, you follow him home. After hours of staking out his place, he finally leaves and you seize this opportunity to break in. You make your way to his dark room looking for some evidence to confirm your suspicions.
At first everything appears to be normal, however if you look a little deeper, your worst fears might just be uncovered in this “Picture Imperfect” world.
PLAYERS: 2 – 7
DIFFICULTY: VERY HARD
ESCAPLEX ESCAPE ROOMS
358 North East Road
KLEMZIG, SA5087
Ph: 08 8369 3119
Click anywhere on the map to take to you an active Map of all the Escape Rooms in Australia
Talk Out Loud
Many clues can be a play on words that have more than one meaning, such as TRUNK.
Alternatively the words could be spelt different but sound the same like REED and READ.
By reading a clue out loud you are checking the spelling whilst others are checking the phonetics. This allows everyone to apply their own and possibly different interpretation of the clue. If you become stuck then swap over so that someone else reads the clue out loud.
Talking out loud is also advised when trying to solve a puzzle. Explaining your thought process allows others to follow along or provide an alternative way of looking at it.
Communication
With modern phone systems we have become accustomed to being able talk at the same time.
Consider communication as a 2 way process which involves both talking and listening as separate parts. When using walkie-talkies you need to pass control of the conversation so that only one person talks whilst the others listen. This might be a skill that is worth considering for larger teams.
Semaphore Cipher
You may not have heard of a semaphore before, but it is most often recognised in fields where technicians and workers communicate with flags (such as in the navy).
Now, you might be wondering, how can this type of system make its way into games, puzzles and escape rooms?
Well here’s a surprise: It’s not limited to flags!
Everything from smoke signals to blinking lights qualify as a semaphore as long you are using them to send a coded message. And unlike other ciphers, a semaphore is not necessarily limited to just using the letters of an alphabet. What may seem like a three-letter set of signals may actually be three sentences!
Spotting the Signs
The biggest obstacle to solving a semaphore challenge is actually realising there is one. This is because they can take in so many forms before you even start to figure out what message it is hiding.
It can be in the form of a peculiar light that seems to be blinking at intervals in one corner of the room. It can be a set of statues that are holding objects similar to flags. In all cases, a semaphore is a cipher that can easily hide in plain sight!
Challengers must pay close attention to all the objects in the room, especially when there doesn’t seem to be anything that indicates a hidden message being written down somewhere. Don’t forget that you still also have to consider the meaning of the semaphore’s message once they spot it!
Context – A Semaphore’s Biggest Clue
Much like symbol-based ciphers, the context of a semaphore challenge can direct players to better deciphering it.
For example, it is always safe to assume that blinking lights could be Morse code first. And if that doesn’t work, then there might be a clue in the room that’s related to interpreting signals from lights (like a manual conspicuously placed on a table or a note taken from a cell that you were in previously).
Another helpful thing to keep in mind is that many well-designed mystery games and escape rooms generally weave the semaphore into the story. For example, your clues could take in the form of journal notes left by a former prisoner in your escape room’s story and they may talk about something like a flag semaphore with its own corresponding phrases being used in some part of the facility.
A semaphore system could even require you to create a message yourself. (Imagine a room mechanism that splits your group in two and your only recourse is to communicate answers using smoke signals.)
For both puzzle solvers and puzzle makers alike, semaphore systems of any kind make for incredibly fun challenges involving clever uses of props as well as storytelling. And unlike text or symbol-based ciphers, they can be a lot harder to pick up simply by virtue of their design.
On the other hand, cracking this type of code can be a real test of your observation and pattern detection skills (along with a bit of stock knowledge on the side). Always be prepared to think of other ways a message can be sent without having to write it down!
Create an Escape Room Meme using one of the pictures below.
Screen shot the image, add your text and email to us at era@eludegames.com.au
Win a prize if we publish your Meme.
Solve the puzzle, click button below to check your answer. Correct answers will receive a $5 coupon to Elude’s online shop.
Click on the link and enter your answer as a number: Cow Pig Chicken
Where to find useful links and information.
Escape Rooms Australia Group
Escape Room Enthusiasts-Australia and New Zealand.
Blog Reviews on Rooms
Sydney and Beyond Escape Room blog post by Scott Monin.
Map of Escape Rooms
Click image for full map of Escape Rooms in Australia.
Contact Us
era@eludegames.com.au
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