Welcome back to the next issue of Escape Rooms Australia.
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Lost Locks opened 06/12/2021 after 6 months of planning and building. I quit my job and went 100% into the business and along with my business partner James and my Tech genius Zackery plus the rest of the team along the way have opened 5/6 rooms with two being duplicate for head to head reasons.
We have plans for 4 more rooms at this venue.
Prior to the business being built from the ground up James, Zackery and myself used to drive the countryside playing rooms and fell in love with them quickly, with close to 100 rooms being done each before even deciding to start Lost Locks. I personally fell in love with escape rooms as a way to deal with life and depression, it was a way for me to enter into another world for 60 minutes and forget all my problems. Our themes are;
The Gingerbread Man is throwing a Ball for everyone in Giddy Gumdrop Land and you have been invited! Unfortunately something terrible has happened, his gumdrops have been stolen and he can’t attend without them. Can you and your friends help find his buttons before the Ball, which starts in 60 minutes? Please help!!
You and your crew have been sailing the seas for years trying to track down the infamous pirate and his long lost treasure. You have finally found his abandoned cabin on Aargon Island where tales have told his treasure awaits behind boobie traps and puzzles. Can your team make it out in 60 minutes before another crew of vicious pirates come to claim the treasure for themselves.
You book your escape room, you sign waivers, and the Gamemaster goes through the safety rules. But, just before entering you are blindfolded and bagged, shoved into a cold room, only to find yourself in an abandonded bathroom. Escape the trials that awaits to save yourself. Are you prepared to put your life on the table to prove your worth to the Gamemaster?
14 puzzles, one big room. Can you and your team solve all the puzzles before the 60 minutes is up? Race against the clock or your friends to complete all the puzzles in our black and white themed arcade rooms for ultimate bragging rights. A great room to host your next corporate function or big party. For special occasions or extra requests please contact Lost Locks directly before booking to see what else we can offer.
The mysterious and anonymous billionaire has requested your presence at their seductive party of a lifetime. How could one refuse? Do us the honour of indulging in the worlds greatest pleasures, fun, laughter, and suggestive content. Rumour has it that hidden amongst their playthings, is a most prized possession worth too much money for only one to handle. Can you show all your kinks just to resist temptation and indule in lifes greatest pleasures? Or will you give in to all that money can off…
Check out their website for more details: Lost Locks
The Temple Room
You are explorers who have been set upon by malicious treasure hunters, and you only have the famous Dr. Jones’ diary for help. Can you find the legendary Crystal Skull of Lyon Island and get away before the storm traps you there? You only have an hour to investigate both the jungle and the Mayan temple to piece together the mystery and get out on time!
Time is running out! You and your team have been stranded in the jungle, and the storm will surround you in an hour. You need to find the entrance to the ancient Mayan temple and escape with the coveted Crystal Skull!
Can you do it in time?
Players: 2-5
Difficulty: 2.5 out of 5
Suggested Ages: Fun for the whole family – under 12yrs requires adult supervision
Duration: 60 Minutes
Blackwood Manor
You are standing in the empty lobby of Blackwood Manor, a grand old hotel in the idyllic town of Lake Placid, Upstate New York. A fierce storm is raging outside. A few years ago, the former owners Laura and Edmund Blackwood disappeared without a trace. Visitors to this town have been mysteriously vanishing ever since, especially during the Harvest Moon each Fall. Some believe the manor is haunted. Others say that dark rituals are being held there by a cult that lurks within the town.
As the police are doing nothing, your team of investigative journalists are determined to finally uncover the truth behind the disappearances and what other secrets the manor holds. But what you encounter at Blackwood Manor is far worse than you could ever have imagined…
Features:
An atmospheric supernatural thriller with an in-depth storyline. May feature a live actor as part of the story, subject to availability. You have the option to specify no live actor during the booking process.
Disclaimer: This room features references to a dark cult and rituals that some people may find disturbing.
Players: 2 to 10 people
Difficulty: 4.5 out of 5
Duration: 60 Minutes
Little Red Riding Hood
Once upon a time…
Little Red Riding Hood set off to Grandma’s house in her red hood and a basket of Goodies. Who is lurking in the Forrest,,,?
(this room is perfect for Families but can be a little creepy)
Players: 2 to 6 people
Suggested Ages: 15 Years old. Anyone under the age of 15 would have to be accompanied by an adult.
Duration: 60 Minutes
Asylum Escape
Enter into the Asylum, you have been wrongly arrested and placed into the Asylum. You hear screams of other inmates, can you find a way to escape the Asylum before you join the screams of the other inmates. Find clues find a away to escape before it is too late
Players: 2 to 6 people
Suggested Ages: Our rooms are designed for almost all ages we just advise if under the age of 10 that an adult is in the room
Duration: 60 Minutes
The Conjoining – Evil Loves Innocence
Welcome to 100 Barkly Street
The darkness grows stronger with each lost soul. Two years ago, world-renowned paranormal investigators, Eddard and Lauren vanished while investigating what was meant to be a routine haunting. Now it’s your turn to step into their shoes and uncover the truth. But be warned: the dark presence infesting this place is more agitated than ever before, and it’s up to you to exorcise it before it’s too late. Will you survive the horrors that await within
Players: 2-6 Players
Difficulty: 3/5
Suggested Ages: Parental discretion is advised for players under 18. An immersive horror experience that contains blood, gore, restrictive practices and religious iconography.
Duration: 60 Minutes
Trial of the White Rabbit
The White Rabbit has been captured by the Queen, accused of stealing her favourite mug. With Alice no where to be found it is up to you to save him. Follow the clues, solve the puzzles and find the mug before it’s off with his head!
Players: 2-6 Players
Difficulty: 4/5
Suggested Ages: 11 Years old and above. Children under 11 can participate if there is an adult in the room as well.
Duration: 60 Minutes
Click Image for Answer
The Dark Side of Room Escapers
We’ve talked about great people in Escape Rooms, but how can we deal with people who aren’t having their best day?
Mr Bossy Boots
You might be doing an Escape Room with your actual boss, or it could just be that your friend decides to act like one.
Best Case Scenario: Lawrence is great at managing the team (in both situations), and helps get the most out of people.
Worst Case Scenario: You’re an expert Escaper and Lawrence is a total rookie, but you couldn’t tell that from the commands he is throwing out, based on unfounded confidence and not listening to anyone.
What To Do: Quit and join another team. Nahhh, we’re here to Escape! Talk up the cooperative nature leading in to your event, and be loudly and verbally supportive of ideas and approaches that others put forwards. Fostering a safe environment of openness helps all.
The Superhero
I’m a big fan of enthusiasm, but its dark side can turn a ‘team’ into just ‘me’. Getting totally immersed in the action is great, but not when it results in one person blocking all others from getting involved.
Best Case Scenario: Katrina’s superpower is getting every team member fired up and making sure they get involved in all the puzzles.
Worst Case Scenario: Our hero Katrina, blinded by her enthusiasm and awesome ability, pushes all obstacles (and team mates) aside in her quest to solve everything singlehanded. She, and she alone, can get this lock open. It’s just taking a minute, stand back, she’s got this, no really, almost there…
What To Do: It’s a good idea to give your biggest bundle of energy a special task. Get them to find a secret code (where you’re pretty sure there isn’t one), or give them responsibility to make sure everyone gets a turn at opening a lock. Unleash the power of delegation!
The Magpie aka The Human Magnet
Some Escapers find exploration to be the most fun part of a Room. But what happens when someone gets more Hide than Seek?
Best Case Scenario: Max with his big arms is a walking library of all the movable items we’ve found so far, following the action around ready to offer up the right piece at the right time.
Worst Case Scenario: Max has collected so many props on his own that even he’s forgotten what he’s carrying, let alone what the team is up to. Where’s the golden key? Lost in his pockets…
What To Do: Get your team in the habit of thinking out loud, calling out discoveries to the others. If everyone has heard there’s a green rubber duck and Max is holding it, we know exactly where to get it from later.
Bad Mood Billy
I’ve written before about my favourite type of player:
But what if instead of boosting morale, frustrations get the better of someone and the whole team gets dragged down.
Best Case Scenario: People have bad days. A lot of us can hide the pain for just one hour, putting on a happy face to help the team.
Worst Case Scenario: Bad moods can be infectious. When Bad Mood Billy gets vocal about how poorly he sees the team going, he’s not just failing to contribute himself, he’s also distracting others as well as bringing the mood down.
What To Do: Distract him back. Sometimes change can be a quick fix, so turn Bad Mood Billy into Double-Check Billy with some encouragement to keep moving and re-investigate the whole room to make sure we found absolutely everything.
In our next edition, we want to present an Escape Room Bingo! Please email era@eludegames.com.au us with the phrases or reactions you hear or say, either in hosting or playing Escape Rooms!
RAIL CIPHER
At first this might seem a simple cipher, but taramnntigsiteogetidohniltl (14/13).
Our rail fence system is one of the earliest methods of transposition, based on placing letters in a series of levels, or, imagining that they have been written up and down the rails on a fence.
Let’s have a look at a few quotes from this guy as examples to see how it works.
Fencing for beginners
Our most basic version of this has just the two levels. Start with your text:
“Elementary, my dear Watson”
Take out all the punctuation and spacing (note: this isn’t always the case – make sure you and the message recipient know what the plan is!):
ELEMENTARYMYDEARWATSON
And then we alternate letters on a higher and lower levels, going down then up then down then – you get the idea.
From here, you can: squash all the letters up in one big unpronounceable monstrosity; turn the lines into two chunks (which will help decoding); chop it up into our classic five-character block (with filler Zs); or even trick onlookers with random spacing.
EEETRMDAWTOLMNAYYERASN
EEETRMDAWTO LMNAYYERASN
EEETR – MDAWT – OLMNA – YYERA – SNZZZ
EE ETRM DA WTOLM N AY YER ASN
Advanced Fencing
We can add a bit of extra in with further rail levels. Have a go at zigzag reading this quote over three levels:
Oh, did that one come out weird? Maybe we should look back on it…
Figuring it out
Our main task is to determine how many rails, or levels, the hidden text needs to be spread across in order to decode it.
When our message has been split to two levels, it is easy enough to then divide our text into two equal (or close enough) groups. When it has been split over three or more rail levels, it can be a bit more fidgety.
Have a look at this jumble of letters:
IUTU TCTTNR HMNAIAR IRAO I MIHATIASO TFSOTTM OMNFE CYNI
Your coding comrade has previously given you the number pattern 6/12/12/12/6. How convenient.
In this case it means we can count out numbers of letters per level: 6 – 12 – 12 – 12 – 6.
IUTUTC
TTNRHMNAIAR
IRAOIMIHATIA
SOTFSOTTMOMN
FECYNI
Writing it out on our rail fence going up and down would give us this quote:
Escape Rail
In your Escape Rooms, you can spot this system by squiggly lines indicating our need to read up and down the letters, hints towards a zigzag or the word ‘rails’, maybe even a fence marked curiously. There could be a numbering pattern marked like 7-13-13-12-12-6 that could help determine your letters-per-rail level. Would be a big help in something like the jumble below. Good luck!
