Winnipeg escape room gives people the video game experience

Imagine trying to escape a locked room during a nuclear meltdown Its a new form of entertainment that has hit Winnipeg.

The Real Escape Canada locks groups of people in a 500 square-foot room for an hour, and the only way to get out is to solve a series of puzzles.

Adam Schmidt owns the escape room with his wife Megan. He says it would be impossible for a person to escape the room by themselves.

Its very complicated, only about 35 per cent of teams have escaped, says Schmidt. I think its fun, its a night out, its something different to do, its not going to the movies, its not going out to the bar, its like being in a video game and its a lot of fun. It uses your brain.

Each puzzle is designed to be completely different from the other.

When you get a group of eight people, seven people could have no idea and then theres that one person that does.

Schmidt watches the room through a video camera, if he sees teams struggling with a puzzle he will slide a clue under the door.

The Real Escape Canada had about 30 test groups go through to see what people understood right away, which puzzles were too difficult, and Schmidt used those groupsto modify the room.

The Real Escape is located at 2003 Portage Ave., close to Assiniboine Park.