Seeking camaraderie over competition

By David Mullen

For most television outlets, the price of broadcasting rights for professional sports became cost prohibitive. That created an inventory of cultural competitions, dating back to shows like ABC’s “Battle of the Network Stars” or CBS’s “Survivor.”

At any given time on the channels of ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports Network and regional sports networks may fill schedules with games like cornhole, axe throwing, darts, billiards and poker, where strategy overrides strength. 

Can the emerging popularity of escape rooms result in the next made-for-TV program?

“There have been various attempts at framing escape rooms in a competitive context, such as the ‘Escape Room World Championship,’” said Jeff Gershenfeld, GM of Breakout at 2301 N. Central Expressway in Plano. “I think this misses the point of what an escape room is, a real-life adventure that you and your friends, family and coworkers get to live out together.”

Gershenfeld discovered escape rooms on a job search. He grew up in Flower Mound and has a degree in psychology from UT Dallas. Little would he know that his field of study could be applied in such a unique way. “I was interested in the brain and how the brain functions. Now I get paid to watch people all day.” 

About six years ago, Gershenfeld discovered the world of escape rooms. “There is really nothing else like it. It’s just a lot of fun. I had seen them around, but I had never gone to one. Someone told me that this place was opening up and they were hiring. I came to do one and I instantly loved it. I had never seen anything like it.”

Opened in December 2016, Breakout is located on the second level of a typical Plano strip shopping center. Upon entering and being greeted at a nondescript reservation desk reminiscent of a dental clinic or tanning salon, it is unlikely one can imagine what lies ahead.    

“Our lobby is very typical and normal because when you step into the rooms, it’s like stepping into another world,” the affable Gershenfeld said. “The contrast is much larger.”

The door behind the counter opens to a small, dark hallway that could be set in a Stephen King movie. A series of doors are labeled Runaway, Kidnapping and Bomb Squad. Teams are made up of two to eight people. Once a team enters the room, they have one hour — monitored on a video screen — to find and solve the clues that will allow them to escape peril, or in the case of Bomb Squad, defuse the situation.

In the Kidnapping room — Breakout’s most requested room — participants begin handcuffed to the wall in “police grade handcuffs,” said Gershenfeld. The room’s decor is urban chic with a hint of sadomasochism.

Leaving an escape room is not a competition, but a collaboration. Clues are hidden within the themed props. Team participation is critical. For example, a participant handcuffed to the wall does not necessarily have direct access to the key to unlock the restraints.  “We encourage people to collaborate. No one can solve this on their own.”

The Runaway Train room is less intimidating and more high-tech. An immersed experience creates the illusion of being a passenger on a moving train. “You will feel like you are really on a train. The walls become windows showing city and later country images. “They offer something that you can’t really get anywhere else. There is not a lot of other places where you can get your friends, family and coworkers to go stop a runaway train together and be the hero of the story,” Gershenfeld said. 

In the Bomb Squad room, players become part of the police squad in a city where radicals have planted a bomb. Teams must find and disarm the explosive before it detonates. The area is dimly lit, graffiti-filled walls are fronted by manhole covers and powerlines with sneakers hanging from them. Many props play roles in the game. Its realism is matched by its surrealism. As it turns out, the quest to leave an escape room is a test, not a contest. It is about avoiding mock danger. No records are kept for best times. Escaping is the ultimate goal. “The main reason people don’t escape is that they overcomplicate it. Adults especially. They tend to overthink it,” Gershenfeld said. “But some people are really good at this. I’ve seen times as low as 40 minutes total.”

Each game has a game master, located in a control room in the back of the Breakout facility, where video monitors are used to help facilitate the game and for security reasons. “Someone is always watching you in the back with a series of cameras. Anytime someone needs help, we may give them a small nudge in the right direction to help them keep moving.” 

While Gershenfeld doesn’t have any stories of inappropriate behavior taking place in the confines of the escape rooms, he said with a laugh, “Sometimes people forget we are watching from four different angles.”

Once dominated by bowling alleys, miniature golf courses and arcades, escape rooms have emerged as easily attainable entertainment that challenges but doesn’t require the physical gifts and agility needed to excel in sports. All ages can participate in escape rooms like Breakout.

“They are designed for ages eight and up,” Gershenfeld said. “I would think that they would be more specific to teens and young adults, but we see young kids, parents and grandparents. This is the new, go-to thing to do.” More information is available at breakoutgames.com.

“We see a lot of companies using this for teambuilding,” Gershenfeld said. “We have companies reaching out to us all the time as a way to have their teams become more organic. It’s a lot to take in. When groups first come in, they are overwhelmed. But over the course of the hour, things start unraveling and it all makes sense.” 

Gershenfeld sees escape rooms as more of an experience than a sport. “We try to downplay the competitive nature of the game, and escape rooms are almost never set up such that players are competing against each other. While each group is racing against the clock to see if they can ‘win’ the game, the focus is not on the difficulty of trying to win, but on the immersive experience throughout the hour.”

It appears a competition series on escape games on ESPN2 will have to wait. 

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