The rules were simple enough; get out of the room in time or face the wrath of a blighted Quidditch super-fan. What could possibly go wrong?
For the week of Halloween, and as a final event in a string of Harry Potter-themed events on campus, the Elizabethtown College High Library staged a Harry Potter Escape room for staff and students.
We decided we would try out Etown’s first ever escape room and report back to you—our faithful readers—as to our experiences.
Professor Vector locked us (Aileen Ida, Rachel Lee and Delaney Dammeyer) in her office for detention while she left to watch the Susquehanna Sasquatches’ quidditch match. We only had thirty minutes to escape before Vector returned. If the match went poorly, we did not want to end up like the last student in detention—who has yet to be found.
This was the scenario instruction and scholarly communication librarian Jennifer Strain presented to us when we entered the Wizarding Escape Room in the High Library Monday, Oct. 29. We were among some of the first people at Elizabethtown College to brave the entry-level escape room.
The room had everything for the adventurers and puzzle-solvers on campus. Several of the solutions require outside-the-box thinking and a little bit of cunning befitting a witch or wizard.
We were able to escape the room in 15 minutes, beating all the teams who came before us. Unfortunately for us, we were knocked off the leader board by another team just four hours after our triumphant escape. In escaping with a new record, we were each awarded 10 points for our chosen house. If we hadn’t beat the record, but still escaped, each of our houses would have received five points.
The Wizarding Escape Room will remain in the High Library until Friday, Nov. 2. Registration is required at http://bit.ly/wizard-escape.
While we competed and escaped as a team, this experience represented something different for each of us.
Rachel:
Before we entered the room, instruction and outreach librarian Joshua Cohen asked me two questions to place me in one of four houses. Aileen and Delaney already knew their house, Blue Eagle. By coincidence, I was also placed in Blue Eagle. The Escape Room itself was an interesting experience because the only other escape room I have experienced was while I was abroad in Spain, and it included multiple rooms.
Delaney:
A part of the experience that came as a delightful surprise was the sense of comradery during the problem-solving process. We each had something different to offer that contributed to our success. If you go in with your friends, know that everyone has something to offer and if you can’t figure out a puzzle, see what your team members have to contribute. It’s guaranteed that players will all learn something new about each other.
Aileen:
I did my first ever escape room this summer and was excited to be able to do one at Etown. We were worried going in that the room was going to be too hard, as we had heard that other teams weren’t able to make it out in the given time. Luckily for us, we felt like the room was perfectly matched to a beginner level and was a ton of fun for each of us! I definitely recommend going with some friends or colleagues if you can fit it in.
