This update is about something that I've done a few times, a place that I've been
to once, and a project that I'll be working on that ties these things
together.
BTW, keep an eye on the dates along the way, they will give you a
time line of how this project progress's (top of page, above some pictures, etc.).
I've been using computers for a long time now, just like most of you
reading this, and one of the things that has passed the time now and then
was playing some kind of game. There were a few games that I found challenging
but one game that sticks in my head was called, "Escape The Room". This
type of game uses your wits not your aim, like some of the 'first person
shooters' (FPS) that I've played in the past (which is a story for
another time).
Now don't get me wrong,
FPS games were great but there's something very satisfying when you can
solve some kind of riddle or figure something out within these escape type
games. I remember playing some years ago and once I finished or escaped, I would
send it to my daughter Angela, so she could try because she loved them
too. I also remember her calling me to ask, "dad, how did you do this part of
the room or locate that item from this area"? I think she was much more
obsessed with them than I was because she wouldn't stop until she
conquered the game, or escaped...no matter how long it took. At least I would spread it out over a
few days if I had trouble with one.
This whole obsession that Angela has with these games might be my
fault...let me explain: she was to watch our house about seven or eight
years ago while my wife and I went somewhere for the weekend. To show
her my appreciation for making sure all the animals were fed and the
mail was taken in, I bought her a nice gift. However, I didn't just
leave it on the table for her to see when she came in, no way... I made
her work for it. And how did I do that you ask? By running her all over
the house solving clues that I dreamed up.
I've done this for Angela twice now, making her work for a gift
that I bought her, solving clues along the way and then finding her prize at the end.
And she loved it both times. As a matter of fact, she did that for me
as a Christmas present in 2014. When she came over that year, she hid some clues when I wasn't in
the room and then when I opened "The Present", it had my first clue that I had
to solve which untimely lead me to my wrapped present. We all had a good time with it that year and something tells
me that it will happen again in the near future. The following year
she gave me a really cool gift for Christmas 2015, it was two tickets
to a real 'Escape Room' that her and I were to experience. Now if
you've never heard of this before then you're not alone because till
that moment I hadn't either. I'll explain what this Escape Room thing
is: depending on the room size, there could be anywhere from six to 10
people doing this at the same time. The Escape Room she bought for us
held eight people, which meant we didn't know the others but it didn't
matter because we all worked together as a team.
The object is to go in one door, find and solve a bunch of clues and
puzzles and if your day goes well, you exit through a different door
that you entered in from. It sounds easy but it's not, you have to
really work at this and there is a time limit which makes it that much
harder. Ours had a one hour time limit and you could ask for help if you
got stumped. And yes we got stumped. But with a little perseverance we
escaped the room with only seconds to spare. You talk about a rush and a
good time, this was it!!
Well Angela must have this escape room stuff in her blood because
after we did our room together, she went with some friends and did
several other Escape Rooms in various cities. By the time Spring rolled
around she was hooked and decided to open an Escape Room of her own.
With the help of her husband Matt, her father-in-law, myself and a few
others, her dream came true in the city of Redlands, CA. And the name of
her new business is called, "Open
Door Escape Games". If you were wondering how her new
business has been doing, well...it's been a huge success and opened in the
Summer of 2016.
The theme of her current Escape Room is called, "The Study", which has the
capacity to hold six people or less. However having six people increases
your odds of making it out of the room on time, but you can have four or
five people if you wanted. The reason you have this many people is because everyone has a
different idea of what a clue might mean. So having multiple people and
their input is very beneficial.
Well.... to make a long story longer, Angela and Matt have decided to
open a second Escape Room at a different location, which is what this
update is all about. This new room is still located in Redlands
but will be a couple of miles away from her current place.
EDIT: A quick note to get you up to date and then we'll get
back to the original content. This room was originally titled "The Train
Room" but things changed over time (almost three years worth) because Matt and
Angela decided to go in a different direction recently. With that being said,
this project would've been fitting for such a room, being mechanical and
all. But it still ended up right at home in the current room that it's
in now.
Follow along and you'll see what I mean.
What you see below is a section of my garage floor that has
been masked off along with a few cardboard templates that are suppose to
resemble some gears. The blue tape measures in at four feet by eight
feet, with another piece of tape at the seven foot mark. I did this so
Matt and Angela could see what both sizes looked like and they both
liked the eight foot size. What I'll be doing is using a four by eight sheet
of plywood for this project that is either 5/8" or 3/4" thick, which is
what this layout represents below. Oh and if you're wondering what the
yellow string is for, that represents chain, which I'll talk about
later.
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