This year is the year of immediate family only parties. Escape YOUR Own Room, is the 1-of-a-kind activity that will transform your plain-old living room into a place of extraordinary fun!
59, 58, 57… time is ticking and you have one last box to open. Sweat is running into your eyes from exertion. Your hand grasps the box to lift it. “Put me down!” It yells.
No, this isn’t a Harry Potter simulator, it’s “Escape YOUR own room” by Pesach Horowitz, the man who will turn your home into a place of intrigue and suspense. With 3 game options, Rental, Virtual, and Personalized, there is sure to be something amazing for your family. Best of all, there is a 10% discount for The Mentch readers!
Read on to hear more about the games, see which is best for you, and learn how to claim the discount.
A bit of background: It’s funny. When you first meet Pesach you think that you’re speaking with a mild-mannered Avreich. However, beneath that self-effacing exterior is a puzzle mastermind capable of hiding everything from your house keys to a family heirloom, behind a series of locked boxes and coded messages. When Pesach is in his element, you’ll be hard-pressed to figure out his clues. He presents a challenge that is well-worth the time, effort, and money.
I met Pesach at an expo last year and was instantly enamored with his escape games. Luckily, I had caught him at a quieter time at his booth and he afforded me the opportunity to try some of his clues. Producing a sheet of paper he said “Look at this paper, what do you see? How would you find the clue?” The page held only 4 letters that didn’t seem to tell me anything. I was stumped so he showed me the trick. He held the paper against the wall and words with hidden messages were now visible. “It’s called Negative space,” he explained, “Design the negative space to show the name of an organization etc. like an optical illusion. Trust me, when you figure it out you’ll realize it it’s in front of your nose.Ok, now try this box, the code is 613 broken in 4.” “4213,” I said “like my Shul combination”, and proceeded to open the box. The clue inside wasn’t too difficult and I got it within a minute. This is a but a sample of the possibilities in each of the incredible game options.
Now, to the meat and potatoes: The Versions of “Escape YOUR own room”
Virtual: This is probably the most popular 2020 activity for those stuck at home over the last 10 months. An entire escape room game, via pdf’s, emails, and phone numbers. After you purchase the Virtual Game you will be given access to the game files. There are several game themes where you read and see basic instructions. All you need to do is print out signs and hang them around the house to transform your room into an escape room. The kids can enjoy the setup as they hang signs and give your home a make-over. (Don’t worry, it’s all virtual so there is no paint. No walls will be harmed or otherwise maimed in the process. But I would watch them just in case.)
“I’ve simplified it.” Pesach says “The 1st version was complicated and people didn’t understand what they needed to do. So I decided to make it as simple as possible. For example: the first pdf. you should click is titled ‘read this first.’ Then print and display optional aspects of how to play then. These are followed by 9 or ten files that say how to open the codes. Those files open up to give you the next clue.”
It’s really simple, just follow the rules and have a great time!
Warning: The game may not be as fun for the one doing the setup, but you definitely will not know All the answers.
Click here to be directed to the “Escape YOUR own room” website. Remember the code TM10 for 10% off!
Rental: Everything you need to transform your home into an escape room, all in one 2ft X 1.5ft lucite box! Simply place your order and Pesach will pack up an entire arsenal of wooden boxes, locks, hidden pictures, negative spaces and more. These items are available to rent and come with simple to use instructions. (When I say simple, I mean simple)
All clues are hand-crafted by Pesach himself (unless his kids wheedle him into letting them glue something where they can’t do too much damage) “You’d be surprised how hard it is to buy good boxes.” Pesach tells me in our exclusive interview last week. “I make my own boxes from scratch. I go to craft stores and build the boxes from those materials. My lock boxes are store bought, but they’re limited in what they can do. I have more versatility with the ones that I create.”
Ps. Be ready for candies or other “Finds” that the kids will enjoy. These are meant to be eaten (only if the mothers lets) as they are not clues. As he says: “You’d be surprised by how creative people can get with those candies. Gematrias, where the company produces them, and how many candies are in the box are examples of the directions people went with those candies. Just eat ‘em. Don’t think into it so much cuz they’re not clues.
Multi-Rental for Schools, Camps, etc.: Incredibly popular during the 2020 Summer Pesach uses the same game style as the rental. but creates ex. 14 versions of the same game. He will set them up in separate places at your location, or pack them for you to do so yourself at your leisure. He is available on call, in-person or by phone, to help with anything needed to mold fantastic memories.
Hand-crafted. Personalized: This is by far the most fun to play, and the most time consuming to create. Pesach can spend a few weeks on one of these. They’re the highest ticket price, and they’re well worth the money when you consider both the memories they create, and the ones brought back to life by the codes and puzzles.These games are personalized based on the information given to him, ie what the 80 year-old birthday Bubby likes, favorite stuff, or family pictures. Toys hobbies. Private jokes, sports teams, and much more can be inserted into your private “Escape YOUR own room”. Pesach will also research the interests of the family, such as reading up on fly-fishing, chazzanus, or bird-watching (ok, maybe not bird-watching) and create the clues based on that.
For example, One man was very into Yemen. Like, you know the country. So he gave them a map with the topography of Yemen in red, not labeled, and they had to figure out that the country was Yemen. They then used Yemen for the code.
For a 30 year reunion: Pesach took the yearbook, made people match the names to the old, HIgh-school pictures in a grid. When they were done the circles formed a number. (This took him about 3 minutes to explain to me. It was cool once I figured it out but I am not going to attempt to explain it to you now.)
This Chanukah, give your family a night they’ll remember for years to come with a virtual or rental escape room package. Here.
When you’re done with that, get started on a Hand Crafted game for your Wife’s Birthday or your Anniversary. Listen, 3 months early is the best time to know that you got her something special. Imagine all the agonizing that you’ll save knowing that you have the perfect gift in hand.
Call Pesach now to choose any of the amazing options from Escape YOUR own room
Can you feel the excitement? I know I can!
Note: Escape YOUR own room does not have an insurance policy large enough to cover your grandmother’s ring so please Do Not ask him to hide it as you may never figure out the clues you need to get it back.
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