Hello, hello! Whew! It’s been a while since we have written on our blog. I (LaShona) am so glad I am able to grab a seat and get some words on paper!
If you been following our family Instagram page (@thetyreefam), you know that our kids wanted us to test out out very own Escape Room! So, being that we haven’t had much content for our Youtube channel in a while, we said we would give it a go! So, I am going to share our first experience with you.
I don’t know what made me think I would be able to gather supplies for the clues, write out clues, set up the room and dive into the game flawlessly… Lord what was I thinking?! Lol! Because I didn’t want to go back on our word to our kids, I spent Martin Luther King Jr. day preparing for our big event. I was in my room for hours when I realized, I was getting a tad bit frustrated planning something that was supposed to be pure fun.
I think most people start with a short storyline, which would lead them into all the clues, well, I worked the opposite direction. I had all my clues laid out across my bedroom floor & even played an Escape Room podcast while planning, just to get some imagination juices flowing! It sounds so silly looking back at everything, but I must say this mama was definitely OVERTHINKING everything. We even watched some random Youtube channels of people planning their Escape Room and just getting as many tips as possible so that we could make this perfect game. If I had to give one bit of advice, I would say don’t try to make it perfect because there are bound to be bloopers or hiccups along the way and THAT is ok!
Once I found myself getting overwhelmed, I called in Jason to help with the order of the clues as well as the wording of the clues. He did such a great job being creative with the wording. I think him being a rapper (excuse me, former rapper as he would say) played a role in how simple it was to come up with something. It was just so natural for him. Meanwhile, I was twiddling my fingers and waving a magic wand for something to happen lol! I then just put a storyline together that wasn’t too scary, but something that painted a picture in their mind. And just like that, *snaps* we were done!
During the arranging of clues, Jason & I were going back and forth with one of the clues dealing with a heart shaped box. I set it up to where a lock with a key attached to it would be inside the heart shaped box, which would lead to scissors that had a lock on it. The key attached to the lock inside the heart opened the scissors, which would in turn help solve the next clue! Did you get that? Lol! I know, I know.. after a while your head starts to spin a bit, but trust me, the prize at the end of the clues is so worth it lol! Just remember this part about the heart…
During the setup, I wanted the balloons to be tapped to the wall because I thought it looked better (me overthinking again.. oops). So I taped it and I barely touched it and it POPPED! It made all the special jewels I had in the balloon fly across the floor! So, we had to refill that balloon, but the other balloon with the clue in it was still good! Lol! We eventually just scratched taping them to the wall all together and just sat them underneath a stuffed animal. That worked out well.
Ok, enough with the setup, let’s get to the meat of this blog and that is the game itself! Finally, we welcomed the kids to their very own Escape Room and they were excited! I was ready to record from my phone too. Because our video will be going on YouTube, we explained some things before hitting record. But later, we realized it just needs to be natural, so we scratched the run through and just went with the flow. So, off they went!
Everything was going great, until we got to clue number 2.. which was the black balloons. Jeremiah wanted to pop the balloons and Lovéah (our 5 year old) was standing rather close to him. So he popped one balloon and it was the clue! Great! But he still had one more balloon to pop… 3,2,1… POP!!…then we immediately heard crying! I was scared to look.
Remember, I had those special jewels inside of one of the balloons? Welp, BAD IDEA because the force of the pop made those jewels fly out the balloon at such a high speed that it actually caused a red mark to appear on Lovéah’s arm! Poor baby was crying and I still had the video rolling.. looking at her then looking at Jason who was outside the door… he opened it and got her out of the game and made sure she was ok. Whew! Shall I continue? Lol!
We continued the game and the kids needed some assistance with some of the clues. I had to tell them it’s not something that is straight forward, like they have to work as a team & think outside the box to get the answer. After I said that, they went through the clues with little help! Then came the time to open the heart shaped box…
Inside that box was a clue and two items… a small flathead and small keys. I was so confused when that box was opened lol! I knew when they tried to open the lock that was attached to the scissors, which Lovéah found (yes, she ended up being ok thank God!) that something was off. I had to stop recording for this part because Jason had to run upstairs and grab the right key. So, I started recording again and we just acted like none of that ever happened lol! This is all pretty funny when you think about it. This is what I get for tying to make things perfect. Note to self… let the mistakes take place because it’s a learning process and the next game will be way better!
When it was time to solve the final puzzle, there was no final clue to be found! Are you laughing as hard as I am right now? Lol! We crumbled up 4 pieces of paper and one of them had the code to crack open the chest. It was written backwards, so they had to use a mirror to solve it.. fun right (smiles*)? So once again, Jason ran upstairs and grabbed the clue and hid it by the window. And once again, I started recording again lol! Our kids worked together to solve the clues and cracked open the chest to find money for each of them! Boy were they excited about that!
Our Clues::
Below are our clues just so you can have an idea of each one. I capitalized the key words because those are the words that we highlighted on the card to help them solve it.
- Clue #1 : No matter if it’s a BIG CONE, or a SMALL PIN, you’re gonna need both of you’re gonna win!
- Clue #2: You may see a BOX, and that’s a good start. But what you are seeing is the KEY to my HEART.
- Clue #3: The next clue is hard, so I’ll give you a hint. To BREAK the ICE… well… “you can’t touch this!”
- Clue #4: If these clues are tough, just keep working at it. And if you get STUCK, then just use a MAGNET!
- Clue #5: You’re all doing well. I know there’s a lot. Let’s CUT to the chase, so we can UNLOCK.
- Clue #6: A code on a moon, or a CODE in a BOX? Hmm… when you CUT through it all, you’ll figure it all out!
- Clue #7: Who will be the one to read this in REVERSE? [! first clue next the read to mirror a need You’ll]
- Clue #8: You’ve made it this far. You’re on the last clue. The code is UNRAVELING in front of you.
(One of the images above said clue #9, but there was actually 8 clues.)
And there you have it! Our entire experience with this Escape Room was one in which we would learn and grow from. The kids really enjoyed themselves and that is really all that matters. Oh, and thankfully we can edit our video for YouTube lol! Our kids were such good sports about the entire thing too. They just went with the flow even though we had some hiccups.
When or if you do yours, just remember not to make it stressful. It’s meant to be fun, so don’t overthink it. You can find some cool ideas on Pinterest as well! Whatever you decide, have a great time creating those memories your kids will never forget.
Until next time…
Xoxo LaShona-
