ONTARIO — Introducing a new option for entertainment is risky business.
But Brad Humble from Exithis (pronounced “exit this” or “ex-eh-this”) is optimistic his escape room concepts will attract north central Ohio customers.
Escape rooms are physical adventure games in which individuals are locked in a room and must use clues and elements of the room to escape within a set amount of time. The concept originated from “escape the room” video games and became popular in the United States in the early 2010s.
Humble has visited a number of escape rooms all over Ohio.
“When I went, I thought they were really cool. And after a while I just wondered, why not build my own and make it better?” Humble said from Exithis’ new lobby.
His escape room business, located in Ontario’s Stumbo Road shopping plaza, is currently under construction, but he plans on opening the last weekend of May.
Humble said participants will have three escape room themes to choose from at Exithis.
“Break the Bank” will give participants one hour to grab the loot from a locked vault undetected.
“Temple Ruins” will put participants in ancient Aztec ruins as they try to find the idol while dodging natives and mathematicians.
“Locked Up” starts with participants in a locked prison cell — it is the trapped missions to escape undetected by guards.
Humble said he designed the escape rooms to be difficult and estimates only 35 percent of groups will successfully complete the live puzzles.
“That’s the goal. We want it to be challenging enough to make the people who do get out proud they did,” he said. “But those who don’t make it out will still have fun, guarantee it.”
He said the most challenging escape room will be the Temple Ruins concept.
“So I suggest going through the bank and then the prison cell ones first, before they try Temple Ruins.”
According to MarketWatch, a Dow Jones & Co. company, escape rooms are increasing in popularity in the world, estimating a total of 2,800 different across the world in July 2015.
Escape Room Directory, an online data-base which tracks all registered escape rooms throughout the world, reports 26 locations in Ohio. Columbus has six; Cleveland has five — Cincinnati has eight.
Exithis will be Mansfield’s first location.
“It’s (Exithis) a good option for people other than watching a movie or playing video games,” Humble said. “I really want to wow people with this — and I think I will.”
Humble encourages online booking through the Exithis website and suggests a group of six to eight to book.
The escape room will open May 26 and remain open Thursday and Friday from 6 p.m. to midnight and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. Rates are $20 per person, per room on Thursday and $25 per person, per room on Friday and Saturday.
More information can be found on the website, Facebook page and Instagram.
