Choose an Adventure at Great Escape of Central Texas

By Amy Rognlie | Photography contributed

“Why do big cities get to have all the fun?”

That’s the question that birthed the opening of Great Escape of Central Texas in January 2016. “We had played an escape room in a major city on a whim and had a lot of fun,” says Michelle Smith, co-owner of Great Escape. “After we played it, my partner, Charles, looked at me and said, ‘I could build one of these rooms—and I could build it better!’”

And so they did. Michelle and her co-owner/fiancé, Charles Duncan, who have at least 30 years of customer service between them, started with four escape rooms that they designed and built themselves. An escape room is a live-action adventure game in which players are placed in a room and have to use elements of that room to solve a series of puzzles to escape or solve the mystery within a set time limit.

“The word ‘escape’ brings up thoughts of being trapped, but you are not locked in the room. At any point in time, the customer can leave without unlocking a door,” Michelle assures. Games are set in a variety of fictional locations and scenarios.

“We realized there was a lack of entertainment at the time here in Killeen that was family friendly,” Michelle said. And being family-friendly is high priority for her and Charles.

“We are proud to provide an option for families, co-workers and friends to enjoy each other’s company without alcohol. Our rooms actively engage people and promote communication between them. It takes a lot of communication to solve the puzzles,” Michelle says. “And for an hour, you are distraction-free from your life’s problems. We want you to have a sense that you have been transported to a different time or place.”

Transporting yourself to a different time or place is as easy as walking into one of the six escape rooms currently offered at Great Escape. Each room is carefully crafted with attention to detail and unique puzzles to create an immersive experience. “We like to get as many ‘real’ props as possible,” says Michelle, gesturing to the meat case, cash register, and soda fountain in the newly constructed “Mobfather” room.

If gangsters aren’t your thing, try the “Lost Tomb of Anubis” room, a fully-immersive three-room experience featuring a sand floor and ancient Egyptian artifacts. Or travel to the Wild West in the Western Saloon room, a two-room experience inside and outside the “saloon,” complete with tin-type ceiling and authentic-looking bar.

“Our least family-friendly room is the Jigsaw room,” Michelle explains, pointing to the pool of “blood” on the floor. “Only folks 18 years old and up can play this one.”

However, younger players and Harry Potter fans will likely enjoy the “Spellbreaker” room, a two-room game including an impressive light and sound show. And, if you’d rather play an escape room with only one other person, try the eerily realistic “Escape from Briaridge Sanitarium” room, designed for a maximum of two people to play at a time.

“Our themes are always chosen around what we would like to play, as there are plenty of jail, pirate or laboratory themes around at other escape rooms. We want to stand out from that crowd,” Michelle says. “Charles and I are enthusiasts. We travel to play escape rooms.” She smiles. “In fact, I just played my 100th room last month.”

From conception to the opening, it takes about nine months to build a new room. “We brainstorm about what we would want to play, then Charles creates all of the room puzzles and themes and our team builds it,” Michelle says.

The couple is especially excited about the “Mobfather” room. “For most escape rooms, including ours, once you have played it there is nothing new if you decide to play it again. But the Mobfather room is similar to a choose-your-own-adventure, where the choices you make in the game will affect your outcome. So you can come back and play it again to get new puzzles and different outcome.

“We are continually pushing ourselves for better, more immersive rooms,” Michelle says. “We want to make Great Escape Killeen your family’s No. 1 choice for fun.”

IF YOU GO
Great Escape of Central Texas is at 4400 East Central Texas Expressway, Killeen. For pricing, tickets and a description of all of the rooms, go to www.greatescapectx.com/rooms.