The idea of being locked in an unfamiliar room with absolutely no idea of how to get out might strike many people as the stuff of nightmares. And yet there are many of us prepared to pay good money to be put precisely in that predicament. Or at least the growing success of Escape-the-Room venues in the city would suggest that is the case.

These interactive adventures attract the kind of risk-takers and adrenalin-junkies who enjoy pitting their wits against seemingly insurmountable obstacles and odds.

Groups of about half a dozen people sign up to be placed in a cryptically designed, locked room which they then have 60 minutes to try to get out of. Strategically placed objects offer clues to help them crack an escape code devised by the venue's designers.

The "prisoners" are allowed no telecommunication devices inside the room, and if they are unable to free themselves within the hour they are - somewhat humiliatingly - let out.

Unsurprisingly, many early visitors to these venues are longtime fans of online Escape-the-Room games (such as Crimson Room, Viridian Room and Shotgun Princess) and who naturally relish the opportunity to play out such a fantasy in the real world and in real time.   

The Global Times decided to take a peek into this hitherto little-known universe and to find out what the attraction is for these real-life gamers.

The X factor

Laser beams, infrared rays, and state-of-the-art elevators and electricity generators, all housed in a European-style colonial villa. This might sound like the lair of one of James Bond's more unpleasant nemeses, but is in fact the set-up prepared at Mr. X, located in the Bridge 8 III complex in Huangpu district. The organizers have painstakingly recreated settings made famous in novels, movies and comics.

Mr. X offers five rooms to "play" in, each with its own ingenious theme: Final Judgment, Angel Island, Concentration Camp, Pupil of the Eye, and Mysterious Night. The rooms are between 150 and 200 square meters in size.

Each of the rooms has between three and five levels which the players have to make their way through sequentially in order to finally escape.

For example, in Final Judgment the players have to figure out how to unlock a giant vault in order to accede to the next level which is, in fact, on the other side of the wall.

In Angel Island, meanwhile, the players are divided into two groups - one of which is imprisoned, while the other group attempts to free them. According to staff, Pupil of the Eye is perhaps the most difficult of the games, while Concentration Camp is relatively easy although it does involve some manual labor in having to shift some heavy objects.

Mysterious Night is said to boast the best audiovisual effects, with participants given the chance to play video games there.

Business hours: 10 am to 3 am next day, upon reservation

Price: 100 yuan per person on weekdays; 120 yuan at weekends  

Add: Bldg 1, 550 Jumen Road

局门路550号1号楼

Tel: 3304-1233

Sonic youths

Opened in March 2012, The Tunnel is a pioneer in the Escape-the-room game phenomena. So far the venue has launched three separate games. And compared with the clinical and imposing atmosphere of Mr. X, organizers behind The Tunnel have created a far more inviting and relaxing environment for game players.

Both Youth Code I and Youth Code II simulate the studies of a high-school student, in which players see the student's diary, music tapes, tourist souvenirs, and an old-fashioned music box, to name but a few items.

According to the venue manager, surnamed Wang, the diary plays a vital role in the two games as it offers clues, but also superfluous, misleading information which the player must decipher.

The latest addition to the games Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, integrates puzzles with the plot of the well-known children's story. The level of difficulty is heightened by the fact that two separate rooms are used in this game.

With its easier clues, Youth Code I is recommended as the best choice for novice gamers, according to staff.

Business hours: 1 pm to 10 pm on weekdays; 9:30 am to 10 pm at weekends, upon reservation

Price: Between 50 and 90 yuan per person depending on the game

Add: 18/F, Bldg 1 of Huayuan Mansion, 3500 Kaixuan Road   凯旋路3500号华苑大厦1号楼18楼 

Tel: 137-6419-1410

I am detective 

Youzi (her nickname) had already played 90 percent of all the Escape-the-Room games in Shanghai before she set up her own business in Changning district earlier this year.

Known as Mofang (Magic Cube), the venue now offers three rooms: Warning Letter sent by Kid the Phantom Thief (a character from the Japanese animation Detective Conan), Who Am I, and Vampires' Dungeon.

Players in Warning Letter learn of the mysterious death of a museum curator inside a locked room, and to whom Kid had sent a warning letter the week before his demise. The players are invited to solve the case in much the same way that Detective Conan does in the cartoon series.

Who Am I follows the story of an amnesia-haunted man, while Vampires' Dungeon pushes players to the limit with both baffling puzzles and gruesome images.

Besides of Escape-the-Room games, the venue also provides free drinks and a selection of other games for waiting customers, such as foosball and so-called somatic games such as practicing your golf swing. 

Business hours: 9:30 am to 11 pm, upon reservation

Price: Between 50 yuan and 120 yuan per person depending on the game

Add: Room 101, No.17, Lane 113 Yuping Road South

玉屏南路113弄17号101室

Tel: 5273-4030