SAN FRANCISCO – To boost morale and promote camaraderie, local tech start-up ByteNite thought, “Hey, why not try an escape room bonding exercise?” Little did they know the hilariously ironic events that would ensue. What was supposed to be an exhilarating hour of teamwork and problem-solving quickly turned into a literal fight for breathable air.
Upon entering the escape room… Oh, did we mention the company thought it would be “extra quirky” to set up the perilous puzzle inside their open-concept, rat-infested abandoned brewery-turned-office? Well, they did. Cheers and high-fives echoed through the dank halls as the team locked themselves into the DIY escape room. But dreams of togetherness and shared victory soon turned into a nightmare of poor planning and sweaty desperation.
As the clock ticked down and oxygen levels waned, it became clear to everyone that they had forgotten to leave a single window open amidst the excitement of creating this dread-filled den. Not one. You’d think at least the risk assessment department might have caught that small oversight, right? False. It’s a startup, remember? There is no risk assessment department yet.
So here they were, 33 minutes into the 60-minute countdown, a room full of coders and IT wizards frantically scouring the walls and floor for any way to circulate the air, all while feigning enjoyment so as not to upset Debbie from HR, who planned the whole event. Their highly analytical brains were now consumed with the possibility that the “key” to survival might require coding the digital lock on the door. Spoiler alert: they couldn’t.
As one employee fruitlessly attempted to render aid through Slack, another employee crafted a makeshift fan using an unfolded cardboard box and the remnants of what appeared to be a sandwich from last week’s ill-fated potluck. What a visionary, indeed. Meanwhile, the intern was sent out to run to the hardware store to buy a hammer and prybar, with the vague suggestion “to do something about this.” Honestly, points for the bold initiative.
Just when it seemed like tensions could not get any higher, and the sticky dread that permeated the room reached its peak, the twist no one saw coming occurred. A quiet voice from the back of the room murmured, “Hey, I found this key just sitting on the table the whole time.” A collective frustrated groan loudly refrained, begging the question: Was it really there all along, or was this some cruel joke concocted by the masterminds of this fiasco?
As they filed out of the escape room, oxygen-deprived and bleary-eyed, it became clear that the experience did bond the team in a way nothing else could. They all now shared the lingering scent of sweat and regret and the palpable relief of once again breathing freely. Plus, it was a fantastic conversation starter at the water cooler, even though some might never want to relive the harrowing tale.
