“(The) games require critical thinking”

As video games and virtual reality gaming increasingly reach out into the real world to offer seemingly unparalleled experiences and feels, the pulsating realm of escape room games has grabbed the real-life game dynamics by the scruff of its neck from the get-go.
Community caught up with Mostafa Abdo, Co-Founder and Director of Adventure Rooms Qatar, which in its more than a year of run here in Doha has been fast gaining ground.

By offering room escape games, how does Adventure Rooms Qatar provide a unique experience to guests?
Adventure Rooms is a real-life escape room game that was started in March 2012 as a high school project by a science teacher, in Bern, Switzerland. It is considered among the pioneers of the new game concept and is one of the most famous escape games worldwide. Adventure Rooms Qatar is very thrilling, but not dangerous at all. It contains no horror elements and requires no physical exertion. It is an exciting recreational activity for friends, families, corporate team-building, students and tourists. It is also gaining popularity as a unique corporate team building event or out of class learning activity for students.
The basic idea is that your team has 60 minutes to find its way out of a mysterious room. This is accomplished by using logic, searching for clues and using unique items in the room which may be used in very strange ways to help them through obstacles like locks and doors. Once your team makes it through all of the puzzles contained within the room they will find the final key, and unlock themselves to freedom. To solve the puzzles different talents are required and everyone must do their part. Puzzles will enhance logic, critical thinking, ability to work under pressure, communication, leadership, team work and time management skills.

Tell us more about the nature of the game.
Have you watched movies like National Treasure or Indiana Jones and wanted to be in the protagonist’s shoes and decipher clues? Adventure Rooms lets you do just that. A combination of a scavenger hunt and a puzzle game, Adventure Rooms is for those who want video game style adventures with real-life experiences. The game while not really tough requires thinking out of the box. But sometimes while working in a group, views clash and with the big red countdown timer that seems to mock you, you may not think straight. And if you have been stuck on a clue for a long time and you hear an alarm going off, don’t panic; it’s just the game master giving you a hint on the screen. The possibilities for fun at Adventure Games Qatar are endless. It taps into that desire for social and physical interaction that one cannot find in solitary video games, while providing intellectual stimulation and a bit of thrill. The rush of the time crunch only adds to the excitement. So step into Indiana Jones’ shoes and try out one of the immersive games at Adventure Rooms Qatar.

What are the various services that Adventure Rooms offers?
The concept of escape games, which is all about how you work as a team to solve an issue, while providing an exciting, fun activity for families or groups of friends, is also ideal as a corporate team-building event. We have many corporate firms that hold their team building events with us. Our games give corporate clients the opportunity to experience one-of-a-kind team building events that are designed to enhance communication, increase creative thinking and promote teamwork. We take their teams out of the usual working environment and provide an exciting experience that leaves their groups feeling closer and accomplished as a team. As an educational resource, Adventure Rooms offers many advantages as well. This unique experience will nurture and challenge students; bringing out the best in them. Potentials might also be discovered unknowingly. It allows for different types of student engagement and student leadership that you don’t normally see in the classroom. Adventure Rooms games require team work, communication, and delegation, as well as critical thinking, attention to detail, and lateral thinking. If you want to organise a surprise birthday party, Adventure Rooms offers that service as well, where instead of a key to escape out of the room, you find a birthday cake at the end of the game. The games at Adventure Rooms are family-oriented and suitable also for children aged nine and above.

What are some of the highlights of Adventure Rooms here in Doha?
Adventure Rooms cater team building events to different companies not only in our location but also in various places according to the clients’ needs. In fact, recently, we hosted an Adventure Rooms Treasure Hunt on Banana Island for a certain company. And now, we are already planning for the next team event that we will host at one of the well-known hotels here in Doha.

What was the biggest challenge for you in setting up Adventure Rooms here, and why?
Since Adventure Rooms is the first escape room game in Qatar, the biggest challenge was how we would introduce the company to our target market and what approach could we use so that people would embrace this new venture.

How many games does Adventure Rooms have? What’s the maximum number of participants you can accommodate?
We have four separate adventure games with unique themes which you can choose from — The Crazy Scientist (Medium Difficulty), The Black Queen (Medium to Hard Difficulty), The World Trip (Medium to Hard Difficulty) and The Prison Break (Hard Difficulty). These games are unrelated, fun, and have unique challenges that do not need to be completed in any particular order. Adventure Rooms can cater for groups of up to 14 people per game through two game modes (standard and duel) which means that we can host up to 56 participants at the same time. The number of participants in the standard game mode is two to seven people and the group will face the challenge all together, trying to escape within 60 minutes available. The duel mode is intended for larger groups of eight to 14 people. The group is divided into two teams which simultaneously play against each other to see who can escape first.

How many people have come to Adventure Rooms so far, and how do you see its future in the coming months?
In just more than a year, thousands of people from different walks of life, young and old, have already visited Adventure Rooms and have been coming back to try all four games that we have. Since room escapes is rapidly gaining popularity, I believe now is the best time to roll out our fifth game, which we are currently working on. With good management and the right attitude from our side, I am very positive that more people will be visiting us and experience our one-of-a-kind adventure games.