AusLeisure

With Christchurch’s renewal already having made extensive use of shipping containers, a new Escape Room attraction is set to open in a shipping container on the corner of Armagh and Manchester Streets in the city centre.

Crate Escape, the latest local manifestation of the increasingly popular escape and puzzle room trend, will cater for groups of up to six people who will have one hour to work together to solve puzzles before they can escape the container.

Christchurch software developer Brett O'Donnell along with partners Henry Jones and Logan McMillan have spent six months and about $25,000 developing the game in their spare time.

Jones said developing the puzzles had been challenging because they could not be too difficult or too easy.

The storyline, set in three eras - 1980s New York, 1960s New Zealand and 1940s London - involves a mischievous time traveller who must be brought to justice.

O'Donnell told Fairfax New Zealand that the Crate Escape would be something people could do in their lunchbreak, or before dinner out with a group of friends. He was also hoping to capture the team-building corporate market.

To keep the concept fresh and encourage repeat visitation, O'Donnell and his team will regularly refresh story concepts and are also looking to expand to other cities.

Globally, the escape and puzzle room trend us based on a premise of locking a small group of people in a space with a series of puzzles – giving them one hour to find the clues that will solve the riddles and reveal the way out.

For more information go to www.crateescape.co.nz

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