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For his 10th birthday, my great nephew Kaleb knew exactly what he wanted to do…try out an escape room!
Family members joined Kaleb at Andy B’s Space Odyssey escape room, in Tulsa, Oklahoma for this thrilling attempt. Eight of us entered the room with one hour to figure out the clues, solve the riddles and get back out.
Join us in this fun adventure.
Note: I will not share where to find any of the clues or answers to riddles, only an overview of the experience.
Andy B’s
Located at 8711 S. Lewis Ave in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Andy B’s is a family friendly complex that offers bowling, games, escape rooms, laser tag and go-karts. They also have an onsite cocktail bar, grill and snack bar. Check out their menu HERE.
Andy B’s hosts birthday celebrations, company get togethers and bachelorette parties.
They also have locations in Springfield, Missouri and Branson, Missouri.
The Escape Rooms
Andy B’s Tulsa offers three escape rooms.
Kidnapped
You and your team of detectives have one hour to solve a string of kidnapping cases before the FBI takes over the case.
Duration: one hour
Recommended for all players
House of Dread
A dinner party with an old friend takes a turn for the worst. What awaits you and the other guests may come as no surprise. Shall we eat?
Duration: one hour
Recommended for adults
Space Odyssey
Decode the message left behind by the missing captain and crew of Odyssey II before you are captured by others on the spacecraft.
Duration: one hour
Recommended for kids and teens
With our party of three children, one teen and four adults, we chose Space Odyssey. I’ve done one other escape room, geared toward ages 13 and older, and it was intense. We had a 10,000 square foot warehouse to search for clues plus zombies chased us. We did NOT escape in time. Space Odyssey is the perfect way to celebrate the birthday of an inquisitive 10 year old and it wasn’t too intense.
Andy B’s Space Odyssey Escape Room
An escape room is a physical adventure game in which players solve a series of puzzles and riddles using clues, hints, and strategy to complete objectives. Players are given a set time limit to unveil the secrets hidden within the room. Games are set in a variety of fictional locations, such as prison cells, dungeons, and space stations, and usually the various puzzles and riddles follow the theme of the room.
Our group received a briefing. We nominated Kaleb as our captain and he pocketed a small walkie talkie. If you get stuck, you can ask for a hint. Unlimited hints are offered and three specific clues if you really need help.
Time for the game to begin! We all filed into the room, set up to look like the interior of a space ship. Our room was fairly dark, making us grateful that we carried our phones with us. We frequently turned on the flashlight apps on our phones, to see better.
Our instructor set up the clock to count down from 60 minutes and shut the door. You are never locked into a room and may leave if you need to. We had one hour to look for clues left behind by the captain and crew of the Odyssey, before aliens found us. We knew that ultimately a key unlocked a box with a button in it. Pressing that button meant we escaped.
Racing Against the Clock
Without giving away any of the details about this particular escape room, I’ll share some general rules that apply to any escape room.
The room is full of clues, hints and puzzles. The trick is to look at EVERYTHING in the room and look for ANYTHING that is out of the ordinary, mixed up or out of place. Search under objects, behind items and inside anything that opens.
We initially divided into teams and that actually worked well for us. Kaleb directed us and led the hunt for clues. The rest of us searched, brainstormed and speculated. A pad of paper and a pen helped organize information. Not everything is important so deciding what to process and what to ignore is crucial.
We did occasionally ask for confirmation, rather than a hint, to make sure our process was correct.
As the clock ticked down, our pace picked up and we joined forces as one team. We had trouble with one puzzle in the room. We knew exactly what needed to happen however making it work proved difficult and ate up precious minutes.
As we raced to complete the room, we ran out of time. But when the instructor came into the room and saw how close we were, she added 10 minutes to the clock and left us playing. What a nice surprise! Kaleb punched that red button, ending the game, with 5 minutes 32 seconds to spare!
Final Thoughts
We enjoyed this escape room experience! Kaleb captained the group well and everyone worked as a team. Although no zombies or aliens chased us, just working against the clock creates some intensity that kept us moving at a fast pace. It feels good to finish, knowing you correctly solved puzzles and collected the right clues.
I highly recommend Andy B’s if you are in the Tulsa, Springfield or Branson areas. It’s a fun place to spend an hour…or an afternoon…and celebrate a birthday!
Have you ever done an escape room? What was your experience like?
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