Sonoma State University will be holding live escape rooms on campus this week during LoboFest. The event will be held on Thursday, Feb. 9 from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the second floor of the Student Center. There will be multiple rooms open to showcase student skills by using critical thinking to take the clues and solve the puzzles to break out of the room.

“Attendees can expect to have fun in this 45 minute challenge. An escape room is a physical adventure game in which players are locked in a room and have to use elements of the room to solve a series of puzzles and escape within a set time limit. The games are physical versions of ‘escape the room’ video games,” said Morgan Sterni, a campus life programer at Sonoma State.

The event is free, no need for tickets. Just show up with your friends and go inside. 

“We expect a big turnout because of the central location and advertisement done,” said Sterni. “Since the event is open for a long time during the day, we encourage students to come at any point that they are available.” 

Live escape rooms have been around for a little over a decade but just recently have people been taking interest in them.  According to roomwithaclue.us, the concept has been around since the 1980’s but the term “escape room/game” developed in the early 2000s. 

The idea initially started with an online game where the player tries to escape the room by using clues to solve puzzles and critical thinking techniques. As the online platform became more and more popular, people brought the experience to real life. Now people all over the world are enjoying the experience. 

According to escaperoomdirectory.com, this game has spread to 97 countries in 1228 cities with a total of 6331 different rooms. One of the unique aspects is that every room is different, so participants never know what to expect. 

“I am excited because it is nothing like I have ever done before,” said second year English major Savannah Lizarraga. “I am nervous for the scenarios they are going to have set up. I have heard that they can get pretty intense.”

When asked how well she thinks she will do, Lizarraga doubted her skillset.

“I am almost one hundred percent sure that I will not make it out in time because I do not do so well in intense situations. But I have a good team of friends who will hopefully do a lot better under the pressure. I’m just along for the ride,” Lizarraga said.

There will be a total of five escape rooms set up with two different themes to try. While Sterni couldn’t reveal too much, she did mention the titles of the rooms. The first theme will be the “BOOM“ room and the second theme will be the “Patient Zero” room. The challenges within the rooms also remain a mystery, but Sterni mentioned that they will require participants to think.  

“Escape rooms are a part of our spirit week, LoboFest, and we encourage students to come out for the remainder of the events,” Sterni said. 

Students searching for more information about just the escape room night can email [email protected] or go to visit www.seawolfliving.com.