Zombie Attack!

May 19, 2016

by apaparis

My last week in Paris, I tried out an escape game. This has become a popular activity for young adults especially. The games are live versions of “escape the room” video games which originate from Japan. When I arrived to Team-Time on rue Richer, I did not know what to expect. We were shown a video that told the backstory for our mission. A mad scientist was attacked and eaten by zombies before he could deliver the cure to the rest of the world. It was our job to find the antidote for the zombie virus and escape the bunker. If not, we would meet the same fate as its previous occupant. We were skeptical going in, but it was impossible not to fall into character. A sense of urgency was created by a warning countdown: 1 hour to self-destruction. Nothing would be achieved through force, only by solving the logic puzzles. One of my favorites was when we found a dismembered finger in a bloodied lab coat. We soon realized that we needed to press the fingertip to activate a sensor which would give us the next clue. I won’t lie: we failed and were eaten by zombies. As disappointing as that was, we had a great time and rode the adrenaline rush for the rest of the day. Team-Time will update the missions regularly and are also building an anti-café – I am tempted to come back!