Solve It Escape Rooms opens in Vernon

VERNON — The fun new trend, captivating minds throughout the country, just came to Vernon, N.J. “Solve it...Escape Rooms” is open for business.
Owners Charles and Edna Morales shared, an escape room is a live action team-based adventure game, where players become immersed in a “themed” room and must use the elements around them to solve a series of puzzles, unravel clues, and complete a mission...before time runs out.
Charles explained the escape room game concepts used in Solve it Escape Rooms, are the same as games sold on Google Play and Apple Store. “Except you're in it, he said, Actually, you are part of it now.”
Solve it Escape Rooms has a very unique dual challenge concept — which not many places have. They offer two identical rooms, identical puzzles, but different codes. The ivory room has a maximum capacity of six, and the onyx room has a maximum capacity of seven. Thus, a group of 12 can be split in order to compete against the clock – escaping within 60 minutes – and also against each other.
Their other concept is called “Redemption,” where a conniving, sneaky professor/head coach is tired of losing to his biggest rival and has stolen the other team's playbook. Now, it is time for the other team to sneak back into the school and take back what was theirs, getting out before the coach comes back. This room has a maximum capacity of eight.
Charles said first-timers and enthusiasts have left good reviews on their Facebook page. He said, a group of seven people, who have probably escaped from over 50 rooms, absolutely loved the dual challenge, boys vs. girls. Currently, the trio has the fastest time, which Edna said, they are keeping track of on-line with a leader board.
Everything needed to escape can be found within the themed room. Sometimes the most obvious thing could be a clue, to which Charles and Edna said together, “and those are the ones people miss.”
Charles added, usually younger kids do not overthink anything, thus, they find the obvious clues adults tend to miss. There are also a few elements in the rooms requiring putting “two and two together.”
Solve it Escape Rooms is also unique for birthday parties, events, field trips, and corporate team building activities. Employers can even learn, they said, a lot about employees: who thinks outside the box, is the leader, follower, and risk taker.
Edna also said, if anyone is really stuck in a room, the rooms are monitored and will give hints to point groups in the right direction. The whole goal is to have fun together.
Hints are typically typed and sent to screens in the room, with an alert tone signaling something is coming.
Charles and Edna first discovered escape rooms on a rainy day in Orlando, F.L., when they were looking for something different to do indoors.
Their whole family had an amazing time. So much so, the next day their sons – around nine and 11 at the time - begged to go to another escape room, which they did.
At Solve it Escape Rooms recently, a reluctant dad with a group of teens came out of an escape room saying, “It was great. I loved it. It was so much fun!”
Solve it Escape Rooms is open: Monday and Wednesday: $25 per person, Thursday – Sunday: $28 per person. When making a reservation on-line, use the promo code: Straus17 for 10 percent off through June 30, solveitescaperooms.com, or call: 973-737-9034. Always reserve an escape room ahead of time.