“We were hooked from the beginning,” Sebek said.
Whitacre, a certified public accountant, and Sebek, a teacher, said running Escape Again Rooms is an outlet for their creativity. The two have written and designed all three rooms offered and have a fourth in the works.
Rooms include The Hike—which is the most popular, Whitacre said—The Seance and Santa’s Sleigh Ride. The fourth room that is slated to be open by Christmas will be wizard-themed.
“We get quite a bit of team building with businesses that come out and bring 20 or 30 people,” Whitacre said. “We actually have the advantage of having this really large lounge so they can come and play their rooms and then come back in here and have food and drinks and hang out and party.”
The Hike, The Seance and Santa’s Sleigh Ride all can accommodate up to 10 people per room, Whitacre said. However, the wizard room will allow up to eight.
“We found that once you start getting over eight people, it’s easy for maybe one or two people to get put off to the side, and they don’t feel as involved,” Sebek said.
Beginning the week of Dec. 16, since colleges and local school districts will be on winter break, Escape Again Rooms will be open every day aside from Christmas Day until school is back in session, Whitacre said.
Each room has a one-hour time limit. However, the wizard room might have a 75-minute time limit, Whitacre said.
“We try really hard to let people finish on their own,” she said. “If they need a few extra minutes, we’ll let them get through the room, and if they’re struggling we always go in and walk through it with them so they can see how it ends. We don’t like people to leave and feel like they don’t understand what the whole game was about.”
Sebek said his favorite aspect about operating Escape Again Rooms is giving people time away from their phones and other distracting devices so they can work together and share an experience.
“I think people are together, but a lot of times they’re not in the moment because they’re on their phones, and in our attempt to be really connected, we become more disconnected,” Sebek said. “I love that when people come out, they’ve had that time together. That’s our purpose.”
Escape Again Rooms
3564 Hwy. 6, Sugar Land
832-999-4572
www.escapeagainrooms.com
Hours: Thu. 6-9 p.m., Fri. 6-10:30 p.m., Sat. noon-10:30 p.m., Sun. 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m., or by appointment any day or time
Holiday hours: Dec. 16-Jan. 7 (closed Christmas Day); Mon.-Thu. 2-9 p.m., Fri,-Sat. noon-10:30 p.m., Sun. 11:30-5 p.m.
