Five themed rooms full of tricky puzzles and clues await players in the San Tan Village near Williams Field Road and Loop 202.
Orlando-based Escapology, with 56 locations around the world, opened its first Arizona franchise in Gilbert in the open-air mall next to Victoria’s Secret. A grand opening is planned for September 10th.
“We didn’t want a party scene,” says Anna Stovall. “We were looking for a family-oriented location – good people, responsible. Gilbert checked all of these boxes. “
Anna co-owns the Gilbert franchise with her younger brother Cody Stovall and his wife Leah. The trio opened their first Escapology franchise in Farmington, New Mexico, where they live in 2019.
They have plans to open a second location in Arizona in 18 months, possibly in the Desert Ridge neighborhood of North Phoenix.
Before embarking on her new business, Anna worked in the real estate industry, Cody was a pastor and Leah a teacher.
Anna brings in her financial background, while Code oversees construction and Leah takes care of payroll and staffing.
It was Leah’s idea to try their hand at real adventure games where people have to break out of a locked room in an hour.
: “When we are out, she likes to play Escape Rooms,” said Anna. “Leah is probably the most enthusiastic. She’s always looking for the next game. “
Leah said she has gone through 25 escape rooms so far.
“I love puzzles,” she says. “I love to be challenged and I like the idea of taking an hour from your story and translating it into someone else’s.”
What sparked Cody’s interest in Escape Rooms is the different perspectives that each player in a group has.
“It’s a very different experience,” he said compared to his previous preaching career. “It’s nice.”
The Stovalls researched all of the escape room franchise deals and Escapology was the best fit for them as it was “more professional and sophisticated,” Anna said.
“There is a level of quality and standard,” she explained.
The company is characterized by future-oriented technology, innovative systems as well as low investment and high returns.
“One of the biggest selling points about Escapology is that we don’t force Peel to play with strangers,” added Anna. “You only play with the people you come with.”
Private groups of up to eight people can play in each playroom. The games are ADA accessible.
The Gilbert location offers five games of varying degrees of difficulty, 10 of which are the most difficult: Antidote, 6.5; Scooby-Doo and the Creepy Castle Adventure, 7.5; Lost City, 7.5; 7 Deadly Sins, 8.5 and Mansion Murder, 9. The games are designed for high school ages and older.
The target audience is people in their 40s, Anna said, adding that her clientele will also include companies that use the spaces for corporate team building.
A volleyball coach who was chosen to be the captain after the team worked its way out of a room has changed completely, Anna recalled.
The original team captains gave up and sat on the floor while two other girls gathered the team together to try to solve the puzzles, she said.
“An enthusiast can come and play all the games within a year,” she noted. “The general public will play a few (games) a year.”
She expected the games to change over time.
A kid-friendly game, Saving Santa, is available from late October / early November through January, Anna said. Although the store opens with five game rooms, a sixth is slated for a game Anna didn’t want to talk about.
Two weeks before the doors opened, all hands were on deck for the Stovalls trying to finish the rooms in the 3,800 square meter space.
They had the help of Jamie Birch, a contractor for Escapology who builds the Lost City rooms for all of the company’s business – he can put the room together for Lost City in a week. Anna said that they could find some of the props like an organ on the Facebook marketplace.
Another outstanding feature: the playrooms consist of three separate smaller rooms. In room 7 Deadly Sins, for example, there is a tool shed in the first room, the interior of a church in the second room and a grave in the third.
“You don’t just stay in one room,” said Anna. “People like the feeling that they are making progress.”
The management staff are on board for the Gilbert site and the hiring of game masters was still in progress recently. They are the ones who, from a control room, provide hints and support to the players throughout the game.
“Escapology is not just about escaping a themed room, it’s also about escaping reality for a while,” said Anna.
WHEN YOU GO
What: Escapology is holding a grand opening ceremony
When: 5pm, Friday, September 10th
Where: San Tan Village, 2218 E. Williams Field Road, Suite 109, Gilbert
Details: The first 100 players who compete from 5pm onwards have the option to register and reserve a date and time for their free experience or receive a free voucher.
The venue is open Mondays to Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays from 3 p.m. to midnight, and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to midnight. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Information: Escapology.com/en/Phoenix-(santan), 480-944-5434.
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