While searching for something creative and interactive to do for my daughter’s 17th birthday, I came across this fun adventure!

An Escape Room?

My youngest daughter was visiting from Georgia and the plan was for us, along with my other two daughters, to do a little shopping, have some lunch and just enjoy being together.

When my oldest daughter mentioned Karlsruhe, we agreed that it was close enough to drive and simple enough for a day trip. Then that same daughter mentioned something called an “escape room”. What is this you say? Apparently, it’s a hip new way of playing a live video game. Ok, so maybe that’s not exactly how it was intended, but it is actually based on the “escape the room” video games where players are locked inside a room and must work together to solve puzzles, find clues, etc. within a set time limit in order to “escape”. Game on!

Adventure Box Karlsruhe

I discovered Adventure Box Karlsruhe online, saved the address to my GPS and off we went. I now know that I should have actually read the website as they do recommend booking in advance.

We arrived in Karlsruhe and located the Adventure Box very easily. Street parking was available, although there are plenty of covered parking garages in the area. Because we did our shopping and had lunch first, we didn’t arrive at the Adventure Box until around 3:30 p.m.

We were greeted by the owner, Christoph Krummel, who was delighted to give us all of the information we needed. Lucky for us, he was also a super nice man who could tell that we were newbies to the escape room concept. He was kind enough to set up everything just for us and give us an hour to complete our mission. Considering that we didn’t book in advance and he was expecting another group at around 5:30 pm, I believe he is just one of those business owners that go above and beyond to create a great experience for his customers.

Game On

At this time, Adventure Box has two Missions ~ Project Vakium and The Fifth Element. I do not want to spoil all of the fun for you so I won’t go into detail. You can visit their website to get more information. (You will have to use google translate, since the website only provides the information in German and French). Better still, you can book an adventure and experience it for yourself! A third mission is coming this spring ~ Mission Impossible.

We chose The Fifth Element because it takes place in more than one room and it reminded me of something out of an Indiana Jones movie. We were briefed in English before the timer started and then given a set of rules to follow along with our clues and a two-way radio.

I must admit that in the first room we felt a bit silly and even a little clueless as to what we were supposed to be doing. Once the four of us began to work together as a team…you know, divide and conquer, let mom be the boss…things began to make sense and we could begin to put the puzzle pieces together.

Solving a puzzle in one room, unlocks the next room and so on. While it wasn’t exactly a “physical” sport, there was some climbing involved and at least one slide into a snake pit. (Not a real snake pit, I assure you, or I would not be alive to write this article). The mission must be completed in 60 minutes. We were hoping for less, but ended at 62 minutes because Christoph did not have the heart to make us leave when we were on the last piece of the last puzzle.

Great Family or Friend Night

This is a great idea for a night out with friends, date night or family night. The website does recommend that children be 10 years or older. You can have 2 – 6 participants. We paid 89€ for a group of 4. Individual and group pricing is available on the website, along with frequently asked questions.

Christoph also mentioned that there would be an interactive game outside in the streets of Karlsruhe during the summer months. His description reminded me of a version of the TV show Amazing Race. I already have it on my calendar!

How to Get There

Address:
Kaiserallee 21
76133 Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe is 1 ½ hours from Kaiserslautern and Wiesbaden and 1 hour from Stuttgart.

Author’s Profile: Cheryl Koller is a native of Georgia. She is a DOD spouse, mom of 4 daughters (2 adults, 2 teens), thrill-seeker, avid traveler, and lover of food and wine. She is a self-proclaimed Freedom-Preneur and Blogger currently living in Ramstein with her family.

Featured Image Photo Credit: © Cheryl Koller