A New Way to Utilize Your Five Senses

By: Brooke Price

The rooms at the 5 Wits in the Palisades Mall include a castle, a spaceship and a tomb. (Credit: tripadvisor.com)

Looking for something fun to do, but the mall or bowling won’t suffice? Are you bored of escape rooms?

Well, look no further because 5 Wits will be sure to take you on a thrilling journey!

This entertainment company puts their guests in a fully immersive experience that requires guests to utilize their five senses, their intuition and problem solving skills. Each room encapsulates a specific theme through the props, atmosphere, special effects and design.

The puzzles are challenging and make you think, however if you get stuck, the room gives you hints to help you progress through the puzzles. There are also hidden cameras in each room so that the staff can monitor each team’s progress.

Some of the activities in the rooms require you to have good hand to eye coordination as well as a good memory.

Up to twelve people can be in a room and each adventure ranges from half an hour to an hour.

Teamwork plays an important part in the adventure rooms. The more people you have, the more puzzles you will be able to solve and the more clues you will be able to uncover.

There are five rooms in total. The three main rooms present at several locations are Drago’s Castle, Deep Space, and the Tomb.

In Drago’s Castle, players start out in the dungeon and by solving riddles and performing hands on tasks, maneuver their way to the castle. Through this series of problem solving, they must locate the escaped dragon and face off against him.

Deep Space transports participants onto an abandoned starship where they have to figure out the ship’s issue, rewire the motherboard and endure an asteroid attack. They must also combat an evil Artificial Intelligence to escape.  

In the Tomb, you need to escape from a Pharaoh’s tomb by solving interactive puzzles. In one of the rooms of the Tomb, the ceiling slowly comes down and it is a race against time to try and figure out the puzzle and escape.

The other two rooms are Espionage and 20,000 Leagues. The 20,000 Leagues is only located at the Massachusetts 5 Wits, while Espionage is located at the Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Syracuse, New York locations.  

Espionage is a spy themed room where you need to break into enemy territory, avoid lasers and hack computers to prevent an evil company from prevailing. Attendees will also use clues to help them escape without being detected by the enemy.

In 20,000 Leagues, participants go aboard a submarine which takes them below the ocean. There, they have to fix the submarine’s engine, use clues to escape and endure a sea monster’s vengeance.  

The goal is to try and get close to a perfect score. You are based on how fast you work, your problem solving ability, time management and ability to escape the room.

Each story for the room has two separate endings depending on if you succeed in escaping or if you failed to solve the puzzles.

At 5 Wits, you can purchase one adventure for $19.99, two adventures for $25.99, or three adventures for $29.99.

The company offers a dinner and adventure combo. This allows guests of 5 Wits who show their receipt from the adventure room a discount on their meal at affiliated restaurants.   

There are currently 5 Wits locations in Albany, New York; Buffalo, New York; Foxboro Massachusetts; Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania; Syracuse, New York and West Nyack, New York. Each location has a variety of rooms to explore.

If you’re up for a new adventure, come see what 5 Wits has in store. It’s an opportunity to stimulate your senses and explore.