Christopher Tsatsarolakis and Stratis Kouvdis, co-founders and creators of Hashtag Escape in Norwood shared the juicy details with City Buzz.
“It’s like a real-life adventure video game,” said Tsatsarolakis. Hashtag Escape is the new escape room adventure game taking Jozi by storm. A team of friends is locked in a room and have one hour to work as a team, solve the puzzles and escape.
The catch? All the puzzles have been handcrafted by a quick-thinking team of South African puzzle masters, so it’s no easy feat. You’ll have to be at the top of your game to work your way out of the Rebel Room. There’s only one room available at the moment but two more are under construction and promise to be just as good.
“We are currently busy with another two themes, which would bring our tally to three completely different themes. We have designed games that are all different in the way they work with regards to objectives and communication within the rooms. Exciting times for us,” enthused Tsatsarolakis.
“The escape room concept started in Japan and has spread all over the world.”
Kouvdis revealed why the team decided to open a branch in Jozi.
“We have a passion for building puzzles and challenging the way people solve them,” he said.
“We personally love escape games and thought that Johannesburg needed this concept.” It seems as if the team has already had a number of successful escapes, as the Hashtag Escape Facebook page is packed with smiling winners.
“We base our success on the fact that we offer something for anyone to enjoy regardless of any societal barriers. “We are hoping to expand once there is a larger awareness in the industry,” said Kouvdis.
He added that it was always tough to explain the concept of the game to someone without giving too much away. “However, once they’ve played an escape room, they get addicted and can’t wait to try new themes and puzzles.”
Tsatsarolakis mentioned that the only real issue they had when starting up the game was finding the right location. “We wanted an area that was safe for people to travel to at night, with a few other attractions they could enjoy before or after they escape, like restaurants and coffee shops.”
Hashtag Escape can be found at 39 Grant Avenue in Norwood.
Details: bookings@hashtagescape.co.za; www.hashtagescape.co.za
