It was in December 2015 when Renae Veiga and Amy Hansman opened Beat The Lock Escape Room in Santa Clara’s Downtown. Just one year later, a second location on The Alameda in San Jose began serving the Silicon Valley population with unique team-building experiences.
“Beat The Lock provides groups a team-building experience with mental exercises that challenge teams to collaborate as a group and solve a series of puzzles within an hour,” said Veiga.
Using math, science, logic, deduction, pattern recognition and problem solving, groups must obtain clues — occasionally with the help of a host who monitors each room through a camera — decipher codes, organize information and solve puzzles to open locked items and find the key to escape.
“Beat The Lock Escape Room hosts interactive adventure experiences where you, your friends, family, or co-workers are locked in a themed room and have 60 minutes to escape by searching for clues to solve puzzles that lead to the key to unlock the room,” said Veiga. “You will find an actual door key and the key cannot be found by mistake. All puzzles must be solved in order to successfully escape.
“You will be fully immersed in the story as the theme carries through from the décor to the clues,” continued Veiga. “People gravitate naturally towards different puzzles and draw on their strengths to solve the puzzles and open locks. Success is dependent upon communication, problem solving, leadership, analytical skills and teamwork. Every puzzle solved is a victory shared, bringing everyone one-step closer to beating the lock.”
Veiga said the Santa Clara location has two differently themed rooms, “The Spy Room” and “Secrets in the Attic.” “The Spy Room” has a spy theme and focuses on a story where participants suspect their neighbor is a spy and sneak into their home to gather details, only once the door is shut and locked, game-players rapidly realize they were caught in a trap and must find a way out before their neighbor returns.
Veiga said the doors are only locked in theory and, at any time, a door is accessible for guests to exit if they must leave the game.
“Beat The Lock Escape Room games are enjoyed by all ages from children to grandparents,” said Hansman. “The games do not involve heavy lifting or physical exertion. This is a mental exercise adventure. Beat The Lock Escape Room is a fantastic activity for children. We customize the clues for them so that they have a better chance of escaping.”
Hansman added the games are perfect for companies, organizations, schools, families and children looking for something different for their special occasion and many companies, including Google, Intel, Facebook and Cisco, as well as Santa Clara and Stanford universities, which have booked rooms for quarterly team outings and holiday parties.
“Beat The Lock has an extremely positive impact on the Santa Clara community,” said Veiga. “Our clients visit us from all over the Bay Area and even from out of state. It is customary for them to continue their interactive discussions about their experience after their sessions with us over lunch or dinner. They look to us for suggestions as to where to eat and we refer them to local Santa Clara and San Jose establishments, which benefit the community as a whole. Without their interaction with Beat the Lock, these customers would not be patronizing these other Santa Clara and San Jose businesses.”
Beat the Lock Escape Room is at 1171 Homestead Rd. in Santa Clara and 2131 The Alameda in San Jose. Events can be booked online at www.beatthelock.com Monday-Thursday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Larger parties are encouraged to book at the San Jose location, which has four identical rooms, allowing for parties up to 50 to simultaneously compete for the best escape time.