86th FSS unveils Port Royal Mystery Escape Room

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tryphena Mayhugh
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

The 86th Force Support Squadron Vogelweh Community Center is slated to unveil the Port Royal Mystery Escape Room during a grand opening at 3 p.m., June 24, at Crossroads Community Center Annex on Vogelweh Military Complex, Germany.

The escape room is a pirate-themed event where participants have one hour to solve riddles and puzzles to get out of a room.

The community center received funding for the escape room from Air Force Services Activity as a part of its Recharge for Resiliency initiative that included 20 air bases worldwide. It is catered towards single Airman, squadrons and other units, but is open to anyone who is authorized to use Air Force Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs.

“We are excited to offer the service members, families and civilian members of the Kaiserslautern Military Community another entertainment outlet to boost morale,” said Koy Grant, 86th FSS Ramstein and Vogelweh Community Center director. “Mystery Escape Room is a great event for units, squadrons, friends, and families to bond while working toward a common goal in a fun and thrilling environment. We hope our customers enjoy the immersive, high-energy experience that we have created and look forward to offering this program for many years to come.”

 

Participants can book the escape room by appointment on Thursdays and Fridays at 4, 5:30, and 7 p.m., Saturdays at 1, 2:30, 4, 5:30 and 7 p.m., or on Sundays at 4, 5:30 and 7 p.m. The cost is $10 per person or $100 for a group, and participants must be 16 years or older. The minimum number required to book the room is six people, and the maximum is 12.

In case participants get stuck, a pirate captain is in the room as a moderator to offer helpful hints for a price and to add to the atmosphere. Some Airmen were selected to try their luck in a test run of the escape room.

“They really want you to get into it like the characters are,” said Airman 1st Class Lane Plummer, 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs photojournalist and a test participant. “There were a lot of puzzles, locked chests, that kind of thing. My first thought was it looked like it was going to be a good time. I’m a puzzle guy. As soon as they said puzzles, I was hooked.”

Employees of the community center worked together to make the escape room ready for the unveiling.

“It was not just one individual person that made it happen,” said Grant. “All of it was done by our team. All the painting, wallpapering, finding all the various pieces of furniture that we found for the room, it was a team effort.”

The efforts of the community center was not in vain.

“They did an awesome job putting it together,” said Plummer. “It’s definitely something very different; it makes you think and engages the audience. Hopefully we see more projects around the KMC that have this kind of element to it.”

For more information or to book a reservation for the escape room, call the Vogelweh Community Center at DSN 489-7626 or commercial 0631-536-7626 or visit 86fss.com/escaperoom.