Hidden Gems team takes on puzzles at Breakout Escape Room Bonita

Earlier this week, I invited my co-workers to a dinner party.

Sadly, there weren't any alcoholic beverages, appetizers or hot entrées. In fact, the plates were empty, and glasses unfilled. 

Anyone would accuse me of being a bad hostess. However, this wasn't an ordinary dinner party at my cozy abode.

The location was an unfamiliar, and creepy, room at Breakout Escape Room Bonita, a new live-gaming attraction that houses five themed rooms in which teams have 60 minutes to escape from their chosen locked room by solving puzzles, figuring out clues, and finding hidden items. 

I chose the 'Dinner Party' room, which was said to be the most popular. There's also the 'Bonita Winery Room', 'Poindexter's Pad', 'Mirror Mirror', and 'Edison's Secret'. Each room comes with its own backstory. 

My coworkers and I had never been to this attraction so it was like walking into the situation blindfolded. My dinner guests included Thaddeus Mast (The Banner), Lisa Conley (Marco Eagle), and Shelby Reynolds (Neapolitan). 

After signing a waiver, we watched a safety video and laughed nervously as actors reenacted dangerous scenarios to avoid in an escape room.

While many of the items placed in each room are meant for us to pull, and open, pulling on wires, jumping on furniture, and sticking items into an electrical socket are definite no-no's. Co-owners Patrick and Stephanie Chervoni admitted some participants have committed a few.  

 Patrick Chervoni  (the game master) kicked the party off by describing how it all began. 

"A new co-worker starts a new job. They invite you and some fellow coworkers over for dinner and drinks to get acquainted. After eating and drinking, you guys start to feel dizzy and pass out. You wake up a short time later locked in their house, and the co-worker is nowhere to be found. You hear funny noises and there's sixty minutes on the clock. The goal is to get out within sixty minutes before whoever lives there comes back," he said.

We were then led into a room set up like a formal dining room, with a table and four chairs, plates, glasses and a lot of bookshelves. 

Totally normal, right?

What was unsettling was the television, security camera and mic mounted on the wall. 

Playing along, we each took a seat hesitantly.  

Patrick Chervoni turned off the lights and locked the only door in sight, leaving us to our own devices.

"So it's literally locked right now," Mast pointed out. We all laughed nervously, not knowing where to begin. 

I'm not generally a fan of haunted houses, horror flicks, and enclosed spaces, so the struggle was real, but I attempted to put my fears aside to get out as soon as possible.

Sixty minutes appeared on the TV screen, meaning it was go time.

We quickly jumped out of our seats and attempted to track down our first clue in the dark.

Ominous music began playing in the background as we maneuvered around the small room. In order to see properly, we unanimously agreed to turn the light on. That's when we started looking at the different shapes found within five wall frames, hoping somehow it would lead us to some sort of clue. A small spider spun a web near one of the frames, and seeing as though it wasn't part of the game, Mast pulled it away with a piece of paper. 

With our crawly friend out of the way, we were able to continue looking for clues. 

60...59...58...57... 

The minutes were ticking by. It seemed as if we were wandering around the room aimlessly looking for something, and freaking out anytime the music coming from the TV increased in volume. 

"Guys, what if we don't even get the first clue?" Conley asked. We looked underneath tables and chairs, and attempted to open locked drawers. 

A beeping sound came from the TV. We looked at it, and typed words read, "Remember to have someone look for stuff." The Chervoni's guided us with many hints via messages on the screen, nicknaming Mast "glasses" and Conley "pinky" any time they were near an area with a clue. If it wasn't for their help, I think we still would've been trapped inside the room. 

"Okay I'm going to look for stuff," Reynolds said.  

"Me too," Conley agreed. She found the first clue; a locked box. 

As time went on, we found more locked boxes, and put together numbers we gathered together from several clues. Soon the locked drawers from the bookshelves opened, and we discovered several papers including a mug shot and an arrest record, a flashlight, and screws found in locked boxes we were able to figure out the codes for. 

Every time we'd find something, the sound of applause came from the TV, and if we weren't close, the music would grow more and more ominous.

"This is too stressful, I can't handle this," Conley said.

We eventually made it to a second room after a book shelf opened up James Bond-style. It seemed as though we entered Freddy Kruger's lair full of plastic bloody arms and legs, and photos of murder victims. 

I wanted to turn around and run away, but we had to stay until we found our last clue. That's when a loud bang came out of nowhere and freaked out the ladies and myself. I'm sure Mast freaked out as well but hid it pretty well. Ultimately we pieced together a number to call using an antique-style phone near the door.

A couple of rings later, the door opened, freeing us with a minute and two seconds left to spare.

While we were slightly disappointed that we didn't break a record, we were glad to have made it out in time. 

"You don't have to be smart, you just have to have smart people around you," Patrick Chervoni said. He and his wife opened the business nearly 3 months ago to offer an alternate attraction in Bonita Springs. 

Our team name fittingly became 'Clark and Lois Lanes'.

While I won't be throwing a dinner party anytime soon, Breakout Escape Room Bonita provides a fun, unique place for families, co-workers, and friends to bond and have a great time.  

IF YOU GO

Breakout Escape Room Bonita 

When: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday. 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. Friday & Saturday 

Where: 24850 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs

Cost: $30 per person (including taxes and fees). Discounts available for groups such as corporations and churches.

Information: breakoutescaperoombonita.com

Other Southwest Florida locations

Xtreme Escape Game, 909 N. Collier Blvd., Marco Island. Information: 239-272-3090 or extremeescapegame.com

Escape Room Adventures, 12995 South Cleveland Ave, Suite 217, Ft Myers. Information: 239-689-6979 or info@erallc.net

Escape Tactics, 1528 Carson St., Fort Myers. Information: 239-226-4442 or visit escapetacticsflorida.com/.