PARADOXsquared escape rooms open in Woodstock

WOODSTOCK – It’s not something you can Google your way out of. You are locked in a room and faced with a very specific challenge. You cannot phone a friend, but you can bring one.

The popularity of escape rooms is on the rise and in March, PARADOXsquared Adventure Escape Rooms opened its doors at 231 Main St. in Woodstock.

Owner Jim Hurless fell into the escape room game by happenstance, creating an escape room in his spare bedroom for his grandchildren after they had seen one on television.

“We just had so much fun and I thought, what a great way to have fun and make money,” Hurless said.

The Harvard resident and his wife of 47 years, Debbie, spent three months looking for the perfect space, but once they found it, it all seemed to fall into place. Hurless is the game master for the location and designed the current Mad Scientist room that already has seen several players.

Prior to opening, Hurless had four game masters from rooms in northern Illinois do a test run of his room. He faced very little criticism afterward and was given rave reviews from the group. Hurless said his room offers a unique experience in that it is a closed room allowing players to solve the puzzle with their chosen group, not mixing additional groups in during their session. His room also includes some theatrical aspects that you will not find in typical escape rooms.

“When you book the Mad Scientist room, you’re met at the door by the Mad Scientist. You’re playing as soon as you walk in,” Hurless said.

Hurless attributes the popularity of escape rooms to the live experience in a world where a large amount of interaction happens virtually.

“It’s a shared experience,” Hurless said. “You’re with your friends and you’re laughing and doing goofy stuff. You’re given these pieces as a team and you’re trying to make them fit. I hear a lot of ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ when they do. It’s that live experience and the physicality of it and the presence of your friends that makes it better than something you would do online. And it makes you think.”

Betty Sullivan is an escape room enthusiast having already attempted 49 different escape rooms with her best friend. When she heard about the upcoming opening of PARADOXsquared, she reached out to Hurless to beta test. Sullivan agreed that Hurless’s room offers that little something extra.

“He really tries to immerse you in the atmosphere, which is not something that everybody does,” Sullivan said. “It’s good, clean fun, something anybody can do. It’s challenging without being frustrating and it keeps your mind sharp. I just consider it a blast.”

Woodstock resident Laura Hall was brand new to the escape room game when she booked the Mad Scientist for her daughter, Carly’s, 29th birthday, along with three of Carly’s friends. Hall considered other rooms in the area for the group’s foray into the game, but chose PARADOXsquared because the other rooms sounded a bit ordinary to her.

“PARADOXsquared was really cool and interesting,” Hall said. “He explained how things went, which was great since we were all newbies and he was very helpful along the way. Our group ranged from ages 21 to 53 and, afterward, we were all of the same opinion. We highly recommend it.”

The Mad Scientist room currently is open for booking and Hurless is working on opening two additional rooms, including Zombie Outbreak and Houdini’s Revenge.

The Mad Scientist is best equipped for parties of two to six people and the upcoming rooms will allow for up to eight people.

Playing time is 60 minutes and prices range from $30 to $40 per person depending on group size. Time slots are available Wednesday through Sunday from 2pm to 8pm. Reservations can be made online at www.paradoxsquared.com or by calling 815-245-5864.