Two Rockford Residents Opening Escape Room In Sycamore

I've been to two different escape rooms since they became a thing a few years ago. One of the ones I got to try was here in Rockford, 815 Escape Room, and I didn't fair so well. I'm 1-for-2 in completing them. Admittedly, the one in Rockford was a lot more challenging than the first one I did.

Escape rooms are a lot of fun. Usually, you and your group get one hour to figure out the clues and enter some type of pass code in order to escape. They are great for birthday parties, family outings or a fun date.

Two Rockford residents and Guilford High School alums are now in the process of opening their own escape room in Sycamore called "Syco Escape Rooms," according to WREX. Three rooms have already been determined and include a baseball-themed room, a medieval throne room, and a prison break-themed room. There is enough space to add two additional rooms and then cycle them out every 6-12 months. Their plan is to open sometime in February.

I can tell you from experience that cycling rooms is the biggest thing for escape room owners. At the first place I went to and escaped from, I had no desire to go back until there was a new room because I had already cracked the code. At 815 Escape Room, however, we didn't crack the code, but were close to it.

Considering there's still about 5-6 clues left that we didn't overcome, we have already talked about going back and trying to finish it off. The next biggest thing is the difficulty of the rooms. I think it's important to have differing levels of difficulty. If the rooms are all too easy, it loses its luster but it's also important to have easier rooms for kids. Adults prefer a more challenging room — something not everyone will finish so it keeps them wanting to come back for more.

I'm going to have to make the drive to 1170 DeKalb Ave. in Sycamore to support some locals and see how difficult they made these rooms. That baseball-themed one is calling my name!