Greetings From Claustrophobia, Your Neighborhood Dungeon (Mind The Executioner’s Axe)

When I asked Managing Partner Regina Shafir about her new business, I wasn’t quite sure how to begin.

“So it’s called Claustrophobia. Is it a game or something?” I asked.

“It’s hard to explain, said Shafir. “Can you come down here and let me lock you in a dungeon?”

And so it began.

Claustrophobia Escape Room Brooklyn (594 Pacific Street between Flatbush and 4th Avenues) is a bit of a mystery, especially for newcomers unfamiliar with the concept of escape rooms. And honestly, the less you know before your experience, the better. So I’m going to do my best to avoid any spoilers in this article. We weren’t allowed to take photos during the experience. (Unless you’re an expert photographer, you really wouldn’t be able to take good ones, anyway. You have to experience it to understand what I mean.)

Shafir tells us that Claustrophia got it’s start in Russia as an online video game experience that involved finding clues. “I can’t say for sure when or where they began to be translated in to ‘reality’, but there are now over 100 ‘themes’ around the world,” she says. The first opened in Moscow about three years ago.

“This is very big in Russia, Europe, and all over the Middle East,” she says.

There are two Claustrophobia Escape Rooms currently in the U.S. In addition to the Park Slope venue — which opened almost three months ago — there is another in Miami.

The escape room experience is for anywhere between 2-4 players. “We have people sign up as groups. We don’t put strangers together,” says Shafir.

I brought along some intrepid editors from our sister sites: Alex Ellefson of Sheepshead Bites and Justin Fox of Fort Greene Focus. In addition, Natalie Viglione from our Sales & Marketing team joined us.

So Shafir locked us in.

After entering through the dungeon doors, we needed to solve a series of clues. And some of them are rather challenging. Shafir tells us that the escape rate is only 25%-30%.

Without giving too much away, Natalie and I were relieved that Alex and Justin were kind enough to free us from a cell at one point. In the background, the executioner howled, threatening to get us if we didn’t solve the elaborate puzzle in 60 minutes.

There’s a lot of traveling that goes on in this game. It’s hard to tell how large the space is, but there are a surprising amount of nooks. Dress comfortably, because there are times you won’t be standing up when moving from room-to-room.

Our team was most effective when we worked together — it’s not surprising that the experience serves as an excellent team building opportunity. When we darted off in other directions, solving clues took a bit longer.

We know you’re curious if we succeeded in the game. I’ll be honest – we didn’t make it. “You were pretty close,” said Shafir, which stopped me from sulking. Hey, at least the four of us were able to leave without having our heads chopped off.

If you get stuck, you can call out to ask for a bit of help. Admittedly, we had to do that several times. Yes, you are being watched when you travel through the dungeon (for safety purposes, of course).

Claustrophobia is not the only “escape room experience” you can find. They’ve become rather prevalent around the country. Escape the Room has two locations in Manhattan.

Shafir tells us that — in addition to “The Dungeon” — there are four other planned escape rooms. Construction should be completed by the end of the summer for the additions. Currently, “Outbreak” is another option.

A party room is also under construction that can house group gatherings before or after escape room experiences.

For now, you can rest assured that it’s very convenient to be locked in a dungeon in our very own neighborhood.

If you don’t return, can you promise us your record collection?

The Rundown: Claustrophobia Escape Room Brooklyn
Where: 594 Pacific Street (between Flatbush Avenue and 4th Avenue)
Hours: 10am-12am, 7 days a week.
Contact: 917-721-6805 or nyc@claustrophobia.com
Schedule and Cost: Visit the website to schedule a quest, which lasts for 60 minutes. $60 for group of 2 players. Each additional player will be $30 ($40 in prime time). A group of four is the maximum.