Escape Review: San Jose Room Escape, Escape from Alcatraz
I just finished my second 'real life room escape' type event and it was a blast (first here)! I really enjoy these style games and similarly think other info sec peeps would enjoy them as well. This room was noticeably different from the last room I've been in, and thus affected our play style, so lets get right into it!
For starters, we only took 6 people into the room this time and it was seemingly more manageable with less running around and confusion, making for a better work environment in the room. Similarly, this was not too few people, so whenever a challenge would crop up someone could generally work on it. What made this game interesting was that we started with two of our members handcuffed together and one removed from the group and locked in a separate cell! This was pretty massive to us as it was half of our team. While I was able to slip out of the handcuffs, these were actually some of the first puzzles and keys we got, freeing everyone early in the game.
Like last time, keeping a list of clues and which ones have been used vs unused proved helpful when we hit dead ends. They provide paper and pens in the room and this was invaluable for solving puzzles, keeping track of clues, and figuring out the grander puzzle at hand. Another key item proved to be a cell phone camera, as several posters we could not remove had information we needed else where, meaning we had to write it down or snap a quick photo. While there were some combination locks and small key locks, the majority of crucial locks were magnetic based and hooked up to various electronic components in the room. This made it interesting in that we had to recognize the unlocking mechanisms as a type of interface rather than a combination or a key. There were also a number of red herring clues placed around the room, designed to intrigue the players but ultimately go nowhere. We were also left with a walkie-talkie, which we could use to ask for 3 hints throughout the game. We decided to use our hints based on time intervals and when we got stuck, opting to use them sooner than later. We used our first hint 20 minutes in, our next hint 20 minutes later, and our final hint with 10 minutes to go! At the very end I was able to social engineer a final hint out of the game master by just getting them to chat on the walkie-talkie with us, you will see why this was important later!
Being prepared always helps, although not as much as I had hoped. I brought a Bogota wallet sized lock pick set with me, although the lack of key based locks (the major doors we needed to get through were sealed with magnetized locks) meant I never pulled it out during our time in the room. However, this room (and several of the rooms it was connected to), were very poorly lit in some places (long, pitch black tunnels), so having a flash light (again, phone to the rescue) was a life saver. Most people will use their smart phone for a flash light, and I was also Googling a lot of information and substitution charts, so being prepared with a fully charged phone can pay off!
Finally, we got out!! We did it with about 2 minutes and 40 seconds left on the clock, but had actually solved the puzzle sooner without even realizing it! This game was interesting in that when you solved the puzzle no fancy bells or whistles went off, essentially there was no 'ah-ha' moment. After you performed the necessary actions to complete the puzzle, the door would silently unlock, and a teammate would have to go check it, but if one of the teammates actively completing the puzzle moved from their location the door would silently relock! This made things frustrating in that we thought we had reached some conclusions but were still stuck at interfacing with the magnetic lock, until we got the game master on the walkie-talkie and they confirmed our methods, prompting us to try the door and discover it was unlocked!
For starters, we only took 6 people into the room this time and it was seemingly more manageable with less running around and confusion, making for a better work environment in the room. Similarly, this was not too few people, so whenever a challenge would crop up someone could generally work on it. What made this game interesting was that we started with two of our members handcuffed together and one removed from the group and locked in a separate cell! This was pretty massive to us as it was half of our team. While I was able to slip out of the handcuffs, these were actually some of the first puzzles and keys we got, freeing everyone early in the game.
Like last time, keeping a list of clues and which ones have been used vs unused proved helpful when we hit dead ends. They provide paper and pens in the room and this was invaluable for solving puzzles, keeping track of clues, and figuring out the grander puzzle at hand. Another key item proved to be a cell phone camera, as several posters we could not remove had information we needed else where, meaning we had to write it down or snap a quick photo. While there were some combination locks and small key locks, the majority of crucial locks were magnetic based and hooked up to various electronic components in the room. This made it interesting in that we had to recognize the unlocking mechanisms as a type of interface rather than a combination or a key. There were also a number of red herring clues placed around the room, designed to intrigue the players but ultimately go nowhere. We were also left with a walkie-talkie, which we could use to ask for 3 hints throughout the game. We decided to use our hints based on time intervals and when we got stuck, opting to use them sooner than later. We used our first hint 20 minutes in, our next hint 20 minutes later, and our final hint with 10 minutes to go! At the very end I was able to social engineer a final hint out of the game master by just getting them to chat on the walkie-talkie with us, you will see why this was important later!
Being prepared always helps, although not as much as I had hoped. I brought a Bogota wallet sized lock pick set with me, although the lack of key based locks (the major doors we needed to get through were sealed with magnetized locks) meant I never pulled it out during our time in the room. However, this room (and several of the rooms it was connected to), were very poorly lit in some places (long, pitch black tunnels), so having a flash light (again, phone to the rescue) was a life saver. Most people will use their smart phone for a flash light, and I was also Googling a lot of information and substitution charts, so being prepared with a fully charged phone can pay off!
Finally, we got out!! We did it with about 2 minutes and 40 seconds left on the clock, but had actually solved the puzzle sooner without even realizing it! This game was interesting in that when you solved the puzzle no fancy bells or whistles went off, essentially there was no 'ah-ha' moment. After you performed the necessary actions to complete the puzzle, the door would silently unlock, and a teammate would have to go check it, but if one of the teammates actively completing the puzzle moved from their location the door would silently relock! This made things frustrating in that we thought we had reached some conclusions but were still stuck at interfacing with the magnetic lock, until we got the game master on the walkie-talkie and they confirmed our methods, prompting us to try the door and discover it was unlocked!
