Oak Brook is a wonderful place near western part of Chicago, in a village in DuPage County with a marginal area in Cook County, Illinois.
Renowned for its shopping precinct—the Oakbrook Center—it’s strategically positioned near Interstate 88 and Route 83. Inaugurated in 1962, this commercial haven ranks as the second-largest shopping hub in the entire Chicago metropolitan expanse.
Located just 30 minutes from downtown, this outdoor retail hotspot in Chicago’s western suburbs is the ideal for watching a movie, enjoying numerous entertainment facilities and relaxing spa treatment.
Current anchor stores include Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Sears. Other major retailers include Apple, Crate & Barrel, Mark Shale, Microsoft, Pottery Barn, Tesla and Pinstripes. The center also has more than 25 restaurants, like Antico Posto, Cheesecake Factory, The Clubhouse, Corner Bakery, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Mon Ami Gabi, Reel Club, Stir Crazy and Wildfire.
The Oak Brook shopping center is surrounded by gardens filled with flowers, fountains, trees and ponds, this open-air center attracts a wide customer base from the entire Chicago metropolitan area and the Midwest.
Beautiful shopping center with European style architecture, which provides retail, restaurant and café space. The center has a wide area for walking, a beautiful pond with walking trail, outdoor seating, and fascinating landscape. Main shops are: Allen Edmonds, Arhaus Furniture, Helzberg Diamonds, Joseph A. Bank, Select Comfort and Thomasville Furniture, Fusion Academy. Promenade restaurants include Omaha Steaks, La Barra, Kona Grill, Labriola Bakery and Café and McCormick & Schmick’s.
Elevate Your Chicago Weekend with FocusTimeEscape: An Unmissable Experience
If your weekend plans include an excursion to downtown Chicago, consider augmenting your itinerary with a visit to FocusTimeEscape in Westchester, situated in close proximity to the Oak Brook Center.
Escape room (or Escape game, also puzzle game, adventure game, breakout room) is a modern innovative immersive attraction in the form of puzzles which should be solved in the locked room during particular time, usually 60 minutes. The goal is to find the answer to a problem or mystery and way out from the locked room.
The first this concept was proposed in 2003 in USA (Indianapolis). The room was called True Dungeon, in which there were combinations of mental and physical puzzles to accomplish a goal in a limited amount of time and game rules are based on the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
After that the idea spread though the world, especially in Kyoto (Japan) in 2007, in Australia and Singapore by the 2011 and other countries.
In 2012 a Swiss physics professor created a scientific escape game for his students. The game was later offered to the public under the name of Adventure Rooms and distributed as a franchise in twenty countries. The Adventure Rooms introduced scientific puzzles (e.g. hidden infrared or polarized codes).
By November 2019, there were estimated to be over 50,000 escape rooms worldwide.
Japan
Japan is one of the countries where the concept developed quickly and broadly. The first real-life escape game was created by Takao Kato in Kyoto in 2007. Mr. Kato took inspiration from the “escape the room” video games and later his idea spread over the world including Budapest, Bern, Australia, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, New York City, and Nashville with a name real escape game established by company SCRAP and it’s branches.
In Tokyo you may find escape room called InSPYre, spy-themed escape game, where you need to enter the secret base of a criminal organization called Black-Max. There are 4 missions to solve a puzzle of enemy’s plan. Each task duration is only 10 minutes.
More Japanese like escape game is called Nazobako and located in Tokyo Asakusa. You may choose from games “Zen”, “Samurai Espionage” and “A Winter’s Tale: The Secret Curse of Ice” and become a real samurai in Edo period. You may even wear special costumes and take a photo as a souvenir.
USA
In USA there are around 2,350 escape room facilities (2019 year data). The first one was opened in the United States in San Francisco, California. Though in 2012 there were only few such facilities, the idea incredibly spread by 2015 and become a great alternative to Halloween haunted houses as escape rooms are opened during the whole year.
The hardest escape room in the world is located in USA and is called Caretaker. Deep within the dark recesses of the forests in Oregon lies an evil like no other. A disbarred geneticist has unleashed giant wolf-like creates onto the town of Fair Oaks. Deep within these same woods lives a hermit the locals have come to know as The Caretaker and you need to help him to find a solution.
The scariest room in the world is The Basement located in California, USA. Ranked as a top of horror escape room where you need to escape a cannibalistic murderer played by a live actor.
source: https://thebasementla.com/
And we propose an interesting escape room called FocusTimeEscape, located in Westchester, Chicago, IL. with original and impressive Area 51—a government laboratory. It is widely believed that certain experimentation has been taking place within area 51, specifically the attempt to exchange human blood with undocumented fluids for some bizarre medical research. These alleged experimentation may be nothing more than media hype, however some say there is more going on. You must make a certain discovery and find out the truth behind Area 51.
World
Other interesting escape room ideas:
SHERLOCKED in Amsterdam, Netherlands – escape room is inside an actual bank vault, you have 90 minutes to steal a mysterious item from inside it.
ESCAPE BOATS-SOS (Ireland) – the first ever live escape room on a boat now open in Dublin’s city center in Grand Canal Dock.
ESCHATOLOGY – the world’s fastest growing escape-the-room franchise, located in Florida, Texas and Chile. It is a high adrenaline escape game where players are locked inside a themed room and must complete their mission before time runs out.
Escape roomQuestion 1: Are you locked in the escape room?
No, you won’t be locked in the room and can leave at any time. Usually, escape rooms are equipped with surveillance and administrator can immediately be informed if something goes wrong and you need to go out or urgent assistance. However, we encourage asking for help for your team members and try to solve all the puzzles till the end.
Escape roomQuestion 2 . Are your escape room facilities scary, is there any jump scares?
Actually, our escape rooms are more tricky and puzzle like, you need to use your brain and think about ideas to find a way out rather than ran away from something scary. Challenge your creative thinking and team playing to find our brilliant way to escape in 60 minutes.
Escape roomQuestion3. What skills I need to play an escape game?
You will be playing in a team, so it is essential to understand each other, listen and communicate. Also, you have only 60 minutes that means that time management skills are necessary to use your time properly and to plan how much time you need for the next steps. Not all puzzles will be solved quickly, sometimes it is needed just to stop and think calmly and carefully, so you need to be patient enough and control yourself. Of course, creative thinking, courage and a keen eye would be a great plus.
Escape roomQuestion4. Can I visit escape room if I have claustrophobia and panic attacks?
Escape room is a place for playing, you aren’t really locked in the room and in case of emergency you can contact administrator and leave out. In some rooms it may be dark, so you need to think whether it would be convenient for you to stay there. Buy anyway you will be playing in a team and we hope that enjoying escape game helps you to overcome any inconvenience you may experience.
Escape roomQuestion5. Is there a dress code for a escape room? What should I wear for escape game?
You will be playing in the rooms with different objects, and sometimes games may require movements, so you should wear something comfortable. The best idea it to bring changing clothes with you. It is advised to avoid jewelry or anything that may harm you or your team members in the dark environment.
Escape roomQuestion6. What should I bring to escape room?
Avoid bringing extra belongings. It is prohibited to bring food and alcohol and you need to sign a waiver while booking our facilities. You may bring changing clothes and use our lockers for your phone and other personal belongings. Rooms are equipped with surveillance and you may leave and ask for help at any time, so you won’t need your phone.
Escape roomQuestion7. What puzzles are in the escape room?
Escape room is an immersive environment with a combination of different puzzles, which may include room design itself, numbers and text puzzles, which may require basic math skills and logical thinking, light and sound, hidden objects.
Escape roomQuestion8.What happens if I fail to escape?
No worry, after the end of the game our staff will help you to find a way out. You may challenge another time again and succeed to escape in 60-minutes.
Escape roomQuestion9. Is there any age restriction for the escape game?
In case of children under 16 years it is recommended for adults to accompany. Escape room requires understanding rules, logical thinking, and the best is for 10+ visitors.
Escape roomQuestion10. Are phones allowed in escape room?
No, you can’t use your phone. You may use our lockers to leave it for the time you are playing. Our rooms are equipped with surveillance and in case of emergency you may leave out and ask our staff for a help.
