Two businesses providing interactive escape games opened doors for the first time in St. Joseph over the weekend.

Great Escape Quest opened for business Friday at 5908 North Belt and The Panel Room held a soft launch Saturday at its location at 107 S. 4th St.

Brent Roach, Co-Owner of Great Escape Quest said he and his wife decided to open an escape room in St. Joseph after visiting several in other locations around the country.

“It’s a room where you and anywhere from three, to five, six of your friends get locked into a room and have to solve puzzles and clues and such to unlock locks and escape from the room before an hour runs out,” Roach said.

Zach Tebow, Co-Owner of The Panel Room said it’s an interactive game designed around riddles and puzzles.

“You’re in a room with nine other people and you figure out based on clues hidden throughout the room how to make your escape,” Tebow said. “I have always wanted to bring some sort of an entertainment concept here and I just wasn’t sure what.”

Both escape games have one room currently in operation.  The Great Escape Quest has plans to open a second room soon and The Panel Room plans to change things up in the future.

“We’re starting out with one and down the road we can change it,” Tebow said. “Our plans are to install more rooms here in the weeks coming.”

“The first room we have now is called ‘The Man Cave’.  While it is a sports oriented room you do not have to be a sports lover or a sports fan to participate in it,” Roach said. “We have an office coming up in a couple of weeks.”

Tebow said plans started on The Panel Room earlier this year.  Roach said the Great Escape Quest has been a work in progress for the past several months.

Both cost around $20/person to participate and are taking booking reservations online.  The Panel Room has hours of operation Tuesday through Saturday.  The Great Escape is currently open Friday and Saturday.