Escape rooms are an increasingly popular group activity which has swept across the globe in recent years, and Kraków is no exception. As the world becomes increasingly digital and virtual, and human interaction increasingly occurs online, escape rooms are a perfect example of the recent renewed interest in real life social activities like boardgames and scavenger hunts. A bit like a computer game (or horror film) played in real life, with real people, escape rooms involve getting locked in a room with a group of people, and then working together against the clock to find clues and solve puzzles that will eventually result in your release before time expires. Popular amongst teens and as a team-building exercise for corporations, escape rooms are a perfect rainy day activity, and a nice alternative to more traditional ways of passing the time like swiping through social media or binge drinking.

On a heavier note, Kraków's escape rooms have all been recently vetted for fire safety and emergency evacuation thanks to a tragic incident in northern Poland wherein three teenage girls perished in a fire while in an escape room in early 2019. As a result of this horrible accident, the government has come down hard on this previously unregulated form of entertainment, shutting down any escape rooms that didn't pass certain safety measures. Thanks to this tragedy and the strong reaction of the government, we can now rest assured that if the game is too hard to solve, at least we'll leave Kraków's escape rooms with our lives, if not our dignity. It's just a game, right?