I was framed.
I went to Tampa's newest escape room experience with 10News WTSP photojournalist Bert Moreno. I was handcuffed and locked in a jail cell and informed of my crime.
"You were caught stealing the Buccaneers Super Bowl trophy," said Renee Ryckman.
Does that sound like something I would do?
"You have one hour to escape. Good luck."
If you only had 60 minutes to break out of prison, how frantic would you feel?
This is the experience you'll get when you step in the door at Escape Countdown at 4536 Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa, just off of Westshore. It's not the only escape room in town. It's not even the first.
But, it is the newest, and packs some surprises along the way. This location, which opens to the public on Wednesday, will offer five different escape room challenges.
I tried to break out of jail. There will also be pirate, space and Mad Hatter-themed escape choices.
Escape rooms ask participants to figure out a way to break out of rooms by using their intellect and decision-making skills. People inside the rooms will have to solve a series of puzzles and brain-teasers in order to escape before time runs out.
You may have seen them featured on television shows like CBS' "The Big Bang Theory." You don't have to be as brainy as Sheldon Cooper to escape, but it certainly would help.
