麻豆视频

Bonnie Bazarski didn鈥檛 expect people to get hung up on her cell phone.

A group of kids piled into Bazarski鈥檚 camper. They were surrounded by locks, puzzles, and clues. They rifled around the camper, solving brain-teasers and unlocking drawers. To advance to the next stage, they had to use a flip phone. They had no idea how it worked. They needed help.

Bazarski鈥檚 daughter showed the team how to use the ancient device, allowing them to progress further with the puzzles. Bazarski thought the cell phone鈥檚 puzzle would be tricky enough; she didn鈥檛 expect its operation to be a puzzle in of itself.

For younger visitors, Bazarski may have to attach an instruction manual to the cell phone. It鈥檚 one of many small tweaks and changes she鈥檚 made to her camper over the summer. Building a puzzle room from scratch is a learning experience.

鈥淚 just love puzzles and trying to solve things,鈥� she said.

Bazarski, the owner of the Corn Trails in Canora, fully opened her brand-new puzzle room last weekend. She鈥檚 converted a camper into a chamber of head-scratchers, mind-melters, and chin-strokers.

The puzzle room is a twist on the ever-popular escape room. In the latter, participants are locked in a room based around a particular theme (gangsters, pirates, prisons, etc.). They have a limited amount of time to decipher a series of clues and escape their scenario. Typically, there are grave consequences for failure, such as imprisonment or even death (not literally, of course).

Bazarski鈥檚 room puts more emphasis on puzzles than escaping. It鈥檚 all about putting the pieces together to find an answer. The stakes aren鈥檛 so high as to involve life-or-death.

Bazarski got addicted to escape rooms last winter when she visited Regina. She enjoyed the high-pressure situations and the puzzles. She was disappointed that there were no escape rooms in the Canora area, so she decided to make one herself.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the type of people we are,鈥� she said. 鈥淒o it ourselves.

鈥淪o, we did.鈥�

Bazarski and her family purchased a camper back in June at an auction. She couldn鈥檛 find many tips online about building escape rooms, so she went off her experiences and her instincts.

鈥淚 just went to Value Village one day and took my time and walked around as things popped out at me,鈥� she said.

Bazarski filled the camper with her supplies, turning the unassuming room into a giant mystery. The room鈥檚 theme focuses on a family that has been traveling around Saskatchewan for the summer. Participants have to figure out the family鈥檚 most recent location.

鈥淲hen you find that, you鈥檒l know you have the solution,鈥� Bazarski said.

As an escape room participant, Bazarski doesn鈥檛 enjoy 鈥渞ed herrings鈥� (items that aren鈥檛 actual clues and are designed to distract people). But when creating her puzzle room, she loved crafting misleading pieces.

鈥淸Red herrings] are a must,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 hate them in escape rooms, but it was...fun [making them] knowing it might get somebody.鈥�

Participants have 30 minutes to solve the puzzle room. Bazarski tested the room with friends and family before opening it up to the public. She sat in the corner with a notepad, watching how people reacted to certain clues.

鈥淚 wanted to...see if they were getting frustrated when they shouldn鈥檛 be,鈥� she said. 鈥淸The hardest part is if] my brain can come up with the right combination of puzzles that...make sense to other people.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the biggest thing.鈥�

Bazarski is excited to get her puzzle room off the ground. She plans to keep it running for as long as her corn maze is open (usually the end of October). If the room is popular enough, she may upgrade it halfway through the season, possibily with a Halloween twist.

鈥淐hange the puzzles up and give the people who鈥檝e already done it more to do,鈥� she said.

The puzzle room was hard work, but Bazarski thinks it鈥檚 a worthy addition to the Corn Trails.

鈥淓very year we try to add something new,鈥� she said.

The puzzle room is open on Friday evenings and Saturday and Sunday. Admission is seven dollars per person. Reservations can be made by calling 306-563-7511.聽