Yesterday, the TourDesk and What’s On teams traded our desks for something a little more hands-on. After a productive meeting and workshop at the office, we took a short walk up Hverfisgata to Breakout Reykjavík for an afternoon of escape rooms. It turned out to be exactly the kind of experience you don’t realize you need until you’re suddenly standing inside a steampunk train carriage, wondering where on earth you left that key.
We split into three groups and tackled their different rooms: the Steampunk Train, the Jungle Room, and the infamous Maniac’s Lair (the horror-themed one, bravely taken on by some of our more fearless colleagues).
With around 20 of us participating, each group was a mix of departments, backgrounds, and experience levels, some teammates who’ve worked side by side for years, and others who only recently joined. That mix turned out to be part of what made the experience so rewarding.
Without giving anything away, it was a great experience. I was on the steampunk train which I thought had a very fun and consistent theme with an engaging story, and the puzzles were challenging and varied enough that everyone ended up contributing something at some point. If I am left with one impression, it's the exhilaration when you go from total confusion about what to do next, on the verge of asking for a hint, and then suddenly someone has a breakthrough, and you progress several steps at once — something that happened more than once in our 1-hour battle with the room.
The Jungle Room and Maniac’s Lair teams reported equally exciting experiences, each room offering its own unique atmosphere and challenges.
Thrilling experience that kept us on our toes the entire time. Challenging with plenty of tricky clues, meaning we really had to put our minds into it and have good communication
We had a great time. This was meant as a team-building exercise, and it really worked. Except for the fact that the 6 of us were split into 2 cells, and my group was maybe a little too competitive, so we weren't happy with how slow the others were! But still, everyone participated, and I saw very different sides of my colleagues than what I am used to seeing. The staff was super friendly and fun; they want this to be a fun experience for everyone. I've been to a bunch of escape rooms in different countries, so I really can recommend this one. They have amazing themes, brilliant puzzles, and everything is so perfectly done. The puzzles aren't super obvious, as they really fit into the theme of the room itself. This was the only room I hadn't done before, and my favourite was probably the Train room. But it's hard to choose between them as they are all very different. I am really looking forward to the next room!
Located right in the city center, Breakout Reykjavík is easy to get to, and the staff made the whole experience very easy-going and fun. We can highly recommend it for team-building, group outings, or just a different kind of afternoon in Reykjavík.
To round off the day, we headed to Caruso for dinner, where we enjoyed great food and a cozy atmosphere. The ribeye steak and a glass of red wine were the perfect way to end a day full of puzzles, teamwork, and laughter.
A big thank you to Breakout Reykjavík and Caruso for having us, good times all around!