Hi.
My name is Trev and I am an escape room addict!
Way back at the start of 2017 I devised a silly game which involved solving some puzzles in order to rescue a stuffed Teddy Bear from a plastic cat crate. Three separate friends came over to trial it for me – they played it, solved it and freed the bear in around 90 minutes.
A seed was planted.
In September of that same year I signed a 6 year lease on an Industrial Unit in Bodmin and Housetrap was born.
We had our ‘grand opening’ on January 20th, 2018. Nobody turned up. Probably because I forgot to advertise it anywhere. The start of a steep learning curve.
Our first escape room was Vinny’s Lair. It was themed around a cartoon character who was holding Billy the Bear hostage in a locked cage. Guess where I got that idea from?
Since then I’ve designed, created and built 14 escape rooms – all concepts from my very weird mind. A place where nobody should ever venture. Even I don’t like it there!
Vinny’s Lair was followed by; Dormant, Tumbleweed, Jailbreak, The Cellar, Rogue Elf, Dash, Aquarium, Hangover, Abducted, Seance, Tribe, Camelot and Killjoy. Along the journey I have learned new ‘tricks’. Like how to wire up a monkey in a tree or how to drop a spider out of a ceiling vent. You know, the standard stuff.
I like to think that with each new game, we get a little better. But you are by far the best judges of that, not me. More effort, time and consideration has been put into trying to immerse our customers in the theme of the game. Set decoration has come a long way since the breeze block walls and painted floors of Vinny’s Lair. And the ‘puzzles’ have evolved into more diverse challenges and tasks.
We still love a good old padlock though! That feeling when it pops open is hard to replace. Tech is great and all that, but people enjoy the physicality of a good puzzle or prop. If you ever watched the Crystal Maze you’ll know what I mean.
I’m often asked where my ideas come from. Truth is, I don’t really know. I just have a strange imagination. Probably derived from reading too many Stephen King novels as a kid.
So anyway, there it is, the back story of Housetrap Escape Rooms.
We are where we are today because of some great Gamesmasters – our current team is Ayesha, Lauren, and Ellie.
And because of my ‘silent’ business partner who acts as my sounding board and helps me with the builds.
We hope you manage to ‘escape’ our rooms, but above all, we hope you enjoy trying. Just don’t become addicted.
Trev