ASHLAND – Board game lovers have a new venue to pursue their hobby in downtown Ashland starting Thursday evening.
Masterminds Escape Room and Game Library is opening at 33 W. Main St. in the former Kids Kountry location. Plymouth grad Ben Garrett and his wife, Ariel, decided to open the first escape room experience in Ashland and the only game library and escape room combo in the state of Ohio after falling in love with escape rooms.
“We just fell in love with it. Escape rooms offer you a chance to escape from reality by focusing on solving various puzzles and challenges,” Ben Garrett said when announcing plans for Masterminds earlier this year. “There’s one in Mansfield and one in Wooster so we really wanted to bring one to Ashland.”
Only the game library will be opening this week, with work on the escape rooms expected to be completed and ready for business by the end of the month.
The game room features hundreds of board games for couples or groups to enjoy. For just $5, game players can enjoy a whole evening of friendly competition.
The two escape rooms will be “Time Traveler” and “The Heist.” “Time Traveler” will require players to fix a time machine to return to the present before the machine self-destructs. “The Heist” allows players to become criminal masterminds, working together to steal a valuable jewel in a museum with high-security measures. Groups of two to 10 players will be given 60 minutes to solve the puzzles and escape.
A ribbon cutting is planned for 4:45 p.m. Friday to celebrate the opening of the game room.
The escape room will cost $25 per person, or $23 with military or student ID.
A variety of snack foods and drinks will be available, including peanuts, popcorn, nachos and cheese, and root beer floats.
Masterminds will be open 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays, 6 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, visit Masterminds’ web site, visit their Facebook page or call 419-903-0372
