The first German Escape Championships in Bochum concluded on Sunday evening: twelve teams from all over Germany defeated and teamed up for two days to win the coveted title – in the end a quartet from Dortmund prevailed, made its way through the Ruhrpott riddle the area had qualified in Bochum. The sisters Lena Dworrak and Anna Schreilechner as well as the twins Sven and Sascha Symannek can now officially define themselves as the first German champions of the escape. The Urban Escape Challenge, where everyone can join the puzzle, will continue in Bochum until 16 October.
At the big awards ceremony on Sunday evening at the premises of the escape service provider Think² on Viktoriastraße, the tension before the announcement of the final ranking was great. On Saturday and Sunday all the teams turned their heads and were still close after the first day. In the end, the winners truly deserved the win – the Riddle Room Ruhrpott team was clearly the fastest in two of the three disciplines and gained a more than ten minute lead over the competition. In the end, Lena Dworrak, Anna Schreilechner, Sven and Sascha Symannek were not only happy with the Escape Master title, but also about 500 euros and an elegant winner’s trophy in the style of the hero of the Pago title. Despite participation throughout Germany, the other trophies also remained in the Ruhr area: second place and 300 euros for the team from Exit Dortmund, third place and 200 euros for the team that qualified at Locked Bochum.
Happy winners and organizers
Michael Prüfer from Think², Stephan Langhoff from Locked and Sebastian Hinkel from the Ruhrpott puzzle room and the board of the association “Live Escape & Adventure Games” presented the trophies to the three fastest teams. The three Bochum escape service providers and the trade association had started the first German escape championship together with Bochum Marketing. “We have a great weekend behind us. We have experienced twelve highly motivated teams that have left us perplexed, perplexed and tinkered with. We would like to thank all the teams for participating in the first German escape championship and the professional association as well as the three partners of the escape room companies for the fantastic organizing process. Congratulations to the first German Escape Master from Riddle Room Ruhrpott, “said Christian Krumm, Head of Communications at Bochum Marketing.
The winning team is also satisfied. “We loved it here in Bochum. We had a lot of fun in all three disciplines. We can only recommend everyone to try the online game or the bike tour for themselves, ”recommended Sascha Symannek. They want to put the € 500 prize pool on a pub crawl and a new escape room experience. But much more important to them is the title itself. “It’s a great feeling to be able to call herself the first German breakaway champion,” reveals Lena Dworrak.
A long way to the title
The road to the title was long. In August, participants were able to qualify in escape rooms across Germany for the first round of the German Escape Championships, which took place in September as an online game. Even then, the Riddle Room Ruhrpott team was ahead. During the puzzle bike tour, which leads past the sights of Bochum and which everyone can play for free, as well as a journey through time in the latest escape room “UNsolved – Raum der Zeiten”, a project for the United Nations in Think², confirmed in the final round on their investigative skills last weekend. They prevailed against eleven teams from Bochum, Dortmund, Bad Salzuflen, Bremen, Berlin, Ravensburg, Herten, Hanau, Osnabrück and Cologne. In addition to lots of fun, the 49 players took home a gift box with all kinds of “Code: Bochum” souvenirs during a meeting at the Ratskeller.
Puzzle route through the city center
These souvenirs are available to everyone at the Bochum Tourist Information Office: from the Pago plush to the Arburu chocolate and the elegant wooden fridge magnets. The Urban Escape Challenge will also continue until October 16th. During the autumn holidays, the puzzle bike tour, two online games and a puzzle rally through the city center can be played on large cubes and shop windows for free. In addition, Bochum escape service providers offer special rooms at a reduced flat rate of 79 euros. When it comes to puzzles, you can collect codes that can be entered on the internet and carry one of around 50 prizes, including free spins at the escape room providers of Bochum Locked, Puzzle Room Ruhrpott and Think² each worth up to 144 euros, coupons from the aforementioned suppliers and escape games and merchandising items for “Code: Bochum”. More information and registration options are available online at www.bochum-tourismus.de/codebochum. If you want to stay overnight during the Urban Escape Challenge in Bochum, you can sleep in very special rooms. A total of ten puzzle rooms have been set up at acora – Living the City – in Nordring 44-50 and in the Mercure Hotel Bochum City in Massenbergstraße 19. Reservations are made directly through the respective hotels.
Strong partners
Bochum Marketing organizes the Urban Escape Challenge with the three operators of Locked’s Bochum Escape Room, Puzzle Room Ruhrpott and Think². The campaign is financed by the marketing fund of the city of Bochum. Each euro paid by the participating escape room operators was increased by three euros by the city of Bochum. The German championship was held with the support of the “Live Escape & Adventure Games” association.
