M
y partner and I are in a
“room.” We can see the
stars, a red full moon, and hear crickets
in the background. The moss-draped
trees are close. There’s a cabin in front
of us with a heavy padlock on the door.
There’s a mystery involving the cabin
and the odd behavior of the animals in
this area, and we only have one hour
to solve it. We need to get going, but
where do we start?
We started in Morgan Hill. A small
plaque on the wall next to a non-
descript door said MPower Escape
Rooms, 17415 Monterey Rd., Suite
207. The door opened onto a wide,
carpeted stairway. As we ascended into
the darkness, the treads creaked. At the
top of the stairs, we turned to the left
down a short hallway and spotted the
MPower Escape logo, a square maze
with a keyhole in the center.
MPower Escape co-owners, Janelle
Gallagher, Hilary Andrews, and Rebecca
Hargreaves became friends through
their kids’ shared activities. These active
moms started brainstorming ideas for
businesses they could start together.
After an escape room adventure in San
Jose with the moms and their daugh-
ters, Rebecca recalled, “We weren’t
very good.” But she couldn’t escape the
escape room. “I’ve got a great idea,” she
told the others. “Let’s design our own
escape rooms.”
In the classic escape room, in films
and novels, the hero wakes up in a
strange room. She doesn’t know how
she got there, the room is locked, time
is ticking, and she must escape—or
someone will die. Fortunately, these
aren’t the stakes at MPower Escape. The
rooms are not locked—you can exit any
time, and it’s not about escaping the
room, it’s about solving the puzzles,
and solving the mystery. Finish in
60 minutes and you win. And, oh,
nobody dies.
Hilary said that their previous busi-
ness ideas had been fun exercises, but
this, “This is doable. We can do this.”
So they set about making it happen.
They started kicking things around,
listening to each other, questioning
ideas, and refining the details into a
complete plan.
“We balance each other well,” said
Rebecca.
“I’m not afraid to pick up a saw
and try something,” Janelle said.
“Hilary keeps us on time and bud-
get,” joked Rebecca.
“We worked together on both the
business and the creativity sides to
help each other and the business,” she
added. MPower Escape opened on
November 1, 2018.
Janelle, Hilary, and Rebecca inter-
rupt, talk over, and finish each other’s
sentences as only sisters or long-time
friends can. Janelle/Hilary/Rebecca:
—We’ve been to other escape rooms
that weren’t designed very well—We
wanted the rooms to be fun, challeng-
ing—Unique—We wanted people to
be totally immersed—There are no
red herrings, nothing that is purposely
misleading—Once a puzzle is solved,
MPOWER ESCAPE ROOMS
17415 Monterey Road, Suite 207 • Morgan Hill
(669) 888-3901
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
june/july 2019
you don’t need to revisit it—Every puz-
zle relates to the story— Our first room
is called The Cabin—We designed the
story so that you have to walk through
the set and solve a mystery—The story
needs to flow and not get resolved until
it’s done. The website "Escape Room
Tips” rated The Cabin among the 8 Best
Escape Rooms in San Jose (extending
the range of San Jose to include Morgan
Hill). Escaperoomtips.com/top/san-jose-
escape-rooms.
Rebecca said that an escape room
“really is for everyone. There’s a mis-
conception that escape rooms are
scary—they’re not. It’s nice when fami-
lies come together.” Hilary said: “Some
people think it’s not for them. One dad
stepped into the room. He thought it
was just for kids, but then he stayed to
play the game,” she added.
“Everyone who comes wants to do
another one,” Janelle said.
My partner and I were just a team
of two—you can have up to eight.
There’s a little physical activity, bend-
ing and crawling. We managed fine.
We couldn’t take our cell phones in,
and we weren’t allowed to dismantle
the furniture. We were monitored on
video and audio in case we needed one
of the up-to-five available hints. It was
our first escape room. We needed all
five to escape. Hint: Use the hints—it’s
worth it to finish. The room is clever
and the clues make sense—usually
after the fact. Get some food and drink
afterwards. You’ll have a lot to talk
about. MPower Escape’s second room,
The Secret, opened in May. Book your
escape at mpowerescape.com.
We’re thinking we’ll need fewer hints
on the next one.
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