About us

From the screen to the workbench

Life looked pretty orderly once upon a time: the two of us, Susanne and Matthias, spent years working as software developers in the world of zeros and ones. Puzzles had always been our thing — so when we stumbled across the news that an escape room was opening right here in Kaiserslautern in 2015, we booked the very first slot on opening day. We were hooked instantly. But Kaiserslautern had nothing else to offer back then, so we kept driving further afield to feed the habit. By 2017 we had played around 25–30 rooms.

An anniversary and a touch too much perfectionism

The ball started rolling when Matthias joined the organising committee for the 200th anniversary of the Palatine Church Union in Kaiserslautern. Someone asked: "Could we build an escape room on this theme for the younger crowd?"

Challenge accepted. Easter 2017: the whole family gathered around the kitchen table, sketched out a concept and built the first puzzles and props. Meanwhile, we hunted for a suitable venue. After looking at a few parish halls it became clear — if we wanted it to feel real, we needed to build the entire room from scratch. That was far too much to take on as volunteers, and since Susanne had been working from home for twenty years and was more than ready to see real people again, we made the bold decision: we would start small, as a side business. Our first home was at the Business & Innovation Centre on Trippstadter Straße.

When a hobby becomes a passion

In March 2018 we welcomed our first guests — and were genuinely surprised by how well the concept landed. The immediate follow-up question was predictable: "Do you have another one?" We did not. But there was an empty basement room. That became our second adventure in 2019: "2218 — Save the World". By that point it was settled: we don't do things by halves. We quit our IT jobs and threw ourselves into the world of hand-built puzzle rooms full time.

Necessity breeds invention: the Covid years

Then Covid arrived and forced us to close. Sitting still and waiting isn't our style. We got creative:

• The Magic Puzzle Table: Born of necessity, we developed a mobile puzzle experience people could play at home. The idea spread quickly — today the table can be found at more than 20 locations across Germany. Don't be surprised if you spot our puzzle table in the lobby of an escape room in Hamburg, Munich or Berlin while you're on holiday.
• Remote games & city puzzle trail: We made our rooms playable over live video and sent people through the city with a puzzle-filled backpack.
• A four-metre shark: And because we apparently still had too much time on our hands, we built a four-metre great white shark with a friend — which ended up on display in a film museum.

Love at first sight: the move

In November 2024 we joined a vacant-property tour organised by the city's management team. There were some genuinely cool spaces — including an old bank with huge built-in vaults in the basement — but the spark never caught, right up until we walked into the very last property. We looked at each other and knew in that instant: this is our new home.

We slept on it, got in touch with the landlords — the chemistry was immediate — and then the biggest challenge in our company's history began: change-of-use permits, fire safety approvals and a full emotional rollercoaster. 2025 took everything we had, but with fantastic support from the city and a lot of amazing people around us, we made it.

Welcome to our new home at Barbarossastraße 1. There is more space for adventure here than ever — including our own dedicated VR area. And yes, it will probably be a building site for the rest of our lives. But it's one we are enormously proud of. (Spoiler: the grand magical world is still coming — we promise!)

High-tech & AI: a tool, not a replacement

As software developers, we have never been shy of technology — we'd be foolish not to make use of what's available today. Artificial intelligence helps us in the background with countless tasks: parts of the website build, programming the complex room-control systems, or turning our own hand-written lyrics into retro-style songs that play on the radio inside our Christmas room. Things that would once have been completely out of reach financially.

But — and we'll say this with full confidence — no AI in the world will replace us as human beings. The humour, the creative concepts, the wild storylines and above all the personal attention on the day: none of that leaves our hands. The warm welcome at the door, knowing exactly when a group needs a nudge, the relaxed chat afterwards — that is not an algorithm. That is real life experience, empathy and genuine hospitality.

Heart over conveyor belt

Let's be honest: as IT professionals we would have more free time and a much calmer bank balance. From the outside, running an escape room can look like easy money — in reality it means countless late nights, a lot of manual work and an hourly rate that would make any developer chuckle.

So why do we do it with such conviction? Because you pay a fair amount for the experience — and you deserve genuine enthusiasm, not a production line. That's why the game doesn't end after 60 minutes with us. Nobody leaves without a sense of achievement. We deliberately schedule two-hour windows per group so we have time to meet you properly before and after, catch up, or take a peek behind the scenes.

When guests become family

That philosophy pays off. Seeing a group walk out with shining eyes makes every late night worthwhile. Many of our guests feel more like family these days. And yes, there are fans who have played our Christmas loop room eight times — just so they can keep bringing new friends along and share the experience all over again.

We do not process crowds. We live and love this business — and one of us is almost always there in person for you. Come and visit, let yourself be enchanted and become part of our story. We can't wait to meet you.