FARMINGTON — Joe Musumeci has always loved puzzles and games, so after graduating from the University of Maine with a degree in education, he incorporated his love of games into the lessons he taught.
When “escape rooms” started becoming popular, Musumeci began visiting several around the state. He fell in love with them and decided to create his own escape room experience. Thus, Farmington Underground became reality.
Farmington Underground, at 109 Church St., seeks to create a unique experience for groups of three to six people. Musumeci said he hopes to have it fully operational by the third week of March.
The experience will begin with a short introduction from Musumeci, followed by an introductory puzzle — a small chest sitting on the table in the lobby that must be opened.
“It introduces the escape room concepts and gets the teams into themselves, figuring out within the first few minutes how they’re going to work together before they move to the big room and start attempting the puzzles,” Musumeci said.
To start, Farmington Underground will have just one room for groups to experience. Musumeci said he hopes to get to maybe three rooms.
“They’re all going to fall under this concept that there’s this secret society called the Farmington Underground,” he said, “and they are able to time-travel, so every room that will be brought here will follow that.”
The first room is an “initiation” into the society on its 100th anniversary, in the year 2118, and every additional room will add to the existing storyline.
The whole experience should take about 90 minutes, although the actual time depends on how well the group works together.
“Communication is huge,” Musumeci said. “Being able to point things out, and most importantly, listen to each other.”
For those concerned about the “escape” part, they need not fear. The door is never actually locked and anyone can leave at any time.
Another perk at Farmington Underground is that all parties will remain private, whereas some other escape rooms might split up groups and add more members to existing ones.
The experience will be available to all ages and abilities.
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