Angela Swedin opens the serial killer's Hidden Hideaway escape room Saturday, April 1, 2023, just before the grand opening of Swedin's Secret Escape Room in downtown Wallowa. This one still has some work needed before it's ready for the public.

WALLOWA — Are you up for an adventure that requires ingenuity and communication skills from which to escape? Then, Swedin’s Secret Escape Room is just the place in downtown Wallowa.

You’re also limited by the time it takes.

“It’s a room that you enter and you have one hour to solve puzzles,” said Angela Swedin, the owner and operator of the facility. “Each room will have a mission or a goal.”

She said the escape rooms will change every few months.

“One room is like abduction by aliens,” she said. “For example, you end up in a laboratory and you have an hour to escape.”

Normally, teams of two to six people take on the escape adventure, she said.

“I think four is the sweet spot,” she said.

For her grand opening Saturday, April 1, Swedin had one room ready with another nearly so. The room that was ready was “Alien Abduction.” The other was the “Hidden Hideaway,” where participants come upon a cabin while hiking somewhere in the Wallowa Mountains and find it’s the hideout of a serial killer.

“That one is more of a thriller adventure,” she said.

She even gives the rooms difficulty ratings.

The Alien Abduction experience is rated easy to medium, while the Hidden Hideaway is rated hard.

The cost to participate also varies with the rating.

Alien Abduction costs $18 per person, while Hidden Hideaway is $25 per person.

Each puzzle room challenges the participants to connect clues, ciphers and use communication skills to escape within an hour.

“It’s all about critical thinking and teamwork and trying to figure out the puzzles,” she said. “One person might find something and another person might find something and you’ll have to connect your thoughts to figure out the puzzle that you’re looking at.”

Swedin said she plans to change the rooms periodically. She plans to change the Alien Abduction room in about three months, while Hidden Hideaway will last about a year. Her husband, Shea, helps with the sets, while she operates the business.

“I’m called the game master. I create the games but I’m also there to help with clues,” she said. “They’re never going to be stuck for too long. They can always ask for help from the game master.”

A unique concept

Swedin hasn’t firmly decided on what future rooms will involve, but she has a few ideas.

“I am not sure. It just comes to me,” she said. “I think I’ll do a pirate treasure hunt. Another thought is a bank heist.”

The grand opening on April 1 was more of a move from her home to downtown Wallowa. She said she’s been operating an escape room for the past year from home but wanted to bring more entertainment to the downtown area. The new location is in a former grocery store.

Not only will it liven up Wallowa, she said, it’ll bring folks from nearby communities.

“It pulls in people from Union County as well,” Swedin said.

She said the whole escape room concept is a bit unique in the area and the closest ones she knows of are in Boise and Walla Walla.

“I fell in love with escape rooms when I found my first in Las Vegas,” she said. “I wanted to bring something new and adventurous to the community.”

She said the concept can be more than just for fun. She sees participating in the escape room as one businesses can use to develop qualities they want in their employees.

“We also try to promote team-building,” she said. “For businesses, it’d be a good thing to use to promote team building within their workplaces.”

But overall, Swedin wants the public to know it’s family friendly. They won’t have to worry about claustrophobia or getting trapped for longer than the hour they’re paying for.

“I want people to know they’re never locked in this room,” she said.

What: Swedin’s Secret Escape Room

Where: 202 E. First St., Suite E, in downtown Wallowa

Full details and tickets: https://swedinsecretescape.hitedev.com, www.facebook.com/swedinsecretescaperoom

Contact: 541-398-0124, swedinsecretescape@gmail.com