'Escape room' games have become a runaway hit across Europe

Escape room experiences are popular with locals and tourists in Malaysia too. Filepic

When Attila Gyurkovics created Europe’s first escape game in Budapest, Hungary, all he needed was some padlocks, a cellar, and a large helping of audacity.

But after first appearing in Japan in the 2000s, such immersion games have now gone global, offering a vast range of puzzling experiences that offer creative and fun ways to escape a sticky situation.