Boise Escape
By Chelsea Chambers Photos Vierra Reid
For most of us, the thought of being trapped in a room with no obvious means of escape would be mortifying. But now-a-days, this new form of recreation is as commonplace as mini-golf. Family outings, date night, business team-building, birthday parties… everyone is looking to get trapped.
And for good reason. Studies are now showing that escape rooms help foster creativity, mental focus, and problem-solving abilities. While of course, deepening team-work and fine-tuning those motor skills. It’s become so much more than just being stuck—it’s a booming industry.
Anik and Blake Furlow fell in love with the concept of an escape room while traveling. After returning to the Treasure Valley, they decided to take the leap and create one themselves. They’ve seen great success and various other escape rooms are popping up all over the Valley, modeling themselves after Boise Escape.
The rapid growth of their company and the increase in competition requires the Boise Escape team to be constantly upping their game with new rooms, new experiences, and new ways to get locked in.
Laura Coleman, Boise Escape Office Manager, shares with us what’s new with Boise Escape since we last heard from them, “Boise Escape has been building a rock star team of game operators over the past year and we’ve implemented a new game on-site called The Heist in May 2018. The Heist is an art gallery-themed escape room in which you have to enter the Wooded River Gallery with your criminal cohorts to steal the most famous art piece in all of Idaho—the famous Idaho Golden Potato. The unique thing about The Heist is that the art in the room was created by local, Treasure Valley artists. We also launched the Boise Escape Book Club that you can follow on our social media pages. We feature a book every two months that is either a mystery, thriller, or choose your own adventure.”
Boise Escape also now boasts their mobile escape room: Boise Escape on Wheels. Coleman explains, “The game is shorter than our on-site games and is a good introduction to the idea of an escape game. Boise Escape on Wheels can be rented out for parties, birthdays, family reunions, and company picnics. We added a spooky version of our regular game during Halloween that can be booked for any time. We are debuting a new, third option for Boise Escape on Wheels at Treefort Music Festival that is music-related.”
The locally-owned company plans to increase their community engagement and aspires to host charity events in the near future. “With Boise Escape being locally owned, operated, and created, we really try to support our local small businesses in any way we can. We’re in this together!” says Coleman.
Do you think you have what it takes?
For more information about Boise Escape, booking, and their policies, visit them online at
