A Winnipeg couple opened the doors this week on the city’s first escape room, letting players search out clues in an imaginative form of competition.

Picture yourself locked in a room. No way out, except by solving a series of clues. The final clue leads you to a key, which saves you from a nuclear explosion.

"You have 60 minutes. Good luck."

And with that, you and a group of friends have to search for hidden clues that will save Winnipeg from definite doom. The clues can be anything from what's on the wall, to what's hiding inside of a briefcase.

First you have to find them, and then figure out what they mean.

"You are taking a tour of the nuclear power plant, and while you are in there, there is a catastrophic failure, resulting in a complete nuclear meltdown. So you have to move your group into the highly restricted area, and then out the door," said Megan Schmidt.

She opened The Real Escape with her husband Adam on Nov. 20. They say indoor escape rooms have been gaining traction around the world, and the pair opened Winnipeg’s first escape room after visiting ones in Ontario.

The Real Escape plans to change its theme and clues about every six months. Schmidt said between 30 and 35 per cent of their more than 250 visitors have figured out all the clues.

"It’s amazing when I’m watching the groups, how (for) some people a puzzle will just be totally over their head, and then the next person beside them it just clicks in with them,” said Schmidt.

Schmidt said the fastest team got out in just over 40 minutes, but the majority of teams battle right down to the wire.

"It’s a great team building activity because there are a lot of different types of puzzles in here, so it requires a lot of different types of minds," Schmidt said they offer up a few clues for struggling teams.

Groups are made up of four to eight players, the degree of difficulty gets harder the more team members you have.

The real escape is open evenings and weekends. Corporate groups can book all day during the week. It costs $20, with a time limit of one hour.

For more information, you can visit www.therealescape.ca