Play 'Zelda' IRL with an 'escape room'-style tour in 2017
What would it be like to play a Zelda game in real life?
Nintendo will let fans answer that question in 2017 with an "escape room"-style puzzle called "Defenders of the Triforce." The eight-city U.S. tour -- described by Nintendo as the "first wave" of events -- will kick off in San Francisco on Jan. 31.
Defenders of the Triforce is a creation of Scrap, the Kyoto-based company behind a number of other popular "escape room" games. Most of Scrap's events have lived in California -- specifically, San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles, as well as Toronto -- but this one will travel wider.
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Here's the schedule of confirmed dates and locations:
San Francisco -- Jan. 31-Feb. 5
Los Angeles -- Feb. 10-12
San Diego -- Feb. 24-25
Seattle -- TBA
Phoenix -- TBA
Houston -- TBA
Chicago -- TBA
New York -- TBA
Defenders of the Triforce won't work quite the same as more traditional escape rooms, since locking participants up in an enclosed space doesn't exactly capture the spirit of the Zelda series.
Instead, groups of six will work together under a time limit to solve a mystery in a "huge area." Throughout the experience, guests will encounter creatures and items from the Zelda-verse. And in an appropriately Zelda twist, items are used to solve puzzles that let groups move forward into new areas.
Once the puzzle portion of the event is finished, attendees will be able to hang out in a "promotional lounge" with photo opportunities and exclusive merchandise. In other words, you'll be able to buy Nintendo stuff.
Given that Nintendo Switch will likely launch sometime during or in close proximity to the tour, it's fair to speculate that you'll be able to check out the new hardware as well. Nintendo has already promised public Switch demonstrations, and this tour seems like a perfect opportunity -- especially with a new Zelda game on the way.
There's a trailer (above) that hypes the upcoming tour but offers little more in the way of details. Keep an eye on ScrapZelda.com if you want to stay on top of the latest updates.
Topics Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
