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5 Wits is a chain entertainment venue that builds interactive adventure experiences with five locations in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The experiences have similarities with
escape room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room, is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limit ...
s, but are essentially meant for replayability, without puzzle solving under a fixed amount of time or difficulty restrictions. 5 Wits has been called the first "escape room type" attraction in the world, having first opened to the public in October 2004.


Description

Each location features interactive adventures with themes such as
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It is considered a classic within its genres and world literature. It was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 i ...
, a high tech spy mission, outer space, ancient Egypt, and medieval fantasy. In each adventure, a group of 2-12 guests are faced with puzzles and challenges they must overcome as a team as they work to progress through a series of rooms and complete their mission. There are computer controlled lighting and sound effects, optical illusions, and a wide variety of physical and mental puzzles and electromechanical effects. Guests can succeed or fail, and each adventure has multiple endings that will change based on how the group performs and what decisions the group makes. 5 Wits adventures are controlled completely by computer and do not involve a human operator, with each attraction self-resetting behind each group as it progresses.


Adventures

* Deep Space (Syracuse, West Nyack, Albany, Buffalo) - A futuristic adventure where adventure goers get teleported to an abandoned starship and they must work together to figure out what happened to the crew, but not everything is what it seems. * Drago's Castle (Syracuse, West Nyack, Albany, Buffalo, Arlington) - A medieval fantasy where adventure goers help a magical princess catch a fire-breathing dragon before it can destroy her world and theirs. * Espionage (Syracuse, Arlington) - A spy adventure where adventure goers become secret agents and must infiltrate an enemy base to stop a false flag event. * Tomb (Syracuse, West Nyack, Albany, Buffalo, Arlington) - An Indiana Jones style adventure where adventure goers must answer the riddles of a long dead pharaoh or else be trapped forever.


Origin of the name

5 Wits is named after the five inward wits from the writings of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and
Stephen Hawes Stephen Hawes ( – 1523) was an English poet of the Tudor period. Life He was probably born in Suffolk when the surname was common. If his own statement of his age may be trusted, he was born about 1474. He was educated at Oxford and travel ...
. These
five wits In the time of William Shakespeare, there were commonly reckoned to be five wits and five senses. The five wits were sometimes taken to be synonymous with the five senses, but were otherwise also known and regarded as the five inward wits ...
were common sense, imagination, estimation, fantasy, and memory, though there are also clear associations to the five senses. Each 5 Wits adventure requires the use of the five inward wits and is designed to immerse guests fully in a "5 senses themed" experience.


History

5 Wits was incorporated in 2003 by founder and president Matthew DuPlessie. The original business plan for 5 Wits, first called the Puzzle Room, was written and entered into the business plan competition at
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
in early 2003. 5 Wits' first location opened in October 2004 at 186 Brookline Avenue, Boston MA, hosting TOMB, 5 Wits first adventure. In 2006, 5 Wits' spun off a sister company, Box Fort, (originally called 5 Wits Productions) to design and build walk-through adventures for its growing business and provide services for third-party clients like museums, theaters, and theme parks. In 2007, 5 Wits opened Operation Spy, an hour long walk-through adventure inside the
International Spy Museum The International Spy Museum is an independent non-profit history museum which documents the tradecraft, history, and contemporary role of the intelligence field and espionage. It holds the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ...
. In 2010, 5 Wits moved the original TOMB adventure to Pigeon Forge, TN, selling it to a third party. The original TOMB continues to operate but is no longer owned or operated by 5 Wits. Meanwhile, a new 5 Wits location opened in August of that same year in Foxboro MA at
Patriot Place Patriot Place is an open-air shopping center owned by The Kraft Group built around Gillette Stadium, the home of the New England Patriots and New England Revolution. It is located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The first phase opened in late 20 ...
hosting Espionage and 20,000 Leagues. Since then, multiple new locations have opened, primarily in New York state. 5 Wits continues to expand, with new stores currently planned.


Locations

The company's five venues are located in: *
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
, at
Destiny USA Destiny USA (stylized as destiny usa and also known by its former name Carousel Center) is a six-story Shopping mall#Super-regional mall, super-regional shopping, dining, and entertainment complex on the shore of Onondaga Lake in the city of Syra ...
*
West Nyack, New York West Nyack is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Blauvelt, east of Nanuet, southwest of Valley Cottage, southeast of Bardonia, and west of Central ...
, at
Palisades Center Palisades Center is a shopping mall in West Nyack, New York, which as of December 2022, was the twelfth-largest in the United States by gross leasable space. It has also been one of the nation's most lucrative malls, producing $40 million in an ...
. This location opened in 2016 in a space that was an IMAX theater in the mall. *
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
, at
Crossgates Mall Crossgates Mall is an enclosed, automobile-oriented, super-regional shopping mall located in the Albany, New York suburb of Guilderland. It is the largest indoor shopping center in the Capital District, and the third largest in the State of N ...
. This location is nearly identical to the
West Nyack West Nyack is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Blauvelt, east of Nanuet, southwest of Valley Cottage, southeast of Bardonia, and west of Central ...
location. *
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, at
Walden Galleria Walden Galleria is a super-regional shopping mall located in Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo, New York located east of Interstate 90 and New York State Thruway exit 52 off Walden Avenue. The Walden Galleria comprises more than of retail space, ...
*
Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, at
Ballston Quarter Ballston Quarter is one of the first major suburban shopping centers built in the Washington metropolitan area. It opened in 1951 as Parkington Shopping Center and was the nation's first shopping center built around a multi-story parking garage. ...
, which opened in February 2019


References


External links


Official Website
{{authority control Science museums in New York (state) Science museums in Massachusetts Museums in Syracuse, New York Tourist attractions in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Rockland County, New York Tourist attractions in Syracuse, New York Entertainment companies established in 2004