VIDEO games which put you in the perspective of someone being chased and shot at make me uneasy, and when my mum asks me crossword questions, I'll offer just two replies before my solution is to "ask Google".

Or she just gets a shrug, smile, and teenage-like "I dunno".

So I already knew the extent of my problem-solving/escape abilities when I signed up for a Friday evening at the Doomsday Games - Colchester's second escape room.

If Team Gazette and I escaped the year 2035 with the future of mankind in the grip of our sweaty palms, it would be nothing to do with my quick thinking and everything to do with the balance of skills I'd harnessed on my team.

Gazette:

A Doomsday Games logo

We did escape - in an hour and 16 minutes - which felt like a lifetime actually because my brain was using muscles it wouldn't usually.

Whoever did it in the fastest time of an hour and 3 minutes, I'm convinced were no first-timers.

I mean there's everyday logic and there are escape rooms, which throw you into a scenario with nothing more than props to root through and piece together (I loved this part by the way), aided by a very futuristic Doomsday wristwatch. Or as I saw it, our encouragement when the light at the end of the tunnel began to dim.

Jackie and John Sosta opened the Doomsday Games with daughter Danielle, who also founded Flight Aerial Arts, and her partner Alan France last October.

The self-built puzzles were a family effort - Dani did all the soldering and Alan is the programmer behind them all.

READ MORE: Escape room plans get the go ahead in former bakery 

In hindsight, I was mistaken for underestimating how challenging stumbling through three deceptively complex rooms within a 90-minute deadline would be.

Towards the end, when I was forced to recall mathematical logic I'd abandoned at school, I semi gave up.

People might have been dying outside but there were two of us who couldn't see the way out.

Gazette:

A Doomsday Games lock logo

I'd also forgotten the whole point of the mission was to leave with something, not just push our way through the final door! And definitely NOT the fire exit which I was determined would contain a clue to escape the science lab so I didn't see the bright green sign until afterwards. (Whoops.)

The game is designed for six puzzlers and we had five. There was definitely enough for us to do and we had our pick of props to wear for the post-victory photos.

What made this escape room experience so entertaining is I also saw a different side to my colleagues.

I might work with them everyday but I don't see them barking demands from across a shaded room or crawling on their hands and knees.

READ MORE: Plans for second escape room gets go ahead from Colchester Council

Despite Doomsday's intricacy, the only downside was the delay in the immersive experience.

Although the sign tells you you're at the right place, the unassuming office building has the potential to be a much larger part of the plot.

Instead the suspense derived from our confusion at when the game began.

Unfortunately, none of us can go again for a very long time, and I refuse to tag along as a silent team member.

But we'll keep shtum so to not spoil the fun for anyone else.

Doomsday Games, Colchester

  • Location: Global House, Moorside
  • Open: Seven days a week until late
  • Cost: Between £19.95 and £29.95 per person, depending on time of day