Homecoming is a time of year for people to come together to compete in different events and to show their school spirit. One event, being new this year, was the Escape Rooms held at the Markee Pioneer Student Center on Oct. 10.

“This event was inspired by companies showcasing what they have to offer,” Campus Programming and Relations event producer Tiffany Schauer said. “We chose to try it because it was something brand new. We went through Neon Entertainment.”

Minute to win it was originally scheduled for this event time slot, but was replaced with the escape rooms once plans had been finalized. CPR had to come up with rules that fit into homecoming, such as time limited in the escape room, how long the event would take place, how many people per team and how many rooms would be set up.

There were four rooms set up as crime scenes. The mission was to figure out who killed the sheriff and to diffuse the bomb. Each team consisted of six people who worked together to follow the clues and solve the case with only 30 minutes to do so. The team who solved the case the fastest was declared the winner and earned 30 event points. Several groups competed with Pickard and Ceres Womens Fraternity/Farmhouse having the fastest times.

Having a new event comes with its challenges. The event was scheduled for 5 p.m. but was pushed back to 5:30 p.m. because the company that the escape rooms were through, Neon Entertainment, were still on their way to campus and running significantly behind schedule. They needed three hours to set up the rooms so the event started at 8 p.m. In one of the rooms, the clues did not line up to diffuse the bomb and someone from the company had to give them the code to make it work.

“Depending on the budget we will do it again next year but through a different company,” Schauer said. “If the event would have been on time, it would have been more successful.”

Despite the rough start, several groups stayed later than expected to participate.

“It wasn’t easy but it was a fun experience,” criminal justice major Matt Havey said. “If I could do it again, I would.”