7 September, 2019
New York City: Overview Collective and Clue Chase NYC have partnered up to create a new climate themed escape room called “Sunken City,” hosted weekends during September at the House of Solutions on Governors Island.
In a forgotten laboratory on Governors Island set sometime in the not-so-far future, scientists have left clues to help you time travel in hopes you can save the city. Set in a dystopian future NYC affected by rising seas due to climate change, teams are invited to solve puzzles about possible climate solutions to prevent future calamity.
David Chase, President of Clue Chase said, “Clue Chase is always seeking to create custom escape games. This opportunity is right at our sweet spot where we can support a cause we believe in and offer a game that is not only a lot of fun but also educational. Our games are always designed to be collaborative and foster communication. Each puzzle in the Sunken City game is thus carefully designed to highlight a proposed environmental initiative for New York City. The game underscores that meaningful change can only happen by working together toward a common goal.”
Although our escape room is a game, sea level rise is a true reality for the future of New York City. According to a report released in March 2019, 37% of real estate in lower Manhattan is at risk from storm surges such as that experienced by Hurricane Katrina. By 2100 this number will jump to 50%, with projected surges as high as 6 feet. 20% of buildings in lower Manhattan could experience daily flooding. The NYC Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency (ORR) and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has identified 500 million $USD in climate resilience planning projects, and it’s possible this number could eventually reach 10 billion $USD.
The family friendly experience includes puzzles related to sustainability solutions such as solar, water, soil and recycling. Visitors are challenged to work as a team to unravel puzzles based on sustainable initiatives related to the OneNYC 2050 / Green NYC initiatives.
“Part of unlocking the puzzle to solving the climate crisis, is moving online conversation to in-person experiences that are fun and engaging. We at Overview Collective are trying to work with different industries, such as escape rooms, to make the climate movement more accessible,” said Kristin Gutekunst, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Overview Collective. Added Tarik Mohamed, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder, “This hands-on approach defines the importance of working together as a team, and hopefully shows that the solutions are out there.”
“Sunken City” is live Saturdays and Sundays throughout September from 11am - 5pm at the House of Solutions, an artistic residency program hosted by Human Impacts Institute on Governors Island (Nolan Park, House 4B). The escape room takes about 15 to 20 minutes, and is ideal for teams of 4-6 players. You can reserve your spot ahead of time at https://cluechase.com/sunken.
**************************
Media Contacts:
Kristin Gutekunst: kristin@overviewcollective.com
David Chase: david@cluechase.com
About: Overview Collective:
Overview Collective is an educational and vocational platform that brings global, big picture concepts down to Earth. We create fun and engaging initiatives such as hackathons, XR productions and exhibits, escape rooms and games to inspire the next generation to seek green careers and more sustainable lifestyles. Immersive multimedia and offline community building creates momentum and highlight the extraordinary efforts of individuals and organizations who are generating climate friendly solutions while introducing ways to get involved.
About Clue Chase:
Clue Chase was founded in 2015 with one goal in mind – make the best possible escape room games. In 2015, escape rooms were just beginning to open up in New York City, and everyone had different ideas about what escape rooms could or should be. We poured ourselves into creating something that went beyond just escaping a vaguely themed room; we wanted to create something that could immerse players in a cohesive narrative across several separate rooms/game sessions. We believe that the ideal escape room experience begins the moment you walk into our front door, you shouldn’t have to wait until you’re in the room for the fun to start. With that in mind we have crafted the self contained universe of Clue Chase Labs, a wayward Time Travel agency attempting to track down an incredibly powerful alien artifact, that they can then use for… entirely noble purposes. All of our games are contained within this context, and feature easter eggs referencing the other games for repeat players to discover. This is always our goal – to entertain you, confuse you, and to (hopefully) make you feel just a bit like an actual genius. We hope you’ll enjoy what we’ve crafted for you, as thousands of players have before.
About the House of Solutions:
The House of Solutions is a collaboration between the Human Impacts Institute and the Climate Reality Project NYC Metro Region Chapter. It's a place where creativity sparks environmental action and climate solutions come to life! Programs combine arts, culture and science-based learning to inspire environmental action and engage visitors with ongoing exhibits, workshops and residency programs from the Human Impacts Institute, as well as weekly presentations and talks from metro-area Climate Reality leaders. Visitors will be able to engage with diverse leaders from the arts, policy, science and beyond, while connecting with the ways they can make a difference.