After successfully working together to keep a paint-filled ball out of the danger zone, navigating a Mission Impossible-like laser maze, dropping some knowledge during a trivia round and racking up a high score in the room filled with columns of pulsing lights, teams tackling the Color Chaos experience may find themselves preoccupied during the final challenge. The steering-wheel-like controllers used to navigate a fighter jet through a series of rings are all synced together, so coordination is critical. It’s also unnerving to be dressed in full-body hazmat suits and staring down a wall of nozzles poised to blast participants head-to-toe with multicolored paint.
Color Chaos, developed and owned by the creators of Lexington-based Breakout Games, opened in mid-February at 309 N. Ashland Ave. Color Chaos is across the street from Breakout Games and the two location-based experiences share some similarities, but there are key differences. While Breakout Games is about figuring out what to do and solving a series of clues and puzzles to “escape” from a room, Color Chaos participants receive detailed instructions on exactly how to play the various games. The trick is working together to achieve the highest possible score. “With Breakout you also get people that don’t win—you get to the end and you didn’t get out in time,” said co-owner Bryce Anderson. “But here everyone completes it. It’s just what score you get.”
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Groups of two to six players can reserve a time through the Color Chaos website (colorchaos.com); arrive about 15 minutes early to sign waivers, suit up and receive instructions; and then work their way through five different games contained in a series of five rooms. The games take about eight minutes each to complete and can be adjusted to work with two to six people. Leaderboards are posted on screens in the lobby and online, along with downloadable photos and video.
“We really enjoyed the physical experience where people, with their friends and families, can leave their devices behind, come together and play for one hour. They’re working together and building relationships in a physical environment,” Anderson said. He and his fellow co-owners hope to eventually replicate the Color Chaos concept with additional locations, similar to how they’ve grown Breakout Games.
The Color Chaos team came up with the ideas for the games internally and commissioned software developers around the globe to build them. “Everything is proprietary, but we did get inspiration from our friends at Beat the Bomb in Brooklyn, especially the idea for the paint.”
Ah yes, the paint. Although you know it’s coming, Color Chaos’ signature element arrives as a surprise somewhere near the end of the final game. While the water-based paint washes away easily and the suits and face masks do a good job of protecting both clothing and participants, the blast makes an impression. As one team stepped away from the white-painted wall and into the cleanup area, their silhouettes were neatly outlined by the splatter.