“You have one hour to escape,” says our game instructor. He closes the door behind him. We look at each other for one moment, then start scrambling to escape…

For some, being locked in a room for an hour is a bit frightening, but I’m here to say – it’s thrilling. With most entertainment these days involving a computer screen, phone, or TV, it’s refreshing to find The Escape Game, which challenges groups to escape an immersive room by completing a set of tasks. Complete them in one hour and you win! By the end of the hour your heart is pumping, your mind is working, and you’ve just had a blast with people you love.

Texas is home to three different The Escape Game locations—Austin, Houston and Dallas—all of which offer a total of four different game rooms. With Prison Break, gamers try to escape from what looks like a life-sized jail. The Heist challenges groups to find a missing art piece stolen by an art thief, while Gold Rush encourages players to find hidden gold.

Then there’s the Playground room. Designed to resemble a classroom, Playground asks players to complete a variety of classwork-themed tasks in different subjects like English, Math, Art and P.E. so players can attend a coveted kickball game after school. This particular immersive game is only available in The Escape Game located in the Grapevine Mills Mall in Dallas.

Recently, I was joined by three other friends to take on the Playground game. Soon after we were “locked in,” we were racing between a classroom and playground, looking for clues, finding hidden doors and compartments, doing science experiences and searching for literary knowledge. Though we didn’t make it out of the room in one hour, we found ourselves rushing with adrenaline and unable to stop talking about the amazing experience afterwards.

The Escape Game is a perfect activity for Texas families, friends, team-building groups and organizations, teens, sports teams, bachelor and bachelorette parties… the list goes on! And with summer fast approaching, this indoor option is great for those who want to be active while escaping 100-degree heat. Book your room now! It’s totally worth it.

Alex Temblador is a novelist and travel writer based in Dallas. Her work has appeared in outlets including Oyster, Matador Network, Culture Trip and the Huffington Post. @alextemblador