A new escape room will be coming to Ashland soon. The Masterminds Escape Room and Game Library will open on Nov. 2, two weeks after the ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Friday, Oct. 20.

The “masterminds” behind the concept of the shop are Ben Garrett and his wife Ariel, who first got interested in the idea of opening an escape room after seeing ones in Mansfield and Wooster.

“We fell in love with the concept right away,” said Ben Garrett. “Escape rooms offer you a chance to escape from reality by focusing on solving various puzzles and challenges and that’s what we wanted to bring to Ashland after seeing escape rooms in Mansfield and Wooster.”

Due to the growth of downtown Ashland as a destination for not only families, but also the local student population, the Garretts feel very optimistic about business once the shop officially opens.

“We’re hopeful to get a lot of business once we open up,” said Ariel Garrett. “With how the downtown area’s been lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if we draw a large crowd. Now that people don’t have to go to Mansfield or Wooster for an escape room experience, they can come here.”

The two escape rooms that will be featured are “Time Traveler,” and “The Heist.” “Time Traveler” will allow players the chance to fix a time machine before it self-destructs. “The Heist” simulates robbing a valuable jewel from a museum with high-tech security measures.

For the game library, board game enthusiasts can get their chance to play any board game they desire. From Monopoly to Parcheesi, it is just a matter of choosing. The escape room will cost $27 entry while the game library is only $7. College students receive a $2 discount on prices.

Masterminds will be open Thursday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays from 6 p.m. to midnight, and Saturdays from noon to 10 p.m.

Correction: Our sincere apology

It has been brought to our attention that a story published in the last issue of the Collegian about Masterminds Escape Room and Game Library included incorrect and plagiarized information.

The article listed the pricing for the escape room and game library incorrectly. The correct pricing is $25 for the escape room, with a $2 discount to military and students, and $5 for the game library.

The writer of the story did not interview their sources directly and instead plagiarized them from a Richland Source article. None of the editors had realized this before publishing the article and we apologize for not doing a better job at fact checking.

The article “Ashland’s Masterminds to open game library Thursday: Escape rooms expected to be finished by end of October” is by Tim Busbey, who deserves full credit for their work that the Collegian writer stole.

The Collegian writer did not follow the integrity of the journalism our publication believes in, and is being dealt with accordingly.

We as a staff would like to sincerely apologize to Masterminds Escape Room and Game Libraryfor publishing incorrect information about their company, as well as the Richland Source for the plagiarism of their work that took place.

To read the original Richland Source article visit: http://www.richlandsource.com/ashland_source/ashland-s-masterminds-to-open-game-library-thursday/article_2da20188-a9b9-11e7-95a9-ebb18dfd20ca.html

To book an escape room at Masterminds visit: https://www.ashlandmasterminds.com/