Documents need to be examined for clues. Maps need to be analyzed. A safe combination needs to be cracked. Most importantly, that locked door needs to be opened before 60 minutes have elapsed and the team's mission ends in failure.

This is a typical hour at Escape MSP: a fully interactive real life game experience for groups of 4–10 friends, family members, or actual CIA agents preparing for annual performance reviews. Upon being locked inside the thematically designed room, teams solve puzzle after puzzle as they attempt to uncover incriminating evidence and then figure out how to escape. The clock continues its countdown throughout this entire process and, when time runs out, the group is considered captured. As co-creator Ryan Muhlbauer told CBS Minnesota, "In order to win, you definitely need to use your wit, you need to use teamwork, and you need to use comprehensive problem-solving skills." (Alternatively, you can use the panic button, which ends the simulation and unlocks the door immediately.)