You have 60 minutes to solve Rock Hill’s ‘addicting’ mystery. Ready?

At first, Jessie Relation had no idea what she and husband Matthew were getting into.

Matthew had found a Groupon to play at an escape room in Charlotte on date night, but Jessie was apprehensive. She worried it would be scary.

“I was so nervous, but then the lady who greeted us said we’re going to love it, and that we’ll be addicted,” Relation said. “We had a blast.”

The Relations were hooked, and soon the couple were trying out other escape rooms. Even Relation’s parents Michelle and Robert Alexander came out to play.

Now, the four of them are turning that love for puzzles and excitement into a business. Together, they run Escape Eight on Rock Hill’s Oakland Avenue. The escape room — the only one in York County, according to Relation — attracts about 200 customers each weekend.

In a nutshell, escape rooms are presented as mysteries. Players scour an area for clues, solve riddles and even unlock new passageways to further a story. Typically, players are allowed one hour to solve the mystery, with hints or clues available along the way.

Rock Hill’s escape room has two possible rooms: One asks players to solve the mysterious disappearance of a local conspiracy theorist named Henry, while another portrays a race against the clock to help a man named Jedediah from being captured.

“It’s almost like a live game of Clue,” said Relation, a Lake Wylie area resident. “You get a huge thrill of beating the clock.”

All of the furniture, puzzles, clues and pieces for the two rooms are original and handmade, said Relation. The group put in months of effort to not only create the concepts, but test them to be sure they work correctly, she said.

Relation said business has been strong since Escape Eight opened in August 2016. In March, they also acquired Xtreme Xcapes, an Escape Game experience in Gastonia, N.C.

Saturday is the busiest time of the weekend, Relation said, and customers should book their spot.

Relation said customers range in age from 11 to 70. She says children are the best at finding clues, while adults are better suited to piece evidence together.

“There’s no age limit on fun,” said Relation. “If you’re overly analytical, you may try to over think things. It takes good observation skills and team work ethic.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 3:09 PM with the headline "You have 60 minutes to solve Rock Hill’s ‘addicting’ mystery. Ready?."