How did you feel going into the date?

Dylan: As I was climbing the stairs to the escape room, they were playing some really dramatic music and I was thinking oh, my goodness … What strange individual is going to show up to this? I’m going on a blind date and my form has barely even been filled out. The chances of meeting someone who I’d actually work well with are gonna be zilch!

So how did you react when you saw each other?

Amelia: He seemed quite confident and very British. I’m American, if you couldn’t tell, but, yeah, he’s a very charming person.

Dylan: I could immediately tell that she was really bubbly – had energy, had confidence. And to be honest, I was just so relieved. I was like okay. Fantastic. This isn’t going to be excruciating!

Good first impressions! Where did it go from there?

“‘Typically you save it for the second date to start fumbling around in the dark! ’”

Amelia: I’ve done quite a few escape rooms. I think that one was around my 15th, and his third. So, as more of the escape room expert, I felt the pressure to show that I knew what I was doing. But I think we made a really good team! He never made me feel dumb and he never mansplained puzzles to me.

Dylan asked Kat (the person in charge of the escape room and who pretty much watched our whole date unfold) if we had good chemistry after we had escaped. And she definitely thought we did. She also said that a lot of people who don’t know each other don’t get out, so it was really impressive for two people who didn’t know each other at all.

Dylan: Kat fully understood the mission brief, and she basically took on the role of Ian Sterling from Love Island. She’d chime in with commentary over the loudspeaker, and it felt very surreal – like a game show. There was one point where the lights turned off, and we heard this weird, omnipresent voice going: “typically you save it for the second date to start fumbling around in the dark!” Terrifying.

What was the experience of a first date in an escape room like?

Dylan: I’m not entirely sure how to express what it’s like trying to escape a room while getting to know someone for the first time, while also flirting with them, while also trying to solve random lockbox puzzles. It’s hard to capture the breadth of human experience covered in that hour.

Amelia: I think escape rooms say a lot about a person; how they approach problems, communicate, that sort of thing. Also, I really like an activity. I think it takes the pressure off, and you can always get drinks after as we did, but it does a lot of the work for you.

“I think escape rooms say a lot about a person”

You got drinks after, then?

Amelia: Yeah, right before we escaped, he said: “let’s go to the pub”.

Dylan: I think it only took us 15 minutes from first meeting each other to reach the common expectation that, yeah, we would definitely go for drinks after.

What happened when you got to the pub, and had the chance to properly chat?

Dylan: I think that we sussed out each other’s vibe pretty well by then, having done puzzles for an hour. We talked about all sorts really. Now I know all these little various factoids about her life, but there was no, like, clear structure, it just flowed really nicely and it was a really good time.

Amelia: We ended up having quite a deep conversation. He asked me what I was looking for in a relationship and I said, “oh, just someone who’s nice”. And then of course he completely obliterated me! We were talking about so many different things, like our families, the morality of having children within the climate crisis, like, a lot of things that I wouldn’t normally say on a first date.

“And then we kissed!”

And how did you finish the date?

Dylan: We walked back to get our bikes; I picked up mine and then I walked her back to hers. And then we kissed!

Amelia: He asked to kiss me goodnight, and then he gave me his number and cycled off.

Looks like a second date is on the cards… but now it’s time for the dreaded question. How would you rate the date?

Amelia: I don’t want to quantify my emotions.

It’s a Varsity blind date, babes. We’ve got to rate it out of 10!

Amelia: I think I’m playing poker. Well, I would definitely say at least a nine. Honestly, it was one of the best, if not the best first dates I’ve ever been on – it was one of the most fun nights I’ve ever had.

“It was one of the best, if not the best first dates I’ve ever been on”

Dylan: A good date, nine or 10.

Okay.

Dylan: Ruby, Ruby, what did Amelia say?

You’ll find out.

Dylan: This is like leaving Uber reviews, except you don’t ever expect to see your Uber driver again.

I’ll tell you it was good, and that’s it.

Dylan: Okay… but what number did she leave?