Earlier this year, Rox and Ceri from our Melbourne office flew over to our Xequals headquarters in Wellington. This meant we all got the opportunity to attend DrupalSouth and spend some quality time working on projects together.

And what do we do when we’re all together under one roof? Shenanigans and Team Day, of course!

We chose to do something a little bit different - a little bit creative, a little bit brainy - and signed ourselves up for a top secret spy mission hosted by Urbantics.

The plot thickens. Image credit: Ceri Davies

And by secret, I mean SECRET. I daren’t say much as I don’t want to spoil the fun but here’s the gist:

Imagine an inverted escape room in the heart of Wellington. You’ve just set up your team, give yourselves a cool name, and then you get given your first mission via a cryptic message on your phone. Your opponent team is given the same.

Suddenly, the race begins. Your team starts racking their brains trying to decipher codes and clues across the city. Some of your teammates are Wellington long-timers and know the city like the back of their hand…

Or so they thought.

Everything you thought you knew, is upended. You thought you knew the graffiti, the laneways, the landmarks. Not so much any more. You feel like a stranger exploring for the first time as you race to solve puzzles that bend your brain.

And somewhere, somehow, the Urbantics mission agent is onto you. They know where you are and what you’re up to. Customised messages perfectly relevant to your situation are sent if you can swallow your pride to ask for a hint.

We had split into two teams, Team X and Team = 

Team = sneak in a selfie during the mission. Image credit: Rox Flame

It was incredible how neck and neck we were for most of the mission, often crossing paths and having to huddle in hushed whispers as we pushed to find the solution that would get us in the lead and onto the next clue.

At one point, we had to solve a mission in a local bar, allowing us to take a breather and a pint, taking turns to solve the task at hand. Across from us we could see our opponent team at the opposite end of the bar. Out of earshot, but a clear reminder of what was at stake if we got too relaxed.

Team X smile for the camera. Image credit: a lovely stranger

We’ve always been a big fan of escape rooms, and it was refreshing to have one that took us out in the open and seeing Wellington with fresh eyes.

I wonder what our next team day will bring…?

Much love,

The Xequals team