A locked room, a mystery to solve, team work and a little magic. Over 80 escape rooms have popped up across Australia in recent years, so we talked to Chris Krajacic -- one of the owners and game designers at Canberra's Riddle Room -- to find out more.

Getting locked in a room causes a lot of anxiety. Getting locked in a room modelled after Resident Evil's Spencer Mansion? That's downright scary. The Resident Evil Escape Experience seeks to capture all the intrigue and puzzle solving from the famous horror series. I set out to solve its secrets last night and had an absolute blast.

When I first heard that there was a Zelda escape room coming to the United States, I imagined a labyrinth of elaborate puzzles, growing more challenging and complicated with each subsequent chamber. I did not expect to be solving brainteasers at a conference table. But I am pleased to report, dear Kotaku readers, that my group saved Hyrule, even if it was a little lame.

The escape room scene has gone from a fun day of brain-sweating to serious business. How serious? If you tune in tomorrow, you can catch the Escape Room World Championship, hosted by Red Bull Mind Gamers in Budapest, Hungary -- the supposed birthplace of the "escape room phenomenon". Teams from over 20 countries will duke it out with mind bullets starting 6am AEST.