It’s more than an escape room, and it’s more than a scavenger hunt—it’s an experience all its own, and St. Louis has never had anything like it before.
Adventures of Intrigue, located in the Jefferson Underground building (2400 S. Jefferson), is an immersive game room experience that spans more than 15 themed areas chock-full of intricately detailed set work, costumes, and theatrics created by metro area artisans. Each room is a world, and each world has countless mysteries to puzzle through. In a word? Owners Susan and Jim Seubert agree: It’s magic.
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The Concept
The pair’s inspiration for embarking on this journey was their first venture together: Edwardsville’s annual mega-draw haunted house, Hotel Eville, which closed last year, after 15 years in operation. The fandom and community around Hotel Eville is what Jim Seubert hopes will be mirrored in Adventures of Intrigue.
“I think the biggest thing we’re hoping for is the families who can’t wait to come back year after year,” he says. “We had one 80-year-old guy who came with his grandkids, and when he left, he said, ‘That was the most fun I think I’ve ever had in my life.’ You know those places you go as a kid, and it sort of defines your childhood? That’s what we want this to be.”
Although a unique concept in terms of games, sets, and themes, the model for Adventures of Intrigue was based off New York’s Museum of Intrigue. Its operating team served as advisors for the new St. Louis business.
The Options
Adventures of Intrigue encapsulates a wide range of playful themes under the overarching umbrella of “library exploration.” Among the options:
- The Castle
- Tinker Shop
- Apothecary Shoppe
- Wizard’s Shop
- Fortune Teller’s Wagon
- Whoosit’s Hollow (the future site of story time adventures for little ones)
- Archeological Dig
- Mummy’s Dig
- Miss Tiqi’s
- Pirate Shipwreck
- Adventure Island
- Frankenstein’s Lab
- Edgar Allen Poe’s Office
- Sleepy Hollow’s Graveyard
- Wild West
- Train Station
- The Manor
- Copper Hare Tavern (the business is currently working toward a liquor license to serve themed cocktails for this concept)
The new attraction will offer packages for date nights, families, team-building events, birthday parties, and more. The Seuberts plan to have 10–12 games at launch, to be played out at three to four sets each.
Family-friendliness is an important aspect for the Seuberts, who have a total of 10 grandkids between them, as is accessibility and evolving the business over time. The 9,500-square-foot space can host up to 14 groups at a time and will feature sensory-friendly events, holiday-specific themes, and a small gift shop. The large parking lot is another aspect that the Seuberts hope will draw family crowds.
“It’s like the best dream you could ever have,” Susan Seubert says of walking into the space. “Whatever’s going on out in the real world, stays out there. When you come into the door, all of your senses get activated, and every time I come in here, I see something new. And to have that with my kids or my parents, that’s something you never forget because it draws out your creative inner child.”
The most notable difference from an escape room experience—beyond the variety of themes and rooms per game—is that, at $35 per person, time limits do not exist. “At most escape rooms, you’re never given the chance to practice and get better,” Susan Seubert explains. “But here, you get to experience it. You get to figure it out. And if you’re having problems, there’ll be characters here that may give you a clue in a really fun way—not in a ‘you’re losing’ way.”
The Team
The Seuberts gush about the team who helped bring their dream to life, including experts who’ve created Disney attractions and helped build Adventures of Intrigue’s sets. Among the team: Miles Dudley, IT administrator and technology expert; Addison Lewis, operations manager and head librarian; Nicole Ginsburg, co-owner of the Museum of Intrigue and VP of business development for Intrigue & Co. (and the team who installed the games, including Leila, Brandon, and Jeff); consultant Thaddeus Piekutowski; Valerie Byrn-Oren, who helped with set creations and design; and lead carpenter Dylan Hill.
Susan Seubert also worked tirelessly to make every detail and interactive creature—from Phil the Phoenix to Sammy the Monkey to Whoosit the Owl—feel authentic and look real. Her goal: to create what she calls “little wows” at every turn. And after 15 years of collecting items and six months of building, she lights up when assuring that guests are sure to be “entertained their entire adventure.”
The duo plans to introduce a new game every two months to keep fans coming back. The Seuberts tear up a bit when saying, “The possibilities are truly endless.”
