Boda Borg Boston: Quests & Endless Fun!

When I got the invite for the Yelp Elite event at Boda Borg, I was confused as to what it was exactly. I did a little research and found that it was a place where you could do real life gaming in the form of quests… I was intrigued and dragged my cousin along with me to check it out.

What is Boda Borg?

The Boda Borg sensation began in Sweden, where there are 7 facilities. It expanded to Ireland, with one facility outside of Dublin, and finally we have the first US location in Boston! Essentially Boda Borg is all about questing! Each quest has two or more rooms made up of mental or physical challenges that teams of 3-5 people must solve together. If you complete the challenge successfully, a green arrow will appear on a screen, directing you to the next room and next challenge. If you fail (which you will! MANY times!) a red circle will appear and you will have to start the quest from the beginning or try a new quest.

During the Yelp event, Boda Borg had about 15 quests open and ready, with new quests being opened soon! In the 3 hours I spent there, I tried out about 7 quests, successfully completed one, and ALMOST finished another before it was closing time. At the conclusion of each quest, a box is unlocked with a stamp which you can add to a card you receive – see how many you can collect!

The quests vary in terms of mental or physical puzzles. On the corner of each quest entrance is a triangle in the upper left corner. Black is a physical quest; red has some physical elements; green is no physical and mainly mental.

Each time you go through a quest you learn something new about what to do (more often what NOT to do) and can use the knowledge to try again. Quests are also timed, so if you do not complete the challenge in time you will get kicked out. Exit doors are easy to spot, they are the ones with handles.

Pricing & Hours

To quest for 2 hours is $18 per person
To quest for as long as you want is $28 per person
Boda Borg Boston is open to the public starting today, October 3, 2015! It is open weekdays from 10 AM to 10 PM and weekends from 10 Am to Midnight

Food

If you get hungry while questing, Bora Borg offers unlimited build-your-own tacos for $10 per person. There are meat options (beef, turkey) as well as some available for vegetarians (tofu) and plenty of toppings to choose from: cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, guacamole…

There are also bottled beverages available as well as complimentary water.

Tips

Boda Borg quests are best with 3 to 5 people. With more than 5 it becomes difficult to complete certain quests in the time restrictions and with less than 3 some quests cannot be completed. I would say 3 or 4 people is perfect.
There are public parking lots and street parking near the facility. Lots are free, with a 2 hour parking limit. After 6 pm, there is no limit!
Wear comfortable clothing and shoes! Quests come in three levels: no physical element, some physical, and very physical! You may be crawling, scrambling, or jumping so make sure to wear something you don't mind getting a little sweaty!
You will want to spend more than 2 hours, so I recommend going for the $28 option so that you can take your time and try as many quests as possible! It is a perfect way to spend a rainy day with family and friends!
Lockers are available to keep your belongings in with locks for rent.
There are two floors at the Boston location, make sure to check out the upstairs quests!