It's hard to tell if it's a lasting trend or a passing fad, but escape rooms are really hot in the city and many parts of the country right now. Borough Reporter Ruschell Boone takes us to one in Astoria to show us what all the buzz is about.

Getting locked up in a dark or dimly lit room for an hour is certainly not appealing to some, but for others, that's where the fun starts. Escape rooms are all the rage these days. We watched as different groups took on the challenge at a place called Locked — in Queens.

The escape rooms here are small, furnished spaces.

The goal once you are inside, is to find a way out.

The hard part is figuring out the clues, cracking the codes, and solving the puzzles that lead you to the key to the door.

"OMG it was amazing," said one player. "I couldn't figure anything out."

"It was a lot of fun," said another. "It was like our second time some of us, but this was definitely a little harder."

Escape rooms began as an online gaming craze — but they spread to the real world — popping up all over the world and more recently across the country. The owners of Locked also have a location in Greece.

"I think people just like doing something different you know and it's really interactive," said Lena Cigleris, Gamemaster with Locked. "It's immersive so you kind of feel like you're in a different world for an hour and you just get to play and pretend like you're a detective."

The game is best played with a group. Only about 30 percent actually escape.

"I love to see happy smiling faces when they get out, even when they don't get out, because it's challenging," said Ted Anagnostos, co-owner of Locked. "You really have to use your mind."

Locked offers two rooms. In Vendetta, players have to break into a secret $300 million bank account before time runs out. For Spooky Room 479 it's a murder mystery with a frightening twist.

So you might be wondering, what happens if you really, really need to leave the room? Well, there is a gamemaster to help you with that. 

"Say there's a group and one of them gets anxiety, gets panicky there is a way to get out of the room for that person alone and everyone else can continue the puzzle," said gamemaster Adam Soughou.

If you solve that puzzle, what's the reward? You get your picture taken. Proof — you made it out.