Boda Borg Karlskrona Review: 1 Unforgettable Experience
- 21st Feb 2025
Table of Contents
Nestled in the heart of Karlskrona, Sweden, Boda Borg Karlskrona offers an immersive adventure that exceeds your traditional escape room experience. Unlike conventional escape rooms, which usually focus on a single narrative and set of puzzles, Boda Borg presents a concept known as “Questing.” This involves a series of themed challenges—both mental and physical—that teams must navigate without prior instructions, enhancing the element of surprise and discovery. Effectively, three (sometimes more) rooms which, related in theme, if successfully completed earns you a stamp. However, if the red light shows at any time you must exit the room and start from the beginning of the quest.
The History of Boda Borg and Its Unique take on Escape Rooms
The origins of Boda Borg trace back to 1995 in Torpshammar, Sweden, where it was conceived as part of a rural development initiative. The founders aimed to bring video game adventures to life, creating real-world gaming environments that challenge participants in unique ways.
In 2008, American entrepreneur David Spigner, intrigued by the concept during a family vacation and spurred on by the reaction of his children, knew he had discovered something special. He acquired the company and has since expanded its reach internationally.
Inspired by discussions on the Reality Escape Pod, my girlfriend and I embarked on my first escape room journey ever. Crossing from Copenhagen to Karlskrona to experience Boda Borg firsthand.
I wasn’t disappointed, and it absolutely reeked of innovation and truly was an experience I’d never had before in my life. This unique approach sets Boda Borg apart, providing an engaging and unpredictable experience that captivates participants from start to finish.
Arriving at Boda Borg Karlskrona
We got off the bus, and just as my phone chimed with a Google Maps notification saying we had arrived, I found myself staring in confusion. This… was it? I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting, but whatever it was, this definitely wasn’t it. In fact, I was so thrown off that I actually checked my phone again.
Bodaborg Karlskrona looked like an old repurposed school. It wasn’t bad, just surprising. And this place was EMPTY. It had some liminal space sort of vibes as we meekly crept around until we found the reception.
Let me just say, the crew at Boda Borg Karlskrona? Absolute legends.
They greeted us enthusiastically saying something under the lines of “Ni ser ut som två väldigt glada människor!” To which we responded “sorry we don’t speak Swedish.” Birthing the start of our beautiful friendship. Whatever eerie, abandoned-school vibes we picked up outside were instantly erased the moment we met the guides. These people had the energy levels of golden retrievers on espresso—bouncing, beaming, and genuinely thrilled to be there.
Their enthusiasm was so infectious so hats off to the guys working there, a really great bunch.
Diving Into the Escape Room Experience
After a warm welcome, we were ushered into yet another empty room (seriously, was minimalism a theme here?), where we settled into some chairs and watched an instructional video on how to Quest. And just like that, we were off—ready to embrace the madness.
As soon as we stepped out of that room I felt a type of joy I’ve not felt since I was a boy just arriving at the park and not sure what to start with first, the slide? Or the merry-go-round? Again, there was this surreal but really charming vibe about the rooms, they were quite low production quality, but the puzzles were great and there was so much variety inside you really felt like you got your value for money.
The Escape Room Struggles and Breakthrough Moment
My girlfriend and I entered a quest called “cheese”. And we beat the first room! Yippie! Then we failed miserably. Then we tried a different quest “forest”, and we cleared the first room. Yippee! Then we got stuck again. This repeated again and again until we ran into the lovely staff again at lunchtime.
Can’t go wrong with Tacos for lunch
“We just can’t seem to complete any quests! We just get the first room of each.”, We told our new friend at reception. “Ahhhh… Did you try XXXXXX” “Yes…” And “Why didn’t that work?” “Because…. Oh my god. “
It all clicked. And we were away. This small (spoiler free) tip gave us everything we needed to fly through the rooms. We were unstoppable. We flew through each of the 2 player quests. And even managed to clear a couple of the 3 player quests. Might I add, we only saw about 4 other groups the majority of the time we were there so we practically had the whole place to ourselves… Which again, added to the surrealness of the experience.
Opted to avoid this quest, some doors are better left unopened
We spent the full day there questing away, and honestly had a great time. I’m not sure what it was about the place but it really felt like a lot of love had gone into it. And I think when that is not appreciated by guests it gives an uncanny (transitioning space) sort of vibe, which in my weird opinion kinda added to the experience in a positive way. But I can imagine how it glows when it’s filled with people. So check it out if you are in the area.
As an added bonus, my girlfriend and I were gifted a small parting gift from the friends at reception, a bodaborg lanyard for free. I can’t guarantee you’ll receive the same gift, but goes to show the character of the people working there, truly experience crafters.
And that was that. Boda Borg gets a fat 5/5 on the experience meter from me. I will definitely be coming back and hopefully with more people so I can see the many other rooms they have to offer.
Boda Borg showed me the magic of immersive challenges, and now I want to bring that experience to you—wherever you are. My online escape room platform lets you dive into thrilling puzzles, test your teamwork, and experience the excitement of an escape adventure from the comfort of your home. Are you ready to unlock the mystery? Gather your team and start your journey today!
