Here's a hint about a new attraction coming to D'Iberville

D'IBERVILLE -- Imagine you're trapped in a room and the only way out is to solve a mystery using only the items around you.

That is the premise of Hint Hunters Puzzle Room, an attraction coming to D'Iberville in April.

The concept started in Japan in 2007, caught on in Australia and Europe and now is spreading across the United States. There are several escape games in New Orleans, and earlier this month Breakout Mobile opened in Mobile.

"Right now it's a big thing," said TJ Tadej, one of the owners of the D'Iberville business. "We will be the first in Mississippi."

He hopes to be ready April 1 and will open with one room -- Owen Hunter P.I.

The story behind this room is Owen Hunter, a private eye in the 1940s, started working with police to solve crimes. When World War II broke out, Hunter helped the government find spies. The enemy discovered his involvement, Tadej said. They were coming for him when he fled his office -- but not before leaving clues to let his family and friends would know he was safe and where he is hiding.

Participants try to solve the mystery and escape the room. "They have one hour to come in here and figure it out," he said.

Clues are left on an old Royal typewriter and an ultraviolet flashlight, but it's not all that easy.

Other rooms and mysteries will be added through the year -- a space encounter with a control panel and laboratory to provide clues, a jail and an abandoned gold mine with a tunnel. The Lost Fisherman room will be a mystery -- and a tribute to D'Iberville, Tadej said. A team-building area also is planned later this year.

"This place is perfect for what we're doing, he said of the building at 10253 Central Ave., almost directly west of D'Iberville's town clock. Props such as an old elevator door and an old phone booth will add to the atmosphere.

To make sure the first room is ready for its debut, the owners are looking for groups of four to six people to give it a try for free. Those who want to participate can email hinthunterHQ@gmail.com.

Hint Hunter will be open from 1 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and will be geared to families and other groups. Admission will be $30 each for two to nine people and $25 for groups of 10 or more.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Here's a hint about a new attraction coming to D'Iberville ."