Puzzle & Putt provides a new recreation activity in Oxford

Family means everything to Jesse and Elizabeth Baker. The couple has eight kids, and they host a family dinner with their children and grandchildren in the area every Sunday. 

Seven years ago, while on a family vacation, they decided to do an escape room and fell in love with it. They’ve gone to an escape room on nearly every vacation since then, and they eventually realized they could fill a void in Oxford with their own. 

After getting city approval last fall, the Bakers opened Puzzle & Putt, Oxford’s first escape room and mini golf business, on June 19. 

The idea for the business had been brewing since 2020, but Jesse and Elizabeth began the process of designing, constructing and seeking permits last year. The location they settled on was where the old RDI call center stood, and they needed to apply for a conditional use permit from the city. 

Jesse said that in each meeting with the city, he was met with strong support for the attraction. 

“Every time, it was a unanimous decision,” Jesse said. “There wasn’t anybody with any doubts. They were excited to have it for Oxford.”

Jesse and Elizabeth worked with Thrill Builders, a company that creates and designs escape rooms and haunted houses out of Madison, Wisconsin, which had appeared on Shark Tank in 2023. Thrill Builders built three rooms with varying difficulties and themes for the Bakers. 

Jesse said the escape room alone would attract people from all over, but he wanted to include a nine-hole mini golf course because people of all ages can play putt putt, while the escape rooms are better suited for teenagers and older. 

The mini golf course showcases models of national monuments and local structures like the Oxford water tower. The walls portray murals painted by Pristine Products of places that the Bakers have either visited in the past, such as St. Louis, or destinations that they would like to visit in the future. 

The family-run atmosphere helped construction go smoothly. Everyone pitched in to some degree, whether by setting up the website or painting the wall behind the front desk. 

“We’re a tight family to start with,” Jesse said. “We have dinners together every Sunday, and we do a lot of stuff together. It’s great to have everybody involved … Everybody in the area was here at one time or another doing something, whether it’s painting, cleaning, doing stuff on the computer [or] helping us make decisions.”

When it came to advertising, Elizabeth explained that one of the benefits of living in Oxford is the tightness of the community. 

“Somebody heard about this, and they’re like, ‘We’ll help you advertise, we’ll help you with this,’” Elizabeth said. “So many businesses have stepped up and said, ‘Give me some flyers, we’ll have some of your flyers here to promote your business.’”

Before Puzzle & Putt officially opened, the Bakers invited family friends over for a test run of the course and the escape rooms. Kristi Princell tested the attractions with a group of seven people. Her experience led her to reserve a time for her company’s Christmas party. 

“It’s nice because Oxford doesn’t really offer a lot of activities for children,” Princell said. “College students, not all of them want to go Uptown and party every weekend. I think it’s going to be great just to offer a little change here in town.”

Kevin Smith, who did the drywall for the building, shared a similar experience when he went with his family. He had never done an escape room before, but he said he’d return in the future and emphasized the importance of having a new recreation attraction in town. 

“It’s just an all-around good time,” Smith said. “[It’s] a dinner and movie kind of thing. There’s plenty of places to eat here in Oxford, and there’s no place to really go do something afterwards unless you just go to the bar and drink. That’s not everybody’s cup of tea.”

With his background working in construction, Jesse was thrilled to see the final product on opening day. From the murals on the golf course to the layout of the party room and the design of the escape rooms, everything turned out how he expected.

Customers can book times for an escape room in one-hour intervals for $35.99, while mini golf costs $10 for anyone 3 and up. Customers can also reserve the party room for $75 per hour for a minimum of two hours. 

Although the business is newly opened, Jesse and Elizabeth have discussed plans to expand the building and add a golf simulator. For now, they’re preparing for Miami University students to come back. 

“It’s geared to everybody,” Jesse said. “We want it definitely for the locals, we want it for Miami students, we want it for anybody from out of town – people will drive hours to go to an escape room.”