Dumbo space launches tourney to
disarm ‘world’s largest paint bomb’
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Bomb’s away!
Escape room junkies can
head to Dumbo for a chance
to disarm the “world’s largest
paint bomb” — and go
head-to-head with other
teams for cash prizes.
Beat The Bomb this week
announced the start the
company’s fi rst competitive
tournament, the Pro League
Open. Teams of four who participate
will compete in the
Water Street escape room’s
hi-tech physical rooms featuring
touch screens, laser
mazes, projection walls, radio
frequency transmitters,
and motion-capture cameras,
and has a signature
Paint Bomb ending for those
who don’t “beat the bomb.”
The team that’s fastest
to diffuse the mighty paint
bomb will be declared the
winner.
“Beat The Bomb is taking
digital gaming off the couch
and into a real-world live-action
format. The Pro League
Open will feature elite Bomb
Squads competing to win
a grand prize of $1,000 in a
head-to-head, bracket-style
tournament,” said Beat The
Bomb CEO Alex Patterson.
“E-sports is exploding in popularity
COURIER L 40 IFE, APRIL 16-22, 2021
but needs a format
that retains both the physicality
of traditional sports,
and also the focus on team
collaboration. That’s why we
created Beat The Bomb’s Pro
League.”
Now through April 30,
any four-person team over
the age of 13 that comes to
Beat The Bomb is qualifi ed
to compete, and able to enter
on the spot. Teams must have
exactly four players in order
to log a qualifying score, and
can play as many times as
they want. Only a team’s best
score will be logged. Anyone
can participate, and all past
Bomb Beaters will receive
an exclusive 50 percent discount
to come back and try
again.
The top eight teams will
Beat The Bomb’s Pro League Open tournament is held in hi-tech rooms that use laser mazes, touch screens,
projection walls, and more to challenge teams to work together. Beat The Bomb
be invited to the Open, where
matches will be conducted as
real-time Battle Mode games
pitting the teams against
each other in Beat The
Bomb’s two identical Brooklyn
“Game Pods.”
Teams must follow all
offi cial tournament rules,
which will be doled out and
overseen by on-site referees.
The Open will be held at
6 pm on May 6 at Beat The
Bomb (255 Water St.) with
COVID-19 measures in place
to protect the safety of players
and staff. The event will
also be streamed on Beat The
Bomb’s Instagram, TikTok,
and Twitch channels.
Prizes include a $1,000
grand prize for the winners
and $250 for the runner-up,
plus swag bags and free tickets
for future play for fi rst
through fourth place. All
competing teams will leave
with some swag, including
an exclusive Pro League pin.
Registration is open and
teams who enter to qualify
by signing up to play Mission
01: Cyberbot. For information
on the Pro League
Open, visit blast.beatthebomb.
com/proleagueopen.
BY SUSAN DE VRIES
Brooklynites can brush up
on their knowledge of the borough
this month with a slate of
virtual tours that explore the
fascinating history of Kings
County.
The tours from the Municipal
Art Society offer a mix of
architectural and social history
covering early 19th century
row houses, the massively
scaled work of McKim,
Mead & White, and some of the
lost architectural treasures of
Brooklyn.
First up is a look at the petite
Vinegar Hill Historic District,
which is actually composed
of three noncontiguous
sections of early and mid 19th
century structures that refl ect
the period of the founding of
the neighborhood. The tour
on April 17 with guide Lucie
Levine digs into centuries of
history to see how immigration,
industry and architecture
have left their mark on
the neighborhood.
An ongoing tour series by
architectural historian Francis
Morrone has been diving
into the work of McKim, Mead
& White and the next installment
on Sunday, April 18 focuses
on the architectural
fi rm’s work in Brooklyn. In
addition to looking at some of
their statement-making buildings
in the borough, Morrone
will touch on some of the other
architects who worked for the
fi rm before going off to design
their own buildings around
Brooklyn.
Finally, if you have always
wondered about a building
that has seemingly vanished
from the streetscape, join
Brownstoner columnist Suzanne
Spellen (aka Montrose
Morris) and Morgan Munsey,
both preservationists, as
they share some of the tales of
Brooklyn’s lost architectural
treasures. On Saturday, April
24 they will show the theaters,
houses and religious, civic and
commercial buildings that
have been lost to time.
All tours are virtual and are
$25 ($15 for MAS members). For
more information, including
tour times and ticket information,
check out the MAS tour
Great escape
Virtual tours explore Brooklyn’s history
BROOKLYN
Spilling secrets
Brooklynites can enjoy virtual tours of the borough. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates