This is TEPfactor, probably the only cave in a shopping center in Poland. What’s inside? Plenty of puzzles, logical games and sports tasks. There is no way you will leave this place dissatisfied. Unless you don’t like good fun, endorphin rush or sports competition.
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TEPfactor – photos
First, a few words about the rules. TEPfactor is a large maze of rock-cut corridors with 25 different rooms with tasks to complete. They are divided into 4 categories: patience, logic, strength and dexterity. If you manage to complete all 5 rooms in a given category, you will be able to enter a premium room. And when you complete 24 tasks (5 rooms from each of the 4 categories and 4 premium rooms), you will have the opportunity to solve the puzzle from the last, master room, the 25th. But more on that later.
TEPfactor is a place for people who like physical activity and mental exercise. In individual rooms you will have to face both puzzles and fitness tasks. Some of them will be very easy, some of them will be moderately difficult, and the rest of them… Well, we didn’t manage to solve them. 🙂 And now a few words about how to play. The TEPfactor maze is fully automated. To enter a given room, you have to put the “magic” electronic watch on the lock next to the door (it glows green in the photo above).
The key point of the program is logging in to the game. This should be done in all rooms. Don’t do anything without it – if you don’t log in, the competition won’t start at all. We are writing about this because we do not fully understand how to do it, and it is really simple. See the rectangular board in the photo above? All team members must place both hands on two circular squares on the wall of the same color. If you came as a pair, it’s not difficult, but if your group consists of six people, entering the game is like playing twister.
As soon as you log in correctly, the clock will start ticking, the competition will begin and you will have to complete the task as quickly as possible. Fortunately, you can choose one of three levels: bronze, silver or gold. Of course, the higher the difficulty level and the shorter the time, the more points you get. However, don’t expect that everything will go smoothly. We will tell you a secret that we took on subsequent challenges at the bronze level, and it was still not easy. Reason?
The first difficulty you will encounter is the lack of instructions on how to complete the tasks. When you enter a room, you don’t always immediately know what to do there. There are simple clues or cryptic hints, but what exactly is going on, in most rooms you have to figure it out yourself. And there is a full range of possibilities here. But don’t get discouraged at the start! After completing a few tasks, your intuition will start to tell you what the author might have had in mind.
What’s great about TEPfactor is that you really have to work together here. It doesn’t matter whether you came with your partner, family, friends or “familiar faces” from work with whom you accidentally met three times in your life at the coffee machine. Some activities require close cooperation and mutual complementation, some require the division of tasks, and in the case of some, each person in the group must complete a given task in order for it to be completed. If you want to check how you get along under time pressure or integrate your employees – this place is perfect!
Even though you won’t be bungee jumping or parachute jumping at TEPfactor, you’ll still get an adrenaline rush and a thrill running down your spine. Especially when it comes to tasks involving skill and physical fitness. Intellectuals will also have the opportunity to prove themselves. And more than once! A quiz or logic puzzle will effectively activate your gray cells. Believe us, when the clock starts beeping and counting down the last seconds, your legs start to get tangled and your mind goes blank.
Have we already encouraged you enough to visit TEPfactor? We hope so. Since we have already told you about what we experienced firsthand, let’s now say a few words about the “thresholds too high for our feet”, i.e. the premium and master rooms that we were unable to enter. 😀 As we mentioned earlier, when you complete all the “normal” rooms in a given category, you can open “extra” rooms. To get to them, you will have to break the codes that will allow you to obtain secret door codes. When you complete them all, you will have the honor of completing the master task.
This last of the TEPfactor rooms is located behind the bars. The organizers probably deliberately showed its interior – so that it seemed inaccessible, and at the same time everyone could look into it and get a taste of it. Well, we had to make do with it because we ran out of time and ideas to solve all the tasks. However, we hope that you will do better. Anyway, let us know in the comment what prize the winners who complete all 25 tasks correctly receive. We keep our fingers crossed for you! Good luck!
TEPfactor – tickets
At TEPfactor, you pay in advance for the first hour and then for every minute spent in the amusement park. The time is counted from entering the first room until the end of the game, using an electronic watch given to the team captain at the start. You can resign from gameplay at any time.
- Children aged 10-15 will pay PLN 50 per person for the first hour, and then PLN 0.85 for each subsequent minute.
- People over 15 years of age will pay PLN 66 per person for the first hour, and then PLN 1.10 for each subsequent minute.
Remember that TEPfactor offers vouchers that will allow you to have fun in this place at promotional prices. You can read more about the “Sunday for Two” (“Niedziela dla dwóch osób”), “Buy Early, Pay Less” (“Kup wczeÅ›niej, zapÅ‚ać mniej”) czy “Szalone wtorki i Å›rody” (“Crazy Tuesdays and Wednesdays”) on the TEPfactor’s website. There are also discounts for school groups.
TEPfactor – opening hours
TEPfactor opening hours are as follows:
- Tuesday – Friday: 14:00-22:00.
- Saturday: 10:00-22:00.
- Sunday: 10:00-20:00.
- Monday: closed to individual clients (organized groups welcome after prior reservation).
TEPfactor – activity time
- According to the legends and creators of TEPfactor, the estimated time to complete all tasks is 3-4 hours.
- Apparently there were those who completed all the tasks in about 2.5 hours.
- There were certainly those who did not complete the entire maze, but the maze defeated them. The Travel-Mates team belongs to this group. But don’t worry, we will come back with a vengeance. 😀
TEPfactor – how to get?
TEPfactor is located in the Blue City shopping center at al. Jerozolimskie 179 in Warsaw.
- Traditionally, we encourage ecological walking and cycling trips – the amusement park is located about 6 km from the center of Warsaw (it’s less than 30 minutes by bike and just over 1 hour on foot).
- There are bus stops nearby: CH Blue City, Berestecka, Aleja Bohaterów Września, Na Bateryjce.
- If you want to come by tram, the closest stop is Dickensa (about 20 minutes on foot).
- Have you decided to travel by train? From the Western Railway Station you can get to TEPfactor in a 20-minute walk.
- Information for those arriving by car: the Blue City shopping center has a large parking lot, there will certainly be plenty of space for you.
TEPfactor – tips
- By the time of our visit to TEPfactor (2024), only three such amusement parks had been built in the world: in Warsaw, Dubai and Prague. Therefore, it is a unique place on a global scale.
- The TEPfactor maze covers as much as 1,500 square meters of space.
- Remember to dress comfortably and loosely. Sports shoes are an absolute must-have. You will definitely be climbing and jumping, so leave your dresses, high heels, suits and loafers at home.
- It is worth going to TEPfactor in a group. The bigger the better. There were two of us and although – as always – we had a great time, a larger team will always have more ideas for completing the task. Two heads are better than one, and six heads are better than two.
- TEPfactor is happy to host organized school groups. You can also organize a birthday party or a stag or hen party here. Logic and skill games will also be an excellent opportunity for integration in the company.
TEPfactor Warsaw, Poland – reviews
- Patrix – 9/10. This is completely unique entertainment. The tasks in the rooms are challenging, they pissed me off more than once, but I still wanted to try again. This is a great place to increase intimacy with your children, colleagues or partner – ongoing collaboration is essential. It’s active entertainment that requires speed, dexterity and a head full of ideas. I definitely recommend it!
- Wiolczix – 10/10. Even before entering the first room, I was impressed by the design of TEPfactor – the “cave” in the shopping mall is a truly creative and impressive solution. Paradoxically, what I liked most was that the tasks were not easy at all. Seriously, we only went through 12 rooms out of 25 (ok – out of 20, because 4 are premium rooms and 1 is a master room), but we are quite efficient and have managed to escape from more than one escape room unscathed. 😉 The competitions concern various areas, so you have to really work hard to solve them (both body and mind). TEPfactor is a mega place for those who want to integrate – friends, families or couples. Next time we plan to use a larger team and complete all the puzzles. You must try it too.
TEPfactor – FAQ
TEPfactor – what is it?
TEPfactor is a combination of a sports amusement park and an escape room. There are 3 places of this type in the world – in the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic and Poland. Warsaw’s “rock maze” is located in an interior imitating a huge cave. There are 25 rooms, and in each of them a group must complete a specific physical or mental task. TEPfactor is an ideal place for integration for couples, families, friends, school groups and work friends.
TEPfactor – where is it?
TEPfactor amusement parks are located in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Prague (Czech Republic) and Warsaw (Poland). The Warsaw one can be found in the Blue City shopping center in the Ochota district. It is easy to get here due to very good communication – both by car and public transport.
How much does TEPfactor cost?
TEPfactor costs exactly as much time as you spend in it. When entering the amusement park, you pay in advance for the first hour of adventure, and then for each minute, proportionally to the playing time. Children up to 15 years of age will pay PLN 50 at the start + PLN 0.85/min. People over 15 years of age pay PLN 66 + PLN 1.10/min. Of course, there are discounts for school groups, and it is also possible to purchase vouchers enabling you to play at promotional prices. You can read about them on the TEPfactor website.
TEPfactor – is it worth it?
Of course it’s worth going to TEPfactor. It’s great intellectual and fitness entertainment. Here you can test your abilities, experience an amazing adventure, integrate with your game companions, and even feel a bit of competition. TEPfactor is a must-see on the map of Warsaw for those who like good fun and interesting challenges.
TEPfactor Warsaw, Poland – map
The TEPfactor amusement park can be found in the Blue City shopping center in Warsaw.
