Side Quest — A Crooked Cottage Experience

A Real-World Mystery Experience Just 30 Minutes from Columbus

If you're looking for something genuinely different near Columbus, Ohio — not another escape room, not a paint night, not a trivia bar — Side Quest is what you've been looking for.

Side Quest is a real-world mystery experience from Crooked Cottage Escape Rooms, set entirely in downtown Delaware, Ohio — 30 minutes north of Columbus. It blends cryptic emails, physical clues hidden at real locations, and a story-driven investigation that unfolds over four weeks.

This is not something you play on a screen. You go to real places. You find real evidence. You follow a trail that someone tried very hard to hide.

What Is Side Quest?

Side Quest is a seasonal real-world ARG (Alternate Reality Game) experience built for players who want more than a night out. Each quest is a self-contained mystery with real locations, real puzzles, and a story designed to make you think.

Season 1 — Mythical Creatures of Ohio — opens with Quest 1: The Delaware Minotaur. Something happened in Delaware decades ago. A family buried it. The evidence was never destroyed — just hidden across downtown Delaware, Ohio, waiting to be found.

Why Delaware, Ohio?

Delaware, Ohio has a history that most people drive past without noticing. Old buildings. Forgotten stories. Locations that have been around long enough to accumulate secrets. Side Quest uses real places in real Delaware as the stage for a mystery that feels like it could actually be true.

Downtown Delaware is walkable, historic, and genuinely atmospheric — exactly the right setting for an investigation that asks you to look closer at what's always been there.

Perfect For

Side Quest is ideal for Columbus-area residents looking for something genuinely different on a weekend — a date, a solo adventure, or a shared experience with a friend who thinks like you do. It's also perfect for anyone visiting the Delaware area who wants to explore the town in a way that isn't a bus tour.

Side Quest is a product of Crooked Cottage Escape Rooms, located at 112 S. Sandusky Street, Delaware, Ohio 43015. All quest locations are in or near downtown Delaware, Ohio. Players should be able to travel locally to participate.