About Us
Locally-owned escape room in Gainesville, FL. Built for Puzzleheads by Puzzleheads.
History
Kevin and Monica Godwin, along with their two daughters, are escape room enthusiasts who have done more than 100 escape rooms as a family. Naturally, they thought it would be cool to create an escape room business. Thus, they launched Just Escaped in 2022 in Gainesville, FL. They successfully owned and operated it as a family for three years until the Godwins decided that life is short and more quality time together was the best move for them.
In February 2025, Kevin and Monica Godwin sold Just Escaped to another Kevin (us Kevins stick together). Since then, Kevin Akat (me) has run Just Escaped. As of this writing, the Godwin family has still been involved with the business. Their their insight, along with their kindness, has been pivotal during the transition period.
The hardest part of entrepreneurship is starting up, and the Godwins truly did the hard part. They handled permits, legal stuff, fire inspection, initial build-outs, initial marketing…all the hard stuff. If you click on an About Us page, you should get the unfiltered truth about our past, present, and future.
And the unfiltered truth is that our story cannot be told in good faith without sharing the Godwins' contribution to getting Just Escaped off the ground. The best way we can show our thanks going forward is to keep building and improving upon what they've already built.
Why Just Escaped?
Just Escaped offers unique experiences in Gainesville, Florida. What makes our escape rooms different?
* Hand-Built Rooms: Given we are not a chain, we have a lot of creative freedom to make very inspired rooms!
* Built for Puzzlheads: Our rooms are not easy. They're the right amount of challenge for players who love puzzles!
* Locally-Owned: We're a small mom and pop escape room, so you're going to get a personalized experience. Our Google reviews concur!
* Tactile: We hear this A LOT, but players love that our rooms are "tactile." Sure, we have interactive gizmos, but also a lot of things to touch, hold, grab, and play with.
