Psst...What's the password?

[GermInBerea]

Story: Psst...What's the password?
Location: GenCon Milwaukee
Year: from around 1998 until GenCon moved to Indy

This post is probably more for all of the people who missed out on the Safe House experience in Milwaukee...

We had read about an espionage LARP that was held at a spy-themed restaurant called the "Safe House" We weren't keen on LARPs, but the description of the restaurant drew our attention.

Went on an expedition to find this elusive restaurant. We were able to get directions from the conceirge at the Hilton (which we weren't even staying at) and free passes into the Safe House.

After some walking, we found the street that the Safe House was supposed to be on. It had a darkened storefront, while the actual entrance was in the alley along the side.

We entered to find a room, and a staff member behind a desk (with no other apparent exits). There were people in front of us. The staff member asked them for the "password". They didn't know the password...so they were made to perform tricks (hoola hooping, jumping jacks, etc).

At this point, we're a little worried...because we certainly had no password. After they did their monkey dance, the staff member pressed a button and a sliding wall exposed a hidden entrance. The people walked forward and the "secret entrance" slid back into place again.

We handed the person at the front desk our free passes, which he accepted with some disappointment, and let us in without harassment.

As it turns out, all of the antics in the front were caught on camera and displayed on monitors throughout the bar. So, we sat down for a couple drinks and laughed at other attempts to gain entrance to the Safe House.

Throughout the Safe House, there were little secrets. Here are a couple:

The ladies room had a poster of James Bond in a swim suit...with a heart over his crotch. If the heart was lifted, a blue light would flash in the bar area.

There was a phone booth. If you put a quarter into the phone and dialed a certain code, the back door of the booth would slide out to reveal stairs. You could walk underneath the bar and out into another alley.

Anyway, the Safe House became a regular hangout for us, and our GenCon experience was never complete without a visit.