Years ago, over a drink at Up The Game (a conference in Europe), an escape room owner from Bucharest, Romania told me a story about guns in his escape room. His intense Taken-style kidnapping escape game involved finding a fake gun and using it in a game interaction.
His Story
As he told it, one time, a couple started playing the game. The guy seemed like a seriously tough guy; his lady-friend was terrified of everything.
In the middle of the game, the owner banged on the door just to heighten the tension (which I’ve seen more than a few times in escape rooms). He then returned to the gamemaster office and, looking at the camera, noticed the lady clinging to her guy in fear… as the guy pointed a gun at the door that he had just struck. The thing was, they hadn’t reached the point in the game where they should have found the prop gun.
Through the hint system he asked, “How did you get the gun?”
“It’s mine,” the guy responded.
It turned out that the guy was a police officer or a member of a Romanian clandestine service (I wasn’t clear on that part of the story) and he always carried a concealed firearm. He’d drawn the gun because he was either nervous or trying to make his lady-friend feel more secure. (I wasn’t clear on that part of the story either.)
Disclaimer
I’m about to talk about prop guns in escape rooms and other immersive entertainment. Before I do so, I want to make a few things clear:
This post has absolutely nothing to do with gun rights. If you leave comments about gun rights, I am going to delete them.
I’m a former riflery and archery instructor. I’ve taught the basics and finer points of projectile weapon safety, as well as their operation. I know my way around a firearm.
Most “Guns” in Escape Rooms Suck
In my escape rooms playing history, I can recall very few prop guns that worked. In all cases they were used safely in smart interactions that drove the game forward.
Guns in escape rooms are usually some combination of:
- irrelevant
- crap
- unsafe
Chekhov’s Gun
Russian physician / playwright Anton Chekhov argued the following about writing:
“Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there” (Chekhov’s Gun, Wikipedia).
Chekhov discusses guns as an analogy to writing and storytelling: remove superfluous details from a story.
In immersive entertainment, the analogy works literally as well: if you include a gun, it needs to do a thing or it’s a waste.
Crap Toy Guns
I enjoy a Nerf gun as much as the next person, but they are terrible escape room props. They lose power with regular use. The darts damage easily and once even slightly damaged, they no longer fly consistently.
I recall an escape room that demanded accuracy from a Nerf gun. When we couldn’t hit the target with their damaged darts, they made us take a hint to bypass the challenge. It was super lame.
Don’t try to pass off a Nerf gun or similarly cartoonish gun prop as a real gun in an immersive setting. It doesn’t work if you’re over 10.
Fake Gun Regulation & Safety
The manufacture and sale of fake guns is federally regulated in the United States by U.S. Code Title 15 Chapter 76 § 5001:
“(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), each toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm shall have as an integral part, permanently affixed, a blaze orange plug inserted in the barrel of such toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm. Such plug shall be recessed no more than 6 millimeters from the muzzle end of the barrel of such firearm.
(2) The Secretary of Commerce may provide for an alternate marking or device for any toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm not capable of being marked as provided in paragraph (1) and may waive the requirement of any such marking or device for any toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm that will only be used in the theatrical, movie or television industry.”
I like props to look and feel as real as possible, but safety matters more:
Orange tips on fake guns means something: this is not a real gun. Should something go wrong, do not leave it to a jury to decide whether escape rooms are games, theater, or something else. And even if they are, things can still go wrong and you’ll never know where the liability will land.
If you think this law could pertain to your escape room or immersive game, you should either buy some orange paint or consult your lawyer.
Good vs Bad Gun Interactions in Escape Rooms
There are a few escape rooms that involve actors drawing gun props on the players. This is dangerous, even if the gun isn’t real.
It’s one thing to work a prop gun into a room and have the players figure out how to use it. It’s a completely different thing to point one at your players, especially when they are likely new to immersive games and don’t fully grasp the boundaries between what’s real and what’s part of the game.
But why you ask?
What Could Go Wrong with Fake Guns?
For all of the escape room companies that make a big deal about mobile phones in escape rooms, I can’t think of a time where an escape room company asked about firearms, even when I’ve visited concealed carry states. I’ve asked around a bit and I know some players who have visited escape room companies that explicitly forbid firearms (and one that had proper firearm storage for players), but they are the exception, not the rule.
As of 2022, there are more than 22.01 million people with concealed carry permits in the United States. Those people are more heavily clustered in the states with more permissive gun laws. Again, I’m not making a judgment here, just an observation, and that is not an insignificant number. I’ll guarantee that many players have been locked in an escape room with a loaded gun on their person in the United States.
It’s not all that hard to imagine an armed player entering a heavily immersive, intense game, and drawing said weapon. At that point you’re either relying on that player having enough focus to holster, strong trigger discipline, or you’re hoping that they have bad aim.
If it happened to that owner in Bucharest, it can happen again.
In addition to the physical safety issues, people suffering from PTSD could react badly if a seemingly real gun is drawn on them in an immersive environment. This is especially true of military veterans.
Getting Guns Right
It’s hard to get guns right in escape rooms.
They are frequently placed as inconsequential props, which is a let down for players.
When they are relevant, they usually look and feel silly. If they feel right, the interaction usually doesn’t feel real.
Unless the game designer was incredibly creative, guns in escape rooms usually feel forced… But let’s be real here, drawing prop guns on escape room players is not a great idea, especially in regions that have concealed carry, an abundance of illegal guns, or generally lax gun laws. It’s dangerous for the players. It’s dangerous for the actors. It’s dangerous for the escape room industry at large.
Be creative and be smart.
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