Room Escape Artist

“ They stopped for a giant magnet on the street. It was a roadside attraction.”

What’s a roadtrip without a visit to that Giant Ball of Twine or a glimpse of a giant Muffler Man? If the sign says “World Famous” anything, I’m pulling over for it. Our guests today are Anne & Chris Lukeman, owners of CU Adventures in Time and Space, an escape room company in Illinois. They love roadside attractions, and in fact, their escape room business was inspired by a road trip to House on the Rock. Our game today is about regional foods, where they’ve been replaced with words that rhyme. David then gives us a short history on roadside attractions, and I learn about the World Famous Muffler Men – an icon of the road trip era.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can also hear more from Anne & Chris on Season 1, Episode 4 of Reality Escape Pod and consider joining the Escape Immerse Explore Time & Space Tour.

Time Stamps

• 01:31 Game: Regional Foods
• 13:51 How Anne & Chris’ Escape Room Business Was Inspired by a Road Trip
• 16:56 Escape Immerse Explore Tour
• 17:32 Discussion: Roadside Attractions & The Muffler Men
• 22:24 CU Adventure’s Collection of Attractions
• 24:54 Credits

Guest: Anne & Chris Lukeman

Chris & Anne Lukeman have owned and operated Champaign-Urbana Adventures in Time and Space (“CU Adventures”) since 2015. Their immersive escape room experiences are consistently highly ranked on review sites and have won several international awards (2020 & 2022 Golden Lock Awards, 2019-2022 TERPECA nominee, 2022 Best of Morty, 2020-2022 Bullseye Awards). They’ve received national attention for bringing their traveling pop-up escape games to Gen Con Indy (the largest gaming convention in the western hemisphere), as well as their pandemic era at-home games (The Lost Temple, Floor 13, Solve Our Shirts).

Before moving into the immersive space full-time, Chris & Anne were indie filmmakers and professional videographers for the University of Illinois. They enjoy board games, TTRPGs, and having two very adorable cats.

Follow CU Adventures

• CU Adventures in Time and Space website
• Solve Our Shirts website
• Facebook
• Instagram @cu_adventures
• Chris on Twitter @doctorpuzzles
• Anne on Twitter @annelukeman

More Podcasts from Peih-Gee & David

If you enjoy PG’s Playhouse, check out Reality Escape Pod (REPOD), where your hosts David Spira & Peih-Gee Law explore immersive gaming from all angles, alongside guests with incredible experience in this realm.

And by supporting Room Escape Artist on Patreon, you’ll get access to the REPOD Bonus After Show ($5 per month and up) and the Spoilers Club ($15 per month and up) where we chat in depth with creators about iconic escape rooms… spoilers and all!

Production Credits

• Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira
• Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law
• Produced by Theresa Piazza
• Supported by Lisa Spira
• Edited by Peih-Gee Law
• Music by Matt Farthing
• Logo by Theresa Wagner