“With a performer, players can make their own stories.”

Will and Kim Rutherford met at a summer pool party while in college. Kim recruited Will to help her win a floaty race across the pool. Alas, they lost. “ I thought the floaty race was for fun and apparently it was for, I don’t know, life bragging rights or something,” says Will.

Since then, the couple have gone on to many other creative adventures, including creating home haunts. Will even proposed to Kim on Halloween while they were both still in their costumes.

So when Will and Kim played their first escape room, they immediately thought it could be like a permanent home haunt experience that they didn’t have to tear down and put up every year. They jumped in with both feet, and although they made a lot of mistakes along the way, Escape Artist Greenville was born.

Today they have the second highest ranked escape room in the USA (Castle Fluffendor). They’ve also created a three-hour experience that combines three of their top escape rooms into one narratively cohesive saga called The Chimera Corp Saga. REA reviewer Matthew Stein calls it “a masterpiece of episodic storytelling.”

Will and Kim join us on REPOD to talk about the thought process behind their compelling games. I especially appreciated hearing about how they’re escape room enthusiasts themselves, and regularly travel the world playing games and seeking inspiration. They tell us, “we are trying to go to the most diverse, immersive experiences that we can and seek out things that actually are a little outside of our comfort zone.”

The Rutherfords have also recently joined the team at Keepers of Balance and helped them launch their first project, the epic Temple of Light, which recently won a Golden Lock award. Will and Kim have a boundless enthusiasm for the escape room industry, and I hope you find this conversation as inspiring as I did.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: REA Patreon Backers, PG’s Playhouse, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

• 00:00 Sponsor Break: Buzzshot, Escape Room Marketing Software
• 04:21 Building Together: From Homes to Haunts
• 05:07 From Apparel to Escape Rooms

• 06:25 The Home Haunt Experience
• 08:02 Development of Maker Skills
• 09:49 Appreciation for a Good Costume

• 12:02 Takeaways from Immersive Experiences
• 13:33 Starting Escape Artist Greenville
• 16:58 Challenges and Triumphs
• 20:14 Sponsor Break: Room Escape Artist Patreon – Bonus Episodes, Spoilers Club & More
• 22:02 The Starlight Motel: A Game Changer
• 29:01 The Chimera Corp Saga
• 30:51 Designing the Overarching Story
• 31:52 Genres and Story Evolution
• 35:03 Employee Contributions and Character Development
• 35:51 Sponsor Break: PG’s Playhouse—Puzzles, Pals, and Trivia
• 37:38 Saga Order and Player Experience
• 42:39 Team Collaboration and Creative Ownership
• 45:55 Escape Room Industry Insights
• 48:54 Building Ownership and Future Plans
• 52:04 Sponsor Break: Cogs By Clockwork Dog, Interactive Show Controls
• 53:28 Involvement with Keepers of Balance
• 57:53 Pipelining and High-End Experiences
• 01:00:07 What Comes Next
• 01:03:42 Credits
• 01:05:24 A Stressful Day in Escape Artist Greenville’s History

Leave a Voicemail

Got a question or thought for the podcast? You can submit a voice recording by calling the Room Escape Artist not-so-hotline that always goes straight to voicemail (551-227-7273).

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Escape Artist Greenville Website
• REA Reviews of Escape Artist Greenville
  • The Chimera Corp Saga [Update]
  • Help Wanted [Review]
  • Starlight Motel [Review]
  • Castle Flüffendor [Review]
  • Dark Lullaby [Review]
• Keepers of Balance Website
• The Keepers of Balance – Temple of Light [Review]

About Will & Kim Rutherford

Facebook: Escape Artist Greenville

Instagram: @escapeartistgreenville

Facebook: Keepers of Balance

Instagram: @keepersofbalance

In early 2016 Will and Kim opened Escape Artist Greenville. They started small, with one escape room in a shared office building. Over the past 10 years they have grown the business to 8 unique experiences over 2 locations. By focusing on storytelling and immersion, Escape Artist has grown to an internationally recognized brand. They have earned many of the industry’s top honors including TERPECA Top 100, REA’s Golden Lock, USA Today TOP 10, Newsweek Top 10, Best of Morty, and The Bullseye Award.

In 2024 Will and Kim joined the Keepers of Balance team in Charlotte, NC, as co-owners. They helped create and open their first game, the Golden Lock winning “Quest for the Temple of Light” in March of 2025. The second game from the Keepers of Balance is set to open September 19, 2025.

Will utilizes his engineering background to design and implement the technical “wow” moments that bring elaborate technical puzzles and award-winning special effects to life. He holds a BS in Physics from Wofford College and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University.

Kim specializes in creating the award-winning sets and interactive scenic pieces that make Escape Artist an industry leader. Kim holds a doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from Duke University and continues to work part-time as a physical therapist.

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