Room Escape Artist

We get a lot of emails asking us to review products… but these emails are frequently a puzzle. I often find myself wondering what the product even is, let alone if our audience will be interested in it.

To be fair, setting aside real life escape rooms, we review quite a range of tangible products. We primarily review tabletop escape games and puzzle video games, but we don’t box ourselves in. We’ll review other collaborative, puzzle-y tabletop (or video or VR) games that aren’t really like escape rooms at all. They just need to be experiences we think an escape room player audience will also enjoy. Or, they need to be experiences exploring some interesting side of game design that we think our creator audience will be interested in us unpacking in a review. And that’s not even getting into reviewing individual products and props for use in real life escape rooms.

To make it easy for you, here are the steps to take to request a product review. If you follow them, we will be much more likely to play and review your product.

How to Contact REA

Please reach out through our contact page or by emailing contact@roomescapeartist.com.

Do not send a message via social media. This might seem counter intuitive, especially if your main way of seeing our content is on Facebook or Instagram. However, it’s easy for us to lose messages on these platforms. They just aren’t build for effective B2B communications.

Do not send a direct message to the individual you hope will write the piece (especially David). This is a sure way for your message to get lost in a sea of other messages, or never get to the right person.

Prerequisite: A Finished Product

You must have a product that you can send us. This feels obvious, but past experience tells me that it’s not.

If you only have a rough prototype, or the first chapter of a longer experience, we’re not interested.

If you expect to have your product ready to send us on an unspecified date in the future, we’re not interested until you have that product in your hands and are ready to ship it to us.

You must be done playtesting. We do not playtest at Room Escape Artist.

Some REA writers enjoy playtesting and will happily playtest products for friends, but if they playtest a game, they won’t write anything for REA. They are not allowed to cover anything they’ve playtested.

Plus, you do not want us reviewing your unfinished product. Finish testing and iterating on your game design before you reach out.

Provide Product Information

At minimum, your outreach should include the following information:

• Product name
• Type of product
• Website link
• Estimated play time (including setup and breakdown)
• Recommended number of players

Depending on your type of game, we might need the following information as well:

• Necessary supplies – It’s helpful to tell players they need scissors or tape, for example. More importantly, if your tabletop game requires, say, use of a freezer, the reviewers need to plan to play the game in a space that has a freezer, so make sure you tell us this. We are fine with minor spoilers to make sure we are able to play.
• Device type – Do the players need a certain type of device (like a VR headset) to play?
• Intentional time delays – If your game asks players to play in multiple sessions, perhaps because they are waiting on an email response from an in-game character, we need to know.

Level of Detail

You should be able to describe your product in one sentence. I also appreciate a pitch on why your game is a good fit for our audience, but limit this to three sentences, at most.

I do not want to read your press release. I just want to know, succinctly, why the REA audience will be interested in this game. Bonus points if your pitch makes it clear to me that you have any idea who we are and what we cover.

Timing

We don’t move quickly. I’m really sorry about this, but it’s not about to change.

The REA publication calendar is scheduled weeks ahead of time, often months ahead of time. This lets us travel, work, be there for our family, and live our lives, while still publishing daily content.

It typically takes about 3 months from when you contact us to when you see a review. This accounts for figuring out which writer will cover the game, the time they need to receive the product (if it’s shipped), play, and review. Then there is additional time for editing and for us to find the review a space in the publication calendar.

That said, we will rush content through to publication if there’s a good reason to do so. We’re not monsters… but you should at least understand that rushing comes at a cost for us when it is even possible.

About Kickstarters

If your Kickstarter has already launched, it’s too late.

If your Kickstarter is launching within the next 4 weeks, and we think our audience will really like your product, we will do our best, but it’s likely too late, especially for a day 1 review.

If your Kickstarter is launching in 8-16 weeks, this is the best time to reach out.

You will need to send us a finished prototype. The closer it is to the product you plan to ship to the backers, the better.

Please include a note about anything that’s not finalized (i.e. the box art, the material of a certain prop will change, the hints website.) If the game design is not finished, that’s not good. Maybe you’re not ready for a Kickstarter yet.

Let us know the planned Kickstarter launch date in your initial outreach. This is important. We need to decide if we can complete the review in time for your launch, or during your campaign.

If your launch date changes (because it moves later), that’s fine. We’ll adapt. Just be communicative please.

Media Copies

If we reach out to you because we are interested in playing and reviewing your product, we’ll ask if you offer a media copy. We always appreciate a complementary or discounted game in exchange for the review, but we don’t expect it. After all, we reached out to you. If you say no, we’ll still purchase the product. Either way, this will not impact your review in any way.

If you reach out to us, we expect that you’re providing us with a copy of the game. You are under no obligation to do so, but we are also under no obligation to purchase the product because you reached out to us.

Review Types

We have two types of reviews: Hivemind and Byline.

Hivemind is our format that shares three perspectives in one piece. Each contributing writer writes their own short (1-3 paragraph) review, independently from the others. We typically use this format for video game reviews, where it’s easier to get our hands on multiple copies (or download codes). This is also a good fit for games with a lower time commitment.

Byline pieces are written by one writer. They usually follow our standard review structure, which is pretty similar for escape rooms and shipped products. However, depending on the type of product, the writer may work with the editor to stray from the structure. As stated above, we try not to box ourselves in.

We don’t do assignments. Our writers decide which games they are excited to play and review. Sometimes we offer games up to everyone and see whose interest is piqued. Other times we ask someone specific because we think they have the right background for the game. Either way, writers are free to decline.

It’s possible that you will reach out and we won’t have anyone with availability or interest. Our contributors are off leading busy lives. It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened.

Who’s Who?

Hi, I’m Lisa and I’m the Editor-in-Chief at Room Escape Artist. I’m the person reading your emailed pitch, the person you have to convince to take interest in your game. I write reviews, but rarely for tabletop games and never for online games. However, I read and edit every piece we publish. I’m in charge of the publication calendar.

Andrew Reynolds coordinates the REA Hivemind. Previously, I did this too, but now, if I think your pitch is right for the Hivemind, I’ll connect you to Andrew. He decides what the REA Hivemind will cover. Andrew also writes reviews.

If I think your game would be best covered by a byline piece, I will find the best writer for it, and I’ll introduce you to them. They’ll become your primary point of contact.

Heather Burns manages REA’s social media accounts. If you (accidentally!) send a pitch through social media, Heather will try to get it over to me. It might get lost. We are very sorry. If this happens, it is my fault, not Heather’s.

Will You Review My Escape Room?

Well, that’s a different question. I’m glad you asked. We are thrilled to be invited to play and review escape rooms anywhere in the world. The thing is, we might not have anyone based anywhere near you. But I will make a note. Seriously. I track anyone who invites us, and if we do end up with a writer traveling to your area, we’ll prioritize reviewing your escape room.

If your experience is location-specific, but not strictly an escape room, still reach out. Make the pitch. If it’s something that I think our audience will be interested in, I’ll make note.

When we travel, we prioritize games our community talks about, games that have won or been nominated for awards, creators who are engaged with our community, and creators who have invited us to visit, in that order.

We hope to get the opportunity to play and review your game soon.