Room Escape Artist

Wonderful. Terrible. Creative. Messy

Wonderful. Terrible. Creative. Messy. These are just a few of the words that came to mind when David and Lisa Spira sat down to reminisce about the games at Paradiso, a company that helped define the early New York City escape room scene, for better and occasionally for worse.

Paradiso wasn’t playing it safe. They were building some of the most daringly immersive productions the industry had seen at the time, none more ambitious than The Path of Beatrice. This was an ARG-style experience designed to compliment their escape rooms. It was the kind of swing few companies were willing to take. Some connected. Some didn’t. But even the misses were interesting.

I really enjoyed this glimpse of the early days of escape rooms, especially through the eyes of David and Lisa. They were full of stories connected to these games, from the company mass texting their entire team of players at 1 AM in the morning, to a teammate hitting on the actors, and Lisa calmly powering through a full crossword puzzle during the game while everyone else was busy arguing. Then there was The Path of Beatrice. David called some of its interactions the most enthralling moments of his escape room career. Other parts of that same experience left him deeply exasperated.

Any trailblazer in a new medium is going to have hits and misses. This Spoilers Club episode about Paradiso is a nuanced look back at an NYC trailblazer, celebrating what worked, being honest about what didn’t, and revisiting the legacy it left behind.

Reviews

• Chapter 1: The Escape Test
• The Memory Room
• Path of Beatrice

How to Listen

When you support Room Escape Artist on Patreon at $15 per month (or above), you get access to the Spoilers Club, our exclusive podcast where hosts David Spira and Peih-Gee Law chat in depth with creators about iconic escape rooms… spoilers and all!