Room Escape Artist

“Have you seen that gamemaster on Crowd Control who claimed she works for a ‘full contact’ escape room?”

For more than a month, this has been the most common message that I have received, and the followup question is, “Do you know what game is this?” The subtext is usually, “so that I can avoid it,” but occasionally it’s, “so I can play it.”

So to answer those first to questions, “yes I’ve seen it,” and “yes I know what game this is.” And yes, I have opinions. But first, some context.

The Crowd Control Exchange

Crowd Control is a show (that I happen to enjoy) on Dropout TV, an improv comedy streaming service that has a variety of show that I regularly view.

On Crowd Control, standup comics take turns getting on stage in front of an audience who are all wearing shirts that vaguely tease something interesting, startling, unusual, or completely unhinged about themselves… and those comics proceed to take turns doing crowd work, bantering with the audience and turning their life experiences into comedy (and occasionally very awkward moments). All of this is overseen by the wonderful host Jacquis Neal. A few people from the escape room community have been on the show, as Dropout seems like they are the last shows actually recording in Los Angeles.

In Season 2, Episode 4, comedian Ron Funches starts talking to a person wearing a shirt that reads “Shocking Career.” She promptly and eloquently proceeds to explain:

“I tase people as part of my job… I work at a full contact escape room. Which basically means the actors in it can drag you across the floor, separate you from your friends.”

The gamemaster continues, “I’ve fed people bugs and I handcuffed them to an electric chair that actually shocks them.”

Ron, and the other comedians make it funny… thankfully. The clip is worth watching:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1217148810732776

I’m not shocked that I have been receiving a lot of these kinds of messages, because (1) it’s a surprising exchange, and (2) a shocking percentage of our community are Dropout TV viewers. So today I am going to demystify a few questions including:

• What’s a full contact escape room?
• How common are these full contact escape rooms?
• Will I accidentally find myself in a full contact escape room?
• What game is specifically being referenced in the clip?
• What do I think about full contact escape rooms as a concept?

What’s a full contact escape room?

I think that the gamemaster in the clip was pretty clear about the experience. It’s a horror game whereby escape room players have consented to being touched, messed with, and put into intensely uncomfortable situations.

It’s not my idea of a good time, but I absolutely know people who enjoy this kind of experience.

How common are full contact escape rooms?

In North America, there are barely any escape rooms that I would classify as full contact. In fact, of the thousands of games in North America, I can count on one hand the number of games in this genre that have ever existed, and most of them have closed… Which tells you something about how well this kind of content generally performs in the North America.

That said, if you travel to Greece, Spain, or Russia, you are a lot more likely to find physically intense, and even cruel horror escape games.

Will I accidentally find myself in a full contact escape room?

Not in North America. The few games that are physically rough make it extremely clear on their websites, during the booking process, in their waivers, and before the game begins.

It’s just not possible to accidentally find yourself in a full contact escape room like this in the United States or Canada. There are so many barriers in between you and that mistake… not the least of which is that these games barely exist on this continent. Which is kind of why the clip is so surprising.

What game is specifically being referenced in the clip?

I have not played this game, and I tossed this to our Patreon community, and immediately had an answer.

The answer is almost certainly Zoe: Reborn at Escapade Games in Fullerton, California.

Way back in 2017, I played the original Zoe, and loved it… but that was when it was a standard horror game without the whole “full contact” angle.

I am confident in Zoe: Reborn as the answer for the following reasons:

1. It’s the right region for a gamemaster to show up to a daytime recording of a show in Los Angeles.
2. The person who identified it is an extremely well-played and reliable player.
3. Escapades has leaned hard into the branding of “full contact escape room experience.” To the best of my knowledge, no one else uses that phrasing.

None of this is an endorsement of the game. I have never played it. No one from the Room Escape Artist Team has played the current incarnation of the game. We don’t have a review of it, and I can’t promise that we have anyone on the crew who will seek it out. I, for one, have a very long list of games in Southern California that I’ll prioritize ahead of Zoe: Reborn… but if this sounds like your idea of a good time, I encourage you to live your bliss.

What do I think about “full contact escape rooms” as a concept?

I’ve played a variety of extreme escape rooms, and some I like more than others. I don’t have an especially big masochistic streak in me, so I don’t really think that I’m wired to derive pleasure from the kind of scenario described on Crowd Control.

That said, if the company is operating safely, getting informed consent from their players, and providing a mechanism for each individual player to alter their limits or withdraw their consent at any time… then I don’t have any issues.

If everyone is having fun and the company is legitimately respecting their own obligations to take care of their players, then I’m happy that everyone involved is happy.

And on the subject of being happy. I am very thankful to our entirely Patreon community, especially the folks who contributed to solving The Case of the Full Contact Escape Room. Whether you’re looking to get all sorts of wonderful bonus content from Room Escape Artist and our podcasts, want to help financially support us and our goal to build up the escape room community, or you simply want to join a lovely community people… please consider supporting us on Patreon like all of these fine folks already are:

Special shout out to those who joined this month: Summer Wu, Abe, and Jen

To those of you reading who have the means, we hope you’ll consider joining this wonderful group of supporters.

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