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This is our 9th report on the US escape room industry… which (spoiler!) is in a good place.
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A room that remembered to bring the challenge, but forgot to pack some polish. Location: New Haven, Connecticut Date played: July 19, 2015 Team size: 3-6; we recommend 3-5 Price: $26 per ticket The plot You have infiltrated the private study of a wealthy family. The family is hiding a secret… What is it? You have 60 minutes to figure…
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Video intros: Some escape games have them; most don’t. Should they be more common? Pre-Game Information The pregame message is important: It includes safety instructions and sets the boundaries of play. At worst, players who don’t understand these instructions will get hurt. But more often, they simply won’t have fun… And they’ll probably break stuff.…
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Exactly the escape room you’re expecting. Location: New York, New York Date played: July 17, 2015 Team size: 2-7; we recommend 3-5 Price: ranges from $50 per player for teams of 2 to $26 per player for teams of 6 Emergency Exit: [A] Push to Exit Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints Plot “Answer a call for help from crime-fighters in a…
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Famous geeks Felicia Day, Zachary Levi, Seth Green, and Clare Grant escaped the notorious THE BASEMENT in Los Angeles, California. We haven’t played this game, but I’d like to. Horror This room looks about as terrifying as escape rooms get. It’s important to note that most room escapes are not scary (especially to this degree……
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“Captain, we’ve encountered an anomaly and the ship’s dead in the water!” “How long will it take us to get running?” “At least two hours Captain.” “Get it done in one.” Location: New York, New York Date played: July 14, 2015 Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-5 Price: ranges from $50 per player for teams of 2 to $26 per…
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Inspired by the story posted by Exit Games UK, here’s the story of my first escape. My real life escape story. Around dusk in July 2012, I had just moved to a hole of an apartment outside of Princeton, New Jersey. While I was unpacking a friend came over needing computer repair. I needed to…
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This game is closed. A nonlinear game that truly captures a New York City apartment’s je ne sais quoi. Location: New York, New York Date played: June 28, 2015 Team size: up to 10; we recommend 4-6 Price: $28 per ticket Plot “You are trapped in what feels like your typical NYC apartment: small, intimate and full of roommates (your…
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As a follow up to David’s post from the point of view of China’s Foreign Minister, I expanded on a few of his lines from my vantage point of Chief Scientist. Trading technology “I am not 100% sure what happened to the economies of the other countries, but I know that by the end of…
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Last week Team Room Escape Artist played the role of the government of China at the Megagame Society’s Rookie game. We previously described the general concept in far more detail. The game was enormously fun, and strangely haunting. You can think of this post as my therapy session on the subject. It’s important to note…
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Brute-force This does not mean breaking shit. In the context of an escape game, this usually means the act of plugging numbers into a lock until it pops. This is not usually elegant. Common use in Escape Games You’ve figured out three numbers in a four digit combo, then spin the final disk a few times…
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If every player has fun, then they will come back. Too many A room has too many players if there are: players standing around with nothing to do (if you have nothing to do you should re-search the room) tight spaces that can’t fit the whole team, and thus players are missing out Too Few A…
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I’m pleased to announce that Team Room Escape Artist will be playing as the government of China in next week’s Rookie Edition of Watch the Skies. What is a Megagame? Part RPG and part board game, Watch the Skies brings together 60 players who will play on teams as various nations, news reporters, corporate factions…
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Lots of interesting ideas. No finesse. Location: New York, New York Date played: June 19, 2015 Price: $28 per ticket Plot “Several members of the FBI checking in to flight MH270 are being assigned an important mission to get sealed documents from Nigeria to the Egypt. An explosion occurred out of the blue surrounding the tail of the…
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You enter a room with a bunch of people. The room is a puzzle that you solve by resolving the smaller puzzles that are contained within it. Your goal might be “escape” from the room or to solve a mystery, find an artifact, save the world, or any number of other quests. These things go…
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If only the writers put in the same level of effort as the props and makeup teams. Didn’t I see that on The Big Bang Theory? A few months ago The Big Bang Theory aired an episode called The Intimacy Acceleration; I’ve been hearing about it regularly ever since because it featured a room escape…
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Room Escapes are games, but does that mean they are for children? Can kids play escape games? You know your kids. If they are generally jittery, then they probably aren’t ready. If they struggle to focus, then this probably isn’t going to be their thing. If they meltdown when they lose, then there is roughly…
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Helter-skelter (hel-tər-ˈskel-tər) adverb: in a confused and careless way. Location: New York, New York Date played: June 6, 2015 Price: $28 per ticket Plot “You were once a detective whom everyone loved, but you got framed by Dr. Locus, the most wanted guy in the world who is an intelligent criminal. He has a prison where he kept all his…
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The case of the missing fun. Location: New York, New York Date played: June 6, 2015 Price: $28 per ticket Plot “There was a world-wide art exhibition gallery show going on in the city. There were so many invaluable arts in this show. You, as a detective in the city, were the commander of the security of this…
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[At the time of this review, Last Minute Escape was called Exit Strategy.] An entry level game that starts stronger than it finishes. Location: Montclair, New Jersey Date played: June 2, 2015 Team size: up to 8; we recommend 6-8 Price: different weekday and weekend pricing structures Plot “United States Senator Franklin Wilson Neuhaus, II has been missing…
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[Formerly known as The Cavern] A delightful adventure that is begging for a tangible plot. Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Date played: May 30, 2015 Team size: up to 10; we recommend 5-8 Price: $28 per ticket Plot “You’ve been summoned into the deep and have 60 minutes to unravel the mystery of the Cavern.” Digging up the past Defying…
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If only it worked as great as it looks. Post Game Chotchkies Lisa and I don’t buy a ton of stuff… But that adorable Escape New Haven key bottle opener was calling to us… So we caved. Peformance It looks damn good, but its handle isn’t particularly comfortable, and its lever doesn’t quite provide the…
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“I’ve never played any other escape games before, all of the ideas in my game are totally original!” Most of the worst escape games I’ve encountered were designed by people who proudly proclaimed some version of that statement. If you want to design a room escape, the first thing you need to do is go…
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We recently received this in an email from Javeck at Captured LA: “We would love some feedback from veteran room escape artists. Btw, I’m not sure if you guys coined that term, but I love it. Your site was the first i had seen that referenced the game participants as room escape artists [sic].” Thanks Javeck,…
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Update 7/4/23: If you enjoy 5 Wits we hope you’ll check out our interview with CEO Matthew DuPlessie on The Reality Escape Pod. An enhanced playground experience. Location: Syracuse, New York Date played: May 15, 2015 Team size: 2-15; we recommend 4-6 Duration: 30 minutes Price: $17.99 per ticket for one adventure, discounted if you play multiple adventures…
The Full Archive
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