Category: Escape Room Tips

4 STRATEGIES THAT WORK

Do the offered Escape Room puzzles keep your customers busy? Are there any relieved, happy “a-ha” moments when they are finally solved?

In the Live Escape game, do customers spend as much time laughing at the wrong tracks and cheering at the little successes as they do thinking and developing strategies?
No matter how new you are in the Escape Room business, you know that the quality of your puzzle is a critical factor for your success.
If you’re in the Escape Room business, hopefully, because you love puzzles too! The extra time it takes to ensure that customers experience an Escape Game adventure that will excite them is therefore child’s play.
Is it about making sure the Escape Rooms have the right balance of challenge and success rate? This article is intended to provide some tips for strategies that are essential for an authentic live escape game.

There are a few things that can make a person’s experience in an escape room a success or a failure:

1. Number One: the environment
2. Number two: the puzzles.

Especially the second point is of essential importance. There are so many factors involved in creating a perfect puzzle. The rule of thumb: A good puzzle is one that entertains and challenges visitors, but does not overwhelm them.
The visitors should have the feeling that they had a real chance to break out of the Escape Room and of course the visitors they solved should go home with a satisfied feeling at the end! That’s clear, isn’t it?

So here is some food for thought on how to design challenging puzzles for an Escape Room.

INSPIRATION

The perfect puzzle will not fall from the sky. It takes a lot of work to go beyond the obvious with a puzzle. Sometimes you start with an idea, which in the end produces a completely different result.
Many Escape Rooms fall into the trap of puzzles from a series of locks and combinations that could be interchangeable in any room and any theme. If that had been acceptable when Live Escape Games were new, the rapid growth of the Escape game industry alone would have required more: more creativity, more inspiration, more complexity.

The first step to creating a satisfying Escape Game is to look at the Escape Room and start thinking from there.
So you start with the theme of the Escape Room: Is it a cave? A doctor’s office? The cockpit of an airplane?
Let’s look at the example of the doctor’s office. Which elements are frequently found there? Stethoscopes, spatulas, cotton balls or needles, for example. Then try to go beyond the obvious.

The obvious variant would be to count the objects that are present in the escape room and try to use them as a numerical code for a lock or safe. What happens? People ravage the small glass containers on the counter and count everything just to find out that it’s not working.

What else? How about the stethoscope? A stethoscope is used to hear the heartbeat.
What happens if you use the stethoscope to hear a model heart?
You hear the beat, boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom.
The rhythm is the key to the right combination!

If players in the Live Escape game were confronted with a safe in this example, the first reflex would still be to look for numbers. But if they don’t find any obvious numbers, that’s when their creative potential is unleashed.
You don’t need to reinvent the Escape Game. It’s enough to reinterpret the elements in the Escape Room that people already know from previous games as solution elements.
In addition to numerical and other cognitive puzzles, it is also worth stimulating the senses of the participants in the Live Escape Room.
Testing the grey cells is one thing. When you include senses like smell, touch, or taste in the Live Escape game, you take the players to a whole new level – a higher Escape Game dimension, so to speak.

Escape gamers sniff at different vials in the office to get to the next step. Or they could look in a part of the Escape Room where there is a certain sound or draught.
There is no formula for the perfect escape game, but a simple scheme to illustrate the approach to a live escape game could look like this:

Theme ? Object ? interaction ? Interaction ? Goal

First look at the topic, and then think of the players. How do they see your object?
Then how can you get them to see the object the way you want it?
If you use the general knowledge of an article against the article itself, you will get a guaranteed good twist for the Escape Room.

MANAGING DIFFICULTIES

After considering the alternative uses for the items in the Escape Room, the next step is to consider how difficult it is to successfully complete the Escape Game.
The choice is between 2 extremes: Quality and quantity. Either some really challenging puzzles or a higher number of slightly easier puzzles.
Of course, this decision depends heavily on whether the Escape Room is aimed at the general public or at live escape game professionals.
In the Escape Game, which is aimed at the general public, the second variant with simpler puzzles, which even beginners can solve after an attempt and error, is the recommended one.
Because for beginners in Live Escape Game the danger is that they can quickly be overwhelmed by overly complicated puzzles.

Another important factor is the time limit.
It is important to test the puzzles in the Escape Room to ensure that the participants of the Live Escape Game have a chance to master the Escape Room before the clock runs out.
It should be ensured that the puzzles are not too demanding and that there are not too many puzzles to escape within the given time limit. Finding a healthy balance between the two poles can be difficult, but it becomes easier as more players watch them successfully make their way through the Escape Room.
Another important consideration is how many people the room is designed for. Of course, with more players, you will be able to solve more challenging puzzles because you can work together.
So it’s essential to motivate the participants of the escape game to work as a team to solve the puzzles. Otherwise, there is a danger that the other players in the Escape Game with more dominant personalities will solve all the puzzles.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PUZZLES

One way to compensate for the above tendency of some people to have control is to create the space and the puzzles in a non-linear plot.
So one puzzle should not lead to the next and the next and so on. The room should offer several puzzles at once in different areas, which the participants can complete in groups.
Creating puzzles of this kind can be difficult, but there is nothing worse in an escape room than someone standing around and getting bored while everyone else is having fun. Providing parallel ways to solve puzzles helps to involve participants who might otherwise be more passive.
In addition, the creation of different puzzle hotspots creates more roles that participants need to work as a team.
Let’s return to the medical practice, for example: in this Escape Room, a group might be looking for a file inside the computer or in a filing cabinet, while two or three other participants in the Escape Game turn to the safe with the stethoscope. In this way, the two groups can be on opposite sides of the room, and each has a role to play.

MAKE NEW

What we mean is changes the puzzles within the escape rooms from time to time.
Redesigning an escape room can seem a little intimidating, especially after you’ve already put all that effort into a first version. However, it is important when participants of an escape game want to drop by again and be challenged. It also prevents participants from passing on the solution to certain puzzles to other participants and depriving them of the fun of the live escape game.
The good news is that after creating and analyzing the puzzles in an Escape Room, it is easier to know the difficult and less difficult puzzles and develop a sense of what could improve the Escape Room. Even observing the participants – for example, how they explore the Escape Room during the course of their Escape Game – can provide clues for new ideas.
Customer feedback will also be a long way in helping you design future challenges and puzzles.
It might help to get back to number one with what you have observed and keep any feedback in mind when considering how objects can be used differently.

Let’s go back to the doctor’s office, for example, one way to innovate would be, instead of opening the safe with a stethoscope, to place it on the wall to hear a secret message.
There are so many ways to innovate and adapt the elements in an escape room – or just add new elements.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

The goal in designing an Escape Room should be to provide participants with a leisure activity that requires thought, discussion, trial, and error before it can be solved.
If participants can solve the challenge by guessing rather than by investigating, there is something wrong with the design of the Escape game.
Because a live escape game that can be solved by luck, rather than by consistent and coherent thought, contradicts the purpose of an escape room.
When players in the Escape Room solve a puzzle by guessing it, they lose the sense of fulfillment and progress that comes from gradually solving the various puzzles.

In essence, players will leave the Escape Room without having developed an understanding of the activities they have carried out and how the various elements and puzzles have influenced each other reciprocally.
You should also consider the different abilities of visitors.
Beware of puzzles that can be ambiguous. Puzzles should be able to be solved with what is available in the Escape Room.
Dealing with the themes and objects in the Escape Game are the tools that the participants have to successfully pass the Escape Room. Using facts outside the Escape Room for a puzzle implies the danger of encountering a group that has no chance of solving the puzzle.

WHAT HAPPENS THEN?

The ideas in this article are just that: ideas. The type of puzzles in the Escape Room depends on how experienced the players are, how much time the teams have to solve the puzzles, and how many people are allowed in each Escape Room. So it’s important to remember that not every puzzle you design will work as planned.
An escape game that you have designed to be simple could be more difficult and vice versa. The best way to know which puzzles succeeded and which ones didn’t is for people to try them out. People like friends, family, or colleagues test the Escape Room and can already give you a good idea of how easy or difficult the designed Live Escape Game is.

You may have to adapt to the different challenges over time, and that’s okay!
It’s important to pay attention to different groups as they try out different Escape Room puzzles.
You should also make sure that you get feedback after the Escape Game in order to get new ideas and inspiration or to find areas that can be improved.
When asked how to create exciting Escape Game puzzles, the best answer is: Just start designing. Then review and customize. You should design several puzzles for one object. Maybe the right solution is a combination. The most important thing first of all is to simply develop puzzles.
Develop and test; then adapt and test and adapt again.

Selling something that people already know is not easy.

Selling something people haven’t heard much about is even harder.

Selling something that people have never heard of and that they find difficult to imagine is the difficult task of an Escape Room operator.

Escape room providers have to overcome different marketing challenges that do not exist in other industries.

The Escape Room sales and marketing tips described here are designed to help increase the visibility of your Escape Room in the marketplace and – ultimately – sell more Escape Room games.

ESCAPE ROOM MARKETING CHALLENGES

Escape rooms face two different challenges.

Challenge 1: You can’t describe what’s inside – because that’s a secret.

Marketing an Escape Room is like trying to sell something invisible. You can’t show it to the customer until he pays for it!

People book Escape Games based on your promise. How do you convince someone to pay for something they can’t see before?

Challenge 2: An Escape Game is a one-time sale.

Once you have spent all your time, energy and money to convince customers, and they have booked an Escape Room, they can still only experience it once!

Even if your customers are thrilled with the service, set design, puzzles and storytelling, they will most likely only play this specific Escape Room once.

Multi-room operators are betting that a great first experience will delight customers so much that they’ll come back to try out the other Escape Rooms.

The following 21 marketing strategies will help you attract new customers to your Escape Room offering.

ENCLOSE YOUR COMMUNITY.

1. offer a free mini-game.

 

People love to try things for free.

This is how it could look like:

1. set up a mini version of the Escape game (10-15 minutes).

Tip: If you have the budget and the materials, create a mobile version that you can take to local festivals, fairs and other events.

2. bring the free Escape Room game to the public. Distribute flyers or business cards with a voucher for the mini-game on the back.

3. give people a taste of an entire Escape Game without giving it all away.

4. ask the participants about the mini escape game:

Did you enjoy it?

Was it fun?

Do you want to have more fun?

When would you like to try our complete game?

Sold to potential customers!

Offering potential customers a free, shortened version of the game immediately solves challenge 1. Now people know what to expect!

And if they have enjoyed it, the probability that they will come back again is very high!

If you book a complete Escape Game, you’ll also probably bring more friends with you. More friends means more word-of-mouth, more attention to your Escape Game location.

 

2. offer a money back guarantee.

“You didn’t like the game?

Tell us why, and we’ll give you your money back! ”

Given that you offer excellent service and a great escape game, few people will ever take advantage of it. But it allows you to show your customers that you have no doubt that they will enjoy the Escape Room experience.

What does it cost?

The amount of potential refunds. But again, if your escape game and service are good, you will rarely – if ever – have customers who will make use of the money back guarantee.

3. sell gift cards

If people like your Escape Room, they can share their experiences with friends or family members. Selling gift cards is a great way to help them do that.

Escape Room Gift Certificates are also the perfect gift for those who are part of today’s “Simplicity Movement” – people who are looking for smaller, simpler houses and give away their surplus possessions value gifts that give them an experience rather than objects they need to keep and maintain.

What does it cost?

Depending on how costly it is to ship or produce your vouchers / gift cards, this strategy can cost more or less money. Digital gift cards have the advantage that they only cost the time and effort to program them.

4. use of local media.

Local editors are always looking for fresh and interesting topics to share with their viewers or readers. And you run a fresh and interesting business.

Contact local journalists and ask them if they want to make a story about you and your Escape Room.

There are different perspectives for an interesting story. Here are a few possibilities:

First Escape Room in the area

Moving to a larger location or expanding the number of escape rooms you offer

Visit of youth groups

events for a charitable purpose in which you and your company are involved

Opening of the Escape Room under particularly difficult circumstances

Offers something unique that other Escape Game providers in the area don’t have

How much does it cost?

The time to contact the various media.

5. promote your competitors.

I know it sounds crazy, but let me explain.

If you only have one Escape Room, your customers won’t come back until you open another room. But that’s no reason to fob them off with a “thank you” and put the hope in it that they will remember you when that time comes.

Do you know what they will remember?

Exactly.

Tell your customers about another Escape Room in the area. This will show you that you are more than just about money!

When you open your next Escape Room, people will remember that you were the one who recommended another great experience to them.

They will remember that you were generous and attentive.

And they will come back.

If you establish a cross-selling strategy with your competitors, everyone will win.

What does it cost?

This strategy costs you absolutely nothing.

OPTIMIZE YOUR WEB PRESENCE.

First, of course, you should say that you need a website.

Secondly, your website should be easy to use and present your offer in the best possible way.

Third, you should use digital marketing strategies to attract visitors to your website.

 

6. paid online advertising

If you have no online advertising experience, then here are some tips:

There are countless ways to spend money online, but very few ways to spend money efficiently.

Unless you know exactly what to do – hire a professional to take care of the paid online advertising.

What does it cost?

Advertising online can be expensive, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. Trust someone who handles your money responsibly and efficiently.

7. SEO

Everyone who uses the Internet has heard of SEO before.

However, not many people really understand what it means.

With a simple Google search, you’ll find countless SEO tips and tricks from reputable – and less reputable – experts.

The advice you’ll find in almost all articles:

Publish good content and you’ll be rewarded.

That’s all.

But what is “good” content?

Good content is everything that is useful and valuable to your target audience (your potential customers).

So instead of thinking long and hard about long tail keywords, canonical URLs and referrer strings, just sit down and think about the people who are interesting for your business.

What are their interests?

What are they likely to look for online?

If you have “couples” as your target group, post unique date ideas on your blog (make sure one of these ideas is an escape dream!).

What does it cost?

Your own online research and the writing of blogs and other content is basically free of charge. If you hire a marketing professional to help you with SEO, pay an hourly or monthly fee. These costs vary depending on your geographic location, the person or company you are hiring, and the amount of work the person is supposed to do.

8. remarketing

Have you ever noticed that after visiting some websites you start to see the ads everywhere?

This is remarketing and it is very effective.

If you plan to use part of your budget only for online marketing, remarketing is the option you should choose.

Remarketing guarantees that your offer (in this case “Escape Games”) will be remembered by potential customers even after they have left your website.

What does it cost?

Remarketing is cheaper than standard pay-per-click online advertising, but it’s not for free.

Tip: Remarketing only works if you already have visitors on your website.
9th TripAdvisor

Go to TripAdvisor and create a free list of exciting destinations. Write a catchy description of your business and upload a photo.

Sign up for Review Express to collect as many reviews as possible.

Of course, you should make sure that your Escape Rooms, Escape Games and Service also deserve to receive great reviews!

Tip: Remember that no matter how hard you work, you occasionally meet someone who has a negative attitude and puts that energy into a bad rating. Offering a money back guarantee can help, but don’t be discouraged if you’ve got a negative rating in the middle of mostly great reviews.

What does it cost?

TripAdvisor and Review Express are both free.

10. blogger reviews

Search the internet for blogs or websites that report about escape games, exit rooms, live escape games, etc.

If your Escape Room has a well-known theme like Sherlock Holmes or the Titanic, you can search for bloggers who also write about these things.

Contact bloggers who are aimed at your target audience and offer them a free game in return for their feedback.

Or even better – invite them to play a paid game so that their ratings are not biased.

Here are some websites that publish Escape Room Reviews:

Nowescape

Escape Reviewer

Escape Room Tips

Escape Room Addict

How much does it cost?

Inviting bloggers for reviews doesn’t cost you anything.

 

11. escape room directories

Some people already know Escape Games and are looking from home or when they are on the road for a suitable provider. Make sure they can find you!

Visit the Escape Room directories that cover your geographic area and contact the administrators if your company is not listed.

Here are some Escape Room directories:

Escape Reviewer Database

Escape Room Hub

Nowescape

Play Exit Games

What does it cost?

Most Escape Room directories will list your Escape Game offerings for free.

12. avoid discount coupon websites.

This is the only item on my list that tells you what not to do.

Don’t rely on Groupon and similar discount services if you want to develop a sustainable long-term marketing strategy.

Often the people who buy discount coupons for restaurants, services and entertainment are much more interested in discounts than in the venues.

This leads to several problems that have a negative impact on both your success and the industry as a whole:

The discount sites attract people who are basically not your target audience. So there is a danger that the Escape Game will be less appealing to them and that you will get a bad rating afterwards.

 

BE OPEN.

Today it is difficult to market an Escape Room without social media, especially Twitter and Facebook.

Use the popularity to your advantage. People react to companies that deal with them as people, so develop a friendly and authentic marketing strategy.

13. post regularly relevant content.

Share articles and pictures for your target group – they will share the content with friends because it is relevant to their interests.

Tip: There is a free tool that automatically makes your Facebook posts for you, so you only have to post in one place.

Customize your posts to your audience on any platform (e.g. posts on LinkedIn tend to be more professional, while you can use a more casual tone on Twitter and Facebook).

What does it cost?

Setting up profiles on the most popular social media platforms is free, as is publishing and sharing content.

 

In your social media activity, you get the most leverage from the team photos you take of your customers after they finish an escape game. Post the photos on your news feed and let the customers tag themselves.

Your customers’ friends will see the pictures with your logo and a group of happy, excited people.

Efficient, cheap advertising!

What does it cost?

Apart from the cost of the camera, taking digital photos and posting on social media, it won’t cost anything.

15. buy an ad in the local travel guides and maps.

Google your city or geographical region as if you’re coming to visit for the first time.

Visit hotels and see what types of brochures and maps they offer.

Talk to other entertainment providers near you and find out where they advertise.

Think about whether a poster campaign might be worthwhile.

How much does it cost?

The purchase of advertising space costs some money.

16. cooperate with local tour operators.

If your company is in an area served by tour buses and guides, find out if there is a way to negotiate a cross-promotion commission contract with these companies.

How much does it cost?

In general, a commission is paid for this type of contract.

 

REWARD YOUR CUSTOMERS

The best advertising is positive word-of-mouth propaganda from those who have played and enjoyed your Escape Game.

17. distribute merchandise for your Escape Game.

Give your customers small, inexpensive merchandise items like bunch of keys as a gift after they have played the Escape Game.

Try to choose something closely related to the theme of Escape Space.

If they liked the game and the item is cool, they will show it to their friends.

This is exactly what you need

How much does it cost?

Many companies sell merchandise for low prices. The more you order, the lower the price.

18. sell T-shirts and other items with your logo.

Some people like to collect T-shirts, shot glasses and other branded items as souvenirs from places they have visited, especially on holiday.

Every time someone wears a T-shirt with your logo, you get free advertising!

How much does it cost?

See point 17.

 

19. give customers discounts on future bookings.

This technique is similar to “upselling”, which you can often see in fast food chains, for example.

If you have more than one Escape Room, you can make players book another game immediately after the end of their Escape Game (while they are still full of adrenaline and emotion)!

Give a discount on the next Escape Game if you book directly.

Tip: If you have an Escape Room that is empty at this time, offer an even bigger discount to play this room immediately.

How much does it cost?

The financial losses are limited because you can fill an empty room. And of course there is positive word of mouth.

20. use the birthday call.

I must warn you now I will share a really strong sales tip with you.

Something your competitors don’t do.

How many emails do you usually get on your birthday?

Do you remember any of the companies that sent those emails?

If you’re like me, you don’t remember any of those emails, and they all end up in the spam folder.

Would you remember if someone you didn’t know called you on your birthday and said, “Hey, this is Max, from XYZ. I just wanted to wish you all the best for your birthday. Enjoy your day!”

Think about it.

Birthdays are usually happy days for your customers.

Use that!

Here is what you do:

Call your customers on their birthdays and wish them all the best for their birthday.

Nothing more.

Don’t sell anything.

They will remember you.

They will like you.

Next time they think of an Escape Room – who will they think of?

Sold!

Tip: You can get the phone numbers and birth dates of the players during the booking process.

How much does it cost?

One call is free, only takes 20 seconds.

21. loyalty and referrals.

Be the best you can be.

Create puzzles that are fun, challenging and unique.

Spend your time and money on quality, design and props.

Create a story that is fascinating and entertaining.

Give your customers a special day.

Make sure everyone who plays your Escape Game wants to come back for more.

People will tell their friends about the great experience in the Escape Room. They will write positive reviews. They will do the marketing for you.

Give your customers an extraordinary Escape Room experience and you’ll be rewarded for it.

 

What if everyone who plays your escape room became the top promoter?

Can you imagine having a whole army of salespeople who will take your Escape
Room further market – completely without paying them a cent?

Then pay attention now. With the following simple rules, you get the tools you need.

How exactly is that supposed to work?

One of the best ways to sell Live Escape Games is through referral.

In fact, it is one of the best and most effective ways to sell anything.

Getting a reference is almost like getting a freelancer to work for you – the more
new players direct your customers to you, the smaller your marketing budget must be.

That’s why online reviews are so important.

A good rating will definitely increase the sales of your Escape Room.

A few bad reviews, on the other hand, can be a real poison to your escape game.

It is important to know what your customers really think about your Escape Game.
Priorities in marketing the Escape Room

Although there are, of course, many efficient and budget-friendly ways to reduce sales
of your escape game, online review management is the key to your success.
further success.

It is not only important for you to collect honest feedback – so that you can improve your service and
can continuously improve their Escape Games – but also ratings are
Important resources used by Escape Room customers to make decisions,
which Live Escape Rooms you would like to visit.
Here are four reasons why collecting positive reviews is at the top of your list.
I should be on the priority list.

 

Size doesn’t matter:

Reviews promote companies of all sizes. You don’t have to be a huge global chain with a massive marketing budget to benefit from good reviews.

Reviewers don’t care how big your Escape Room is or how long you’ve been in business – their only interests are a) how entertaining and challenging your Escape Room is and b) how friendly, courteous and helpful your staff is.
Exposure:

Reviews give you a visibility that traditional marketing channels simply can’t achieve.

Your brand is brought closer to an audience that could otherwise ignore your ads or not see them at all.

If people are looking for leisure activities that are in their environment, they don’t necessarily have to have an escape game in mind. But if your business shows up with numerous great reviews, the likelihood that they will try it increases.
SEO value:

The more reviews you have, the higher search engines will rank your website.

It is an infinite loop. You will get more traffic to your website through the links in the ratings, which will improve your ranking, which will again increase your visibility on search engines, which will then again generate more traffic to your website.
Website will send. . . etc. etc. etc..
Reputation and network:

A successful evaluation balance shows other local businesses that you are the kind of business they want to support.

You will gain the respect of local entrepreneurs and earn trust and loyalty in your region.

 

Reviews are a long-term investment.

Often a great review published on a trusted website is enough to convince undecided players to give your Escape Game a chance.

Make sure that these players have an excellent experience, and you have just gained new loyal customers.

The commercial value for this single review could be tens of thousands of dollars in sales.
Follow these six steps to turn online review management into your secret marketing weapon.
1. register your escape space on any platform.

You have start with quantity and forget quality for a while.

When collecting reviews – first comes quantity then quality

We will come back to quality later.

First you need to make sure that your Escape Room is visible.

Register your Escape Room at least on the following social networks and websites:

Facebook
Google+
Twitter
pinterest
instagram
yelp
tripadisor
yotpo

There are many blogs that specialize in Escape Room Reviews. Here I have listed some of them.

If you want your Escape Room to be listed, make sure the blog knows about you.

Nowescape
Escape Reviewer
Escape Room Directory
Intervirals
Lock me if you can
Escape Room Addict

If you regularly publish content on your website, it’s a good idea to integrate Disqus.
You might think it’s an exaggeration, but trust me, it’s absolutely essential for your customers to be able to review your Escape Room there.

Once you have registered your Escape Room on each platform – start collecting as many reviews for your Escape Room as possible.

 

2. collect as many reviews as possible for your Escape Room

Whether good or bad – the more the better.

What you need to make sure is that your customers can leave a rating on every platform they visit.

Make it easy for the customer to leave reviews on websites.

The registration should not force you.

Avoid captcha – use it only when absolutely necessary.

Most reviews come from mobile phone – make sure that rating your escape room from mobile phone is just as easy as writing an SMS.

Tip: Make writing a review as mobile-friendly as possible.

Reward customers for a review.

There is a catch:

If you offer your customers something directly for their Escape Room rating, they will feel manipulated.

Moreover, it is unethical and is directly prohibited by many platforms.

Instead, you could offer a raffle where a randomly selected report (good or bad – no matter) can win a prize every month.

Create a community, such as a Facebook group, and encourage your customers to join.
Tip: You could also use your free Wi-Fi to refer people to your Escape Room Review platform.

How do you encourage your customers to leave reviews?

Organize a debrief after each Escape Game

During the meeting, you ask specific questions:
– What did you like?
– What don’t you like?
– What can we do better?

First, it helps you to get the feedback.

But second and foremost:

If the experience of the customers is discussed in the Escape Room in direct contact, the negative feedback is given directly there before it is published on the Internet.

If you get positive feedback, it’s a great opportunity to ask the customer to post a review online.

Here is another thing you can do.

Many Escape Rooms take photos with some props after the team has finished the Escape Game.

Go one step further.

Prepare the following posters:

“I loved it”

“Ingenious.”

“You should try it sometime.”

Some of your customers will definitely pick up these posters and take photos with them.

Use posters with a positive message

People like to be consistent, so after taking pictures with the poster “I loved it” your customers will leave a positive impression.

Here’s another trick:

Escape rooms can be very satisfying, especially for someone who’s playing for the first time.
Those who visit an Escape Room for the first time are mostly positively surprised.

Use it to your advantage.
This is the best Escape Room rating you can get.

Now let me ask you a simple question:

Who should rate your Escape Room?

Really everyone?

Of course not.

So we come to the next step.

 

3. get your Escape Room reviews from independent reviewers

Think about it:

Who would you trust more – escape room providers who say their escape game is great, or a random person who just finished their game and tells you the opposite?

People tend to trust independent opinion.

When we talk about a particular business area, it’s obvious that people associated with that business will be influenced.

So, the less you are involved with the business, the more a random person would trust your opinion.

The more the reviewer belongs to your company, the fewer people would trust its rating.

So make sure that the reviewers are not interwoven with their Escape Room. 4.
4. make sure that people share Escape Room reviews with their friends.

Make sure that Escape Room reviews are seen by your customers’ friends.

How would you do that?

Do you remember the photos with the positive poster messages?

Email your customers’ photos to them or tag them on Facebook.

Make sure your logo is visible on every photo.

When your customers publish the photo on their profile, many of their friends will see that they have enjoyed your Escape Room experience.
5. track your Escape Room reviews

Once you have set up your Escape Room on various websites, directories, etc., you need to make sure that you start reviewing the ratings.

If someone mentions your Escape Room somewhere, you should be up to date to respond as quickly as possible.
Here are some tools that can help you:

TalkWalker
Google Alerts
hootsuite
Sprout Social

Each rating – negative or positive – provides you with valuable information about your Escape Room offering.
6. set up Escape Room evaluation management

Let’s see how you can deal with ratings.

How to deal with positive Escape Room ratings?

Use these reviews to your advantage:

Use positive reviews in your advertising.

Put the best ratings as quotes on your website.

Make sure that any positive reviews are also shared with your employees.

How to deal with negative Escape Room reviews?

It’s hard not to be disappointed after reading negative reviews.

However, some of them are simply not fair.

It is important to remain calm when reading a negative rating.

However, you should take the rating very seriously as it can damage your reputation and your business.

As soon as you get a negative rating – react immediately.

What should your Escape Room learn from this?

How can you improve yourself?

What positive aspects can you draw from the negative rating?

Treat any negative rating with attention.

Publish a comment that you are dealing with the problem.

In the meantime, try to solve each problem individually offline and not in public space.

Do this by email or phone.

Once the problem is solved (and only then) briefly describe in public how and when the problem was solved.

Too many bad reviews mean that something is wrong with your Escape Room offering.
However, there are negative reviews that are unfair (which doesn’t mean they should be ignored).

Make sure your employees see how they should respond to negative feedback.

Make sure they see how exactly customer problems can be solved.

Remember – your customers are your salespeople.

Treat your customers well – and they will sell for you.

 

Many of our customers who are playing an Escape Game for the first time say: This is the game from “The Big Bang Theory”. In fact, Escape Games are now very popular on almost every continent in the world and are finding more and more followers in Germany. Meanwhile there are 19 providers in Berlin, 13 in Hamburg, 9 in Frankfurt and 8 in Munich. Where does this rapid growth come from and why can so many players get excited about these puzzle games? This article gives 3 attempts to explain.

1) Solving Escape Rooms makes you happy

Anyone who has ever tried an escape game knows: solving difficult tasks makes for a very special feeling. After every success new things are discovered, e.g. single objects or even whole rooms which were hidden before. Every success gives up new tasks to solve again and again. You get the feeling that it goes ahead and the story, which seemed complex and unsolvable at the beginning, dissolves more and more. Like a big puzzle, which you put together piece by piece. You get the feeling that you’re evolving.
So Escape Games can be a great Dopanim booster, with absolute addiction factor. Note: This only works, of course, if you don’t get too dogged with the thing and you puzzle as a team together and not each for himself. Where we would already be at point two….

2) Escape Games promote team spirit and creativity

What is more fun than overcoming a difficult problem? Exactly: As a team to overcome a difficult problem together.
In almost every Escape Game there are elements which require the cooperation of the players. You don’t become world champion as a genius, but as a team. Every team success further welds the group together, which is why Escape Games are becoming more and more popular with companies.
In addition: Escape Games are in principle solvable for everyone. They don’t require any special skills, but just a little skill, creativity and brain fat. And most importantly, don’t keep your good ideas to yourself, share them with your team.

3) Escape Games turn a story into a real experience

An Escape Game is like a movie or a book, only that it doesn’t just take place on a screen or in your own head, but in reality. It’s like a computer game in which every object can be touched and everything you see really exists. Mistakes are punished, success brings you further. So the whole story is not only experienced passively as a spectator, but actively as the main actor.

All great Escape Rooms have certain things in common.
Do you know which ones?
The fact is, anyone can open an Escape Room.
But not everyone manages to create a really great Escape Room.
What’s the secret?
How can you take your Escape Room to the next level?

In this post, you can find 18 great ideas for improving your escape games and business practices that will keep your customers coming back for more.
Whether you’ve been running your Room Escape offering for a long time or are just getting started. Here you’ll find all the important tips on how to improve your Exit Game and turn a good Escape Room into a great Escape Room.

There are over 160 Escape Rooms in the UK, over 100 in Toronto and 140 in Amsterdam. New Escape Games open and close every month.
Where do you start when it comes to improving your success story?
What actually makes a great Escape Room? In this blog post you’ll find lots of ideas. You have to ask yourself a lot of questions and play as many exit rooms as possible before you can really get started. The following 18 tips range from designing a credible story to using technology to the player’s tension curve from start to finish. These are all things I’ve been experiencing for over a year in a particularly immersive escape room.
1. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.

Should your Escape Game be a family-friendly venue? Or are you more interested in creating horror-based escape rooms? Exit games with a high level of difficulty for enthusiasts? Or all this in one room?
You need to know your potential players and their experience and possible expectations of the Escape Game experience. Think carefully about the type of gaming experience you want to provide. Know your audience and write custom stories.
2. choose a suitable location.

The building in which your Escape Rooms are located can help to create a suitable atmosphere from the outset.
There are also limitations. But it’s already intuitively more exciting to descend steps to underground rooms than to climb stairs to the third floor.
It’s not just the rooms that should be suitable. A large sign with your logo on a magnolia wallpaper will certainly not create the right atmosphere.
Your reception and the corridors to the Escape Rooms should bear your signature. I have seen old walls, old castles, graffiti and murals.

 

3. WRITE THE STORY THAT FITS YOUR SPACE.

You could come up with the most ingenious Escape Room ever created. All plans will expire if the story doesn’t match the room.
Look at the possibilities of the room. Know its limits.
You have to stage a whole story and treat it like a construction project.
A good Escape Room is like an extraordinary architectural object.
4. CHOOSE BETWEEN A LINEAR OR A MULTILINEAR PUZZLE CONCEPT.

This should be determined by your space and your history.
Linear is very simple: solve a series of puzzles and escape.
Multilinear is – as you can see in the name – more difficult, but probably more intense, if you do it right. Christopher Nolan’s successful film Inception is often cited as an example of an incredible multilinear narrative.
Multi-linear designs can have multiple paths that all lead to one point. This means that players need to think more about it. Because they need to be able to connect and merge all the storylines.
5. CREATE A CREDIBLE STORY.

You have to build a credible story. To achieve this, you should create a world like a computer game, a movie or an exciting book.
Take Harry Potter or Game of Thrones as an example. Both have engaging characters and a world where everything from geography to tiny details has been carefully considered.
The whole must be interesting and meaningful for the players.
6. KNOW YOUR PROTAGONIST (IF THERE IS ONE).

The fact that you have to write the story for an exit room makes you an author. And what do authors do? They tell stories with a fascinating main character.
This is especially true for rooms of a certain type: when the theme of the escape room is ‘treasure hunter’ or ‘explorer’. Less so for rooms like a nuclear shelter.
If you have a character, you need to know everything about him or her, from appearance and personality to your favorite drink.
You don’t have to explain everything to the players. But you should know all the details to make your story credible.

 

7. A DESIGN FOR OPTIMAL FLOW AND SPEED.

A secret must be in the heart of the room.
The design of an escape game should guide the players from A to Z through the escape room.
You can do this by getting players to deal with what is around them, be it a grinning skull on a wall or a notebook full of strange symbols and equations. You can also succeed by increasing the difficulty level of the puzzles as you approach the starting point.
8. MAKE YOUR PUZZLES INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING – BUT SOLVABLE.

The players must be able to escape from the room within an hour.
If something is too dark or too hard to find or solve, it will take the fun out of the experience.
You need a good selection of puzzles.
Attention spans will decrease when players simply need to open padlocks or find keys. A mixture of logical, mathematical and creative puzzles that require you to think around the corner works well.
9. MAKE SURE THAT THE WRONG TRACKS MATCH THE TOPIC.

Escape rooms are simply said to be secrets that must be solved in order to gain freedom. And what is behind every classic secret? A wrong track!
Now a false trail could be something as simple as an object that looks as if it should be vital, but is actually only there for the show.
I was once deceived by a book that looked like it was full of important information. But it was a wrong track. But it fit the theme and the storyline of the room. So always keep in mind:
False tracks must also be credible.
10. GIVE HINTS WHEN AND IF NEEDED; BUT NEVER MAKE IT EASY.

Tips should point players to the solution – but don’t give them the solution.
Any hints you give should work within the narrative. Otherwise, players will lose the enormously important feeling of immersion.
Always remember that a clue is just that – a clue; not less, but not more.
Players should feel as if they are solving everything with a minimum of help. They should have that sense of satisfaction when they meet a challenge that motivates them and gives them the momentum to master the next challenge.

 

11. WORK WITH REFERENCES FROM POP CULTURE, PLAY AND FILM.

We’ve all seen Indiana Jones and James Bond. Maybe you want to develop a whole space around this theme.
References to pop culture create the feeling of being part of a popular movie or game. You can fulfill a fantasy – the players can live it instead of just watching.
12. INPUT AND OUTPUT SHOULD BE DIFFERENT!

The big must!
Trying to find a way to open the door through which players entered the Escape Room quickly gets old.
Creating a maze of doors, passageways, small chambers and rooms within the Escape Room is the best possible scenario.
Secret doors in the walls are good, but require some expertise.
13. MAKE SURE THAT THE FURNITURE AND DECORATIONS MATCH THE THEME.

A lot of puzzles in a room are boring, even if they are cleverly designed.
The theme must be recognisable down to the last detail.
Anything that doesn’t fit can become your Achilles verse.
A good example of this is the animated Disney film ‘Robin Hood’. There’s a balloon in it, but I’m pretty sure there weren’t any balloons in the Middle Ages.
Technology or no technology?

That’s the question here! Some rooms are equipped with a lot of technology today. Others have none at all.
The question of which option is preferable strongly depends on how you designed the room.
Personally, I think that the most innovative and immersive escape games are those where technology isn’t obvious. It is always subtly integrated into the set design.
Tablets in Escape Rooms

Another technology-related question: Should players be given tablets so they can stay in touch with you?
That depends on the type of room. If it would interfere with your immersion in the Escape game, then you’d be better off without a tablet.
Actors in Escape Rooms

Again, the answer is: Everything depends on your background story.
You’re never forced to let actors really enter the room. Sound effects and the belief that “someone” is coming are sometimes better than a real actor. If you choose it, the actor should really be convincing.

Loud banging on the walls, clattering, grunting, screaming; an actor (or one of your co-workers) is very suitable for all these things. Because the effect is much more realistic than a recording.

 

14. IMAGINE A FEELING OF COMPLETE IMMERSION.

To create a feeling of total immersion is the holy grail of the Escape game. If you manage to get players to fully immerse themselves in the story, you’ve made it to a truly great Escape Room. It takes time, imagination and expertise to achieve this.
Exit Games is about interacting with the fantasy world you’re in. I’ve already had to open doors without an obvious keyhole with a toilet flush.
Hiding things in dark rooms or holes can be useful. Players have to search in uncertain places; that gets the adrenaline going.

If you can, add sound effects:
If you can convince people that the experience is really real, you’ve really made it. Everything – from the story, to the theme, to the interaction with the players from outside the room – has to be pinpointed.
15. DON’T CONTROL THE GAMES FROM A LAPTOP AT THE RECEPTION DESK.

Interact with the players. Respond to it in real time. Be right behind the door.
Think of an escape room like a play. Your employees are like stage workers, pulling strings, making noises and triggering visual effects in the room.
Create the right level of pressure.
Players need to feel that time is running out.
16. LET THE PLAYERS GUESS TO THE END

Exit games always work with the element of surprise. These surprises must come to the end.

Mistakes can be okay.
If absolutely anyone who plays a game can quit in less than 25 minutes, then maybe you should ask the quality of your Escape Room question. The great thing about this experience is that you don’t have to break out successfully to have fun.
I haven’t managed to escape from an escape room a few times, but I had a great time.

17. YOUR MARKETING SHOULD BE AS UNIQUE AND EXCITING AS YOUR ESCAPE ROOM.

Marketing, of course, deserves its own post on this blog. But it’s still an important consideration to think about what makes a good Escape Room.
“Coming Soon teasers for social media are good.
Golden tickets, free tickets for a just opened Escape Room, are also worth considering. I know an Escape Game provider who still does marketing in the old-fashioned way: by simply going out on the street and giving away free tickets. It creates a sense of anticipation.
Don’t reveal everything on your website.
The blurb of a book doesn’t tell you the whole story. The same rule applies here. If you know too much about what to expect, you ruin the experience.
It must be a journey that begins before the players have entered the building.

18. RESIST THE ATTEMPT TO SIMPLY JUMP ON THE MOVING TRAIN

I’m talking about virtual reality here. With regard to the future of Escape Rooms, a lot has already been said about VR. But the technology is not yet fully developed.
Wait and see how Oculus Rift is accepted and evaluated by people who actually bought it before you invest in this technology.

 

AND NOW CREATE THE BEST GODDAMN ESCAPE GAME YOU CAN IMAGINE!

Very excited?
That should be you!
Remember the golden rule: Be imaginative. Don’t hold back. Escape players will remember the room that really captured their imagination and transported it to another world. Go out and make it!

 

Be attentive, be curious – Our tips for beginners

Together with your team you enter an Escape Room for the first time. You are confronted with the silence and wait for something to happen. But there is no such thing. Perhaps there is a brave person among you who makes the start. He takes an object in his hand. Inspected. Inspected. And that’s what matters. Have no false shyness. For you are neither in a horror cabinet nor a ghost train. You’re together in an exit room – and that should, besides a little thrill and adrenaline, do one thing above all – FUN!

The first step to a successful Escape Game is your attention and curiosity. Split up, spread your wings together, and explore every corner of the room. Pay attention to details.

This first step requires no prior knowledge, logic or combination spirit from you. Curiosity and attention are your greatest helpers in the first minutes of the game. Because if you search attentively, you will quickly experience success.
For all beginners who are considering visiting Plan B Escape, we have prepared a small checklist to help you get a good start in your Escape game:

Have you found an object that can be opened? – Open it!
Can you flip an item over? – Turn it over!
Does an object have multiple sides or levels? – Take a close look at them all.
A hint doesn’t make sense at first? – Make a note of it, because it can help you in the further course of the game.
Don’t try to solve or open an object by force – you’ll recognize objects that can help you.

Use the time at the beginning of the game to search everything thoroughly and take notes if necessary. These can help you in the further process and you save time. Because with decreasing playing time the stress increases. So don’t be afraid to ask for time on a regular basis. Our game leaders will be happy to keep you up to date. And if you’re stuck in a dead end, our game leaders are on the spot and can put you back on track with little hints.

So: Be courageous, curious and attentive. Use the first minutes. And above all: have fun!

Escape spaces are becoming increasingly popular all over the world. Customers pay to be locked in a room for an hour – and they absolutely love it.

So should you sit back and just let your business run? Not so fast.

There is one thing that can ruin even the most amazing escape game… Poor customer service.

Maybe your team lacks training.
Maybe they have the wrong attitude.
Maybe you’re failing to keep your best employees.
Or maybe you’ve always hired the wrong people.

Don’t worry.

Today I’m giving 21 Human Resource tips on how to avoid all these mistakes.
1: MAKE A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO CHOOSE THE BEST
HIRING PEOPLE

Don’t hire everyone who seems to fit more or less well. Go in search of the best talent out there. Because it pays off. 81% of customers are actually more likely to hire again at

to join an escape game if they found the customer service excellent.

On the other hand, 95% will switch to another provider or fill out a complaint if they are disappointed with customer service.

Are you feeling the pressure now?

You should!
2: HIRE EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE SUBSCRIBED TO MAGAZINES…

… or just wear a brand of sneakers. Or who have been doing the same kind of sport for a long time. It’s the consistency you’re looking for.

High sales are expensive and take a lot of time, so the basic attitude of people who are looking for stability rather than constant change is a good start.
3: SEARCH FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE – NOT NECESSARILY WITH ESCAPE GAMES

It can be tempting to hire someone as enthusiastic about your business as you are – but you’d better not.

You are looking for a Game Master.

A host who has to be player-oriented.

Focus on the candidates with previous experience in customer service, hotel management or as event hosts.

 

4: ASK THE CANDIDATES TO TEACH YOU A SKILL.

Just suggest: “Teach me something as if I don’t know anything about it” and see how he/she handles it.

As a Game Master you have to be able to explain the rules at the beginning and to lead the meeting or feedback at the end.

And if the candidate is not successful, you have at least learned something new!
5: HIRE EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE

It is important that your Game Master knows how to react if a team does not successfully complete the Escape Room.

If your customers don’t solve the puzzle in time, they still want to be satisfied – and it’s the employee’s job to find the right strategy to cheer them up.

At the interview, try to give hypothetical situations and ask how the candidate would proceed.
6: SELL THE JOB

In the end, a good Game Master needs some skills: several languages, emotional intelligence, a pleasant personality and great social skills.

These people often already have several job offers.

It is important that you mention all the motivation points both in the job advertisements and in the interview. One of the positive points for working in a Live Escape Room is the following:
7: SATISFIED CUSTOMERS

The difference between working in customer service in a call center and in an escape room is the average customer satisfaction.

While you’re calling the call center, it’s mostly about something not working. People who come to play Escape Dreams are curious, motivated and ready for a unique group experience.

Usually, after they leave the Escape Game, their level of happiness will be even higher – enhanced by adrenaline and a sense of fulfillment.

What could be more rewarding for a customer service representative than an atmosphere saturated with endorphins?

 

8: NO EXPERIENCE IS JUST ‘OK

Escape rooms are relatively new, so there are only a few people with relevant experience in this industry. But the industry is growing and demand is growing!

The industry is growing and the demand for Game Masters will increase.

And you are the one who can provide the candidate with this unique, long-term valuable experience.
9: GIVE A FREE ESCAPE GAME TO GOOD CANDIDATES

… if they have never tried your Escape Rooms before.

Not only will they understand what experience visitors have… They will associate your Escape Game with fun and joy.

They will be prepared to love their work.
10: MENTION THE POSSIBILITIES OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

People are looking for development.

Now you could think: “There are no huge development opportunities in the Escape Room business”.

BUT: From Game Master you can become Location Manager and then – who knows? – maybe once a partner.

Okay, you have your dream team together. What now? 11: forget 8
11: FORGET 8-HOUR SHIFTS

An Escape Game usually takes one hour, so if you have 7 games today – you need staff for ± 7 hours, but if you only have 3 games – for ± 3 hours.

You also need people on weekends and for the late shifts.

So, what do you do?

 

You have options.

First of all, if you are not fully booked all the time – try a flexible working week.

This way you can pay your employees on a fixed monthly salary, but they can work 20 hours this week and 40 hours the next week.

This method has advantages and disadvantages, so make sure you and your employees both benefit.

Another option is that their employees work part-time.

Hire people for your live escape game who need flexible schedules.

These can be students, teens or people who have a passionate hobby that takes a considerable amount of time each day.
12: USE FOR YOUR MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY

If you want to hire young flexible people, it is very likely that they have grown up with the new media.

So use the technology – it makes your life easier.

Use an app that gives you flexible scheduling and instant employee notifications.
13: GIVE THE NEW EMPLOYEES INTENSIVE TRAINING.

Why? You think to yourself: “I can explain all tasks in one hour! You think to yourself: “But I can explain all the tasks in one hour!

Sure, it’s not about molecular biology. But if you are looking for a loyal and committed employee, you also have to offer something.
Happy employees = happy customers.

Your team feels confident and satisfied when they know exactly what to do in every situation.

People are more loyal and committed when they feel that management is thinking of them.

Get your team to pay more attention to the customers – by being a role model.

In the end, the training for the Game Master isn’t really that difficult. Just follow these 3 steps:

1. product training – tell them everything about the setup, administration, technical side and your customer service ideas.

2nd Shadowing – let the new employee follow his team leader for a few days.

3rd trial – turn the script over. Now let the team leader watch the employee. The beginner gets the chance to work autonomously in the Escape Room. The mentor can give feedback or help with a topic whenever necessary.

 

14: LET YOUR EMPLOYEES SPEAK WITH STRANGERS

So you hired your new employee based on his emotional intelligence.

Are you not quite sure?

Don’t worry, that can be trained.

Encourage your employee to spend time with other people.

Let him have a little small talk in public transport or with a barista – that’s a good start.
15: START SMALL COMPETITIONS

Let your employees fight for the amount of happy faces just for the fun of it.
But please don’t take it too seriously!
It’s a fun motivational booster, not a gladiator battlefield.
16: GO TO YOUR COMPETITORS FOR TEAMBUILDING

You know that HR managers organize team building events or other corporate events in Escape Rooms to analyze who is better at problem solving and leadership and use this information for potential promotions?

Why not do the same?

And you can get so much more out of it!

Here’s the plan:

Collect your team and visit a competitor’s escape room.
Explain that the purpose is to have fun and learn something new.
Play the Escape Game.
The next day you schedule half an hour before the start of the normal shift.
Let your team exchange opinions.

What did they like about the location?
What was positive about the customer service?
How did they feel?
What could have been better
What could be avoided?

 

Listen carefully.

You will probably get some business ideas and get to know your own employees better – who was more cooperative?

Who was attentive to details?

Who was more stress-resistant?

Be careful to reflect and analyze.

Repeat the visits from time to time.
17: GET PERSONAL.

… but only up to the point where you personally recognize your co-workers.

With a small team, you can schedule small meetings with anyone from time to time (1-2 times a month is enough) when your employees ask for feedback, concerns, etc. or praise for good performance.

Remember when you get feedback – you have to react to it.

Again, you are a role model for your employees – so if you want them to respond to customer concerns, you should do the same with your staff.
18: BE POSITIVE IN YOUR FEEDBACK.

The recognition that your employees are doing something right is psychologically more effective than focusing on negative points.

Sure, sometimes negative factors cannot be avoided.

Make sure that the negative points do not predominate.
19: HAPPY OR NOT?

You probably saw these buttons in the store around the corner:

The idea is simple – you have tables with a lot of smileys and questions like “How did you like the customer service on our Escape Game today?

Place the smileys somewhere where it’s hard to miss.

It’s a more efficient customer satisfaction survey.

Use it.

What do you get from these smiley faces?

You get continuous feedback for the customer service of your Escape Room.

You can monitor trends and fluctuations.

The capture rate is 30-40%.

Your employees are motivated because they get positive feedback immediately (who cares if an anonymous customer complains to Tripadvisor more than 2 months later?).

If someone uses a sad smiley, your employee can react on the spot and fix the situation.

 

20: THE BEST PRODUCT

HR research shows that these people are motivated who believe in what they are doing.

Customer service employees do good work when they know why they are doing it.

Do you have a vision and a purpose?

Have you communicated it to your employees?

Are you confident that you have the best Escape Room (in the city, in the region or in relation to a particular aspect)?

If you answered “yes” to all three of these questions – good work.
21: ACTIVATE THE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

It’s sad when your best colleague leaves your escape room.

Not only because he or she was nice, but because you have to start the search again and go through the whole process again.

So why suffer?

Use your employee’s contacts.

We tend to hang out with people with similar interests and mindsets, so there is a good chance that someone within your team will know someone who would fit in well with the job.

If an employee recommends a suitable candidate – reward him or her with a nice motivating bonus.

Result:

Time / costs saved in candidate search – check
New employee hired – check
Old employees motivated – check

 

The 10 escape room alternatives for the escape game of the future

The secret to delight guests = Integrate fresh, fun, challenging puzzles into a compelling story.

Maybe you already know that?

But what happens when other providers open an escape game near you, and they already know the secret?

Well, you can continue in the hope that your customer service, competitive prices and positive reviews will keep you afloat.

Or you can look at the trends, consider the direction the industry is taking and try something that no one in your city or region has ever dared to do before. How is the funtainment industry developing and how can you set a trend?

Read on and get ready for the future of the Escape Room!

While escape dreams are gaining popularity around the world, fans are demanding more and more creativity and challenges from escape room operators.

When the Live Escape Rooms started their triumphal march about 10 years ago, they were a new, exciting form of entertainment, and players were impressed by the concept.

The format itself was so new that the design of the escape game was often a secondary concern. That doesn’t mean that the early Escape Rooms were badly designed, but in a market with little competition, any escape room was a big deal, regardless of scenario, decoration, and other factors that are now increasingly a priority.

Today, people who know the Escape Room experience and the mechanism of “unlocking a box to find another clue that leads to the code to unlock another box, etc.” have the need to go to the next level of difficulty in Escape Game.

Unfortunately, not all providers of live escape games are prepared for this development.

Many entrepreneurs are resting on the great success they had with their original rooms and hesitating to change their format, storylines or puzzles.

Others entered the business after the big boom had begun, creating escape rooms similar to those they had visited and enjoyed themselves.

For example, flight quests in Moscow did not make their big breakthrough until 2014. In July 2015, Moscow then had the second highest number of escape rooms in a single city in the world, outside Asia, where the trend began.

New escape rooms appeared almost daily, built by entrepreneurs who wanted to copy the success of other escape spaces throughout the city.

And why not?

Escape spaces were easy to set up with a reasonable budget, and they often quickly yielded a good one. The reasons for not trying out this exciting new leisure offer were hard to find.

In the beginning.

The explosion of Escape Games in Moscow, coupled with a general absence of fresh, new ideas, meant that the exciting group experience essentially stagnated until the end of 2015.

Many businessmen could not withstand the competition and went broke. Large Escape Room providers were able to keep their heads above water by reducing the number of stores they operated.

And then there were those who realized that people weren’t tired of solving puzzles – they were tired of always solving the same puzzles.

Experienced escape operators began to think innovatively and created a variety of alternatives to offer fans fresh, new challenges. It turned out that the secret wasn’t to offer newer puzzles – the secret was to offer something that no one had heard before.

So here are some of the exciting new Escape Room alternatives to give Escape game lovers a new thrill.

 

QUEST PERFORMANCES (Interactive THEATER)

Many have compared live escape games to video games – as scenarios in which players enter a game world created by the authors, but in this case without the limitations of video games. For example, in an escape room, any object can be touched and examined.

In quest performances, players can also interact with non-player characters (NPCs).

As in a classic Escape Room, players enter the room (which can be larger than one or two rooms, depending on the story) and are confronted with a series of challenges within a time period (usually 60 to 90 minutes).

The quests combine elements of an escape game with those of a theatre performance in which the actors participate to create an authentic narrative.

In some cases, actors can help players, give clues, or mislead players with irrelevant or inaccurate information. In a horror themed room, they can appear as a threat. In a large-scale adventure game, they can act as guides.

This interaction – along with atmosphere, lighting, and special effects – adds increased emotional complexity to the Escape Game.

Because players can adjust their decisions based on the actions of the players, the completion of the game is often unpredictable.

In a classic Escape Room, failure is often based on the fact that you can’t find a necessary key and can’t leave the room within 60 minutes. In a quest performance, victory or defeat can depend on the player’s choices and how they affect the overall plan. The focus is more on telling an emotionally satisfying story than testing players’ puzzle skills.

Multiple players can immediately participate in a Mystery Play. For example, their two-hour Shawshank Redemption game places between 50 and 100 prisoners (players) in a 2,000 square foot penal colony and challenges them to find a way to escape. Players are provided with prison uniforms and are completely immersed in history.

Numerous immersive and interactive escape games have already been implemented with great success in various cities and countries. For escape operators looking for a way to stand out from the competition, this format offers many possibilities.
LABIRINTARIUM

Labirintarium is a popular new quest experience that can be an interesting innovation for any Escape Room.

It’s a 70-minute team game for two to 20 players that takes place in a steel and concrete labyrinth.

The game consists of six game zones, each containing either a labyrinth (a stripe labyrinth, a mirror labyrinth, and a labyrinth that must be traversed in the dark) or an active team challenge. As players make their way through the zones, they earn or collect coins that can be redeemed at the end.

In addition to the labyrinth and puzzle challenges, unexpected actors appear to increase players’ adrenaline levels and create a sense of excitement.

Advantages for running a Labirintarium game are:

More than one team can play at a time; once teams have conquered the first zones, new teams can enter the zone.
The expanded room allows larger groups to participate, which can generate more revenue.
The challenges are on a larger scale; small, fragile puzzles that need to be maintained, reset, and replaced are unnecessary.
With gameplay that is more active than mental, visitors are more likely to repeat their visit.

 

ACTION QUESTS

Action quests combine the play elements of classic Escape Rooms, Quest Performances, LARPing, and Sports Competitions.

Like a classic Escape Room, Action Quest players are trapped in a game room designed to transport them into a fictional world. They are given a time limit (usually one or two hours) and a goal that requires a series of mental and physical challenges.

The crucial feature is the focus on physical activity; players must run, jump, crawl, climb and – in some cases – use weapons (e.g. laser tag or paintball).

As with a video game, a team’s victory does not depend solely on a successful escape from the game room. Players can collect points, artifacts or treasures and defeat other teams or armies of actors in combat.

Large groups can participate in action quests simultaneously, and themes can be extremely varied. Players try to survive a zombie apocalypse, find a lost artifact, or overthrow a terrible king. The potential for themed costumes and role-playing games to complement the classic Escape Game makes Action Quests a great leisure activity for a wide audience.
HIDE IN THE DARK

Another attraction that has become popular in Moscow is hiding and searching in the dark. These games can accommodate large groups and take place in completely dark rooms equipped with labyrinths and several hiding places.

In some of these games, players are challenged to hide from an actor wearing night vision goggles. Special light and sound effects complete the atmosphere.
LIVE ARCADE

Live arcade games are inspired by old video games where players run around and play different challenges that require a variety of skills.

In this dynamic format, teams of two to four players set out in search of a series of unique mini-games, each lasting approximately 15-20 minutes.

Each route has its own rules and tasks, but they all require players to jump, run, dodge, climb, balance and shoot to score the maximum number of points.
QUESTS FOR CHILDREN

Although many Escape Room providers allow children (accompanied by adults) to participate in their games, and some even offer games designed for children, this branch of Escape Games has not yet been fully explored.

Escape games encourage players to test communication, teamwork, critical thinking and other valuable skills. As these are skills that tomorrow’s adults will need in the job market, an Escape Room designed for children offers the chance to develop these key attributes at a young age.

For quests designed specifically for children, it is important that the stories are easily accessible for children, that age-appropriate puzzles are available, and that the design is child-sized.

 

LARGE CAPACITY QUESTS

Another variant of the Escape Game is a quest that is played citywide or over a large geographical area.

The scenarios for this type of escape game can be simple or complex or something in between. They can be scavenger hunts, escape game scenarios, zombie runs, or large-scale performances.

Some, like HiddenCity games in England, are a combination of a classic escape game and a scavenger hunt – players need to find clues to find objects.

Hidden City games can last up to five hours. Quests, clues and mysterious storylines are combined with marked breaks in local pubs and cafes along the way.

Some of these large-scale escape games include a storyline and a “survival goal” – players must walk through a section of the city without being spotted by actors “on patrol” (or a zombie pack).
DIGITALLY ENHANCED QUESTS

Nope. Not Virtual Reality. Not Virtual Reality (we’ll come to that in the next point). Digital enhanced quests use technology to expand puzzles and game elements, but VR glasses are not required.

For example, you could imagine a room with touchscreens in the walls and floors that creates an interactive environment that transforms and changes with the movement and decisions of the players throughout the course of the escape game.

No objects or props are required, and any scenario that has been programmed can be transferred to the Escape Room.
VIRTUAL REALITY

Virtual reality is already part of the everyday life of many people today. How can escape rooms benefit from it?

As VR systems have become more affordable and easier to use, the most important question for escape game providers is how to integrate VR technology into an entertainment offering. One possibility is to integrate VR technology into a “hyper-reality”. With atmospheric special effects, hot and cold air, humidity, smells, etc., the Escape Room experience can be taken to a whole new level with Virtual Reality.

 

ENTERTAINMENT PARKS

Although not specifically a game format, entertainment parks can certainly be seen as a fundamental step in the entertainment industry.

Similar to an amusement park that offers rides and games to entertain a family or group of friends for a whole day, an amusement park collects a variety of entertainment and leisure activities for groups in one place.

Visitors can play an Escape Room, then continue to a climbing wall, then play arcade games for a while, then let the kids play an escape game while they rest and enjoy a snack and a drink.

An important advantage for the operation of an entertainment park is the repeat business.

Many providers of escape games have discovered the need to continually update or change their scenarios to make customers come back again. Providing games that can be repeated (arcade games, bowling, billiards, etc.) along with food and drinks, gives visitors a reason to come back even if they have already played an escape room.

Now it’s your turn

Exciting recreational activities like Escape Games are still an absolute trend, but there is no rule that says you have to stay with the classic Escape Room format.

Escape spaces must evolve to continue to meet the needs of visitors.

Creative storytellers and puzzle players around the world are discovering unique and exciting ways to adapt the concept of Live Escape Games to new experiences every day.

For entertainment fans, this is fantastic news. And it’s also great news for the operators of Escape Rooms. With so many potential new stories and opportunities, the chances of success are unlimited.

What does the future of Live Escape Rooms hold for you? Do you have an idea that could be the next step in the development of this unique leisure activity? Now is the time to find out!