"Only XXX Days to Gencon!" It is a phrase that one has probably heard if you are at all interested in tabletop games. Gencon is an the definitive tabletop gaming convention for the community. The types of genres represented (but not limited to) include; Board Games Tabletop Roleplaying Games War Games Miniatures Games Trading Card Games LARPing Escape Rooms Anime Film Puppets Art And more... There is a lot to do and see, and having the knowledge to tackle the initial process will greatly help all attendees in making the most of their four day weekend. Receiving an overview will decrease the stress of planning and give an “all-in-one” resource to reference. I could write a couple of pages on tips and tricks for the weekend but giving a brief guide (with more detailed guides coming later) would be the most beneficial. Without further ado, here is what one should do and expect when planning a trip to GENCON! The Three Steps Before you Go! (Planning your trip before the weekend) Step 1: Booking your tickets The tickets for Gencon go on sale many months in advance and average ~$120 USD for all four days of the convention. Buy early because they can sell out closer to the dates. When you buy your tickets make sure you select the option to have the passes shipped to your home. Do your future self a favor and spend the extra money to ship your badge to your residence. We did not choose this option the first time we went and waited 4hrs+ in line to get our passes, don’t wait in line. Step 2: Find lodging The housing process for the weekend can be a lot to deal with but to sum it up as best as possible. When you buy your 4 day pass before a certain date, you will be entered into a lottery for the “housing portal”. This is where you will book your hotel rooms for the event. The most prized hotels are downtown and they are connected via skywalk (a bridge to the convention center) and are the closest in proximity to all sorts of games and events occurring during the weekend. The lottery will give you a timeslot for you to book during the assigned day and the downtown rooms sell FAST. I have seen other people book via other means other than the housing portal but those rooms run at a higher rate than the housing portal. During your time slot, choose the best hotel option for you and/or your group. If you don’t get the hotel you were searching for, check back at later times because other people might have unbooked the room you want. Step 3: Find Events and Prepare A couple months after the housing portal goes live, the event registry will become active. All events at gencon require a fee to participate. Don’t let that discourage you, events are the bread and butter of the weekend. They add a fee to encourage players to show up to each event they signed up for so that a minimum number of players (if needed) will be present. The fee can range from $2-$400, and they are priced at a reasonable rate . Find events that look like fun for you and or your group. Don’t be afraid to sign up alone, I have never met a bad person while attending. Spend some time researching all of the different events and try out a few! Stepping forward in time, you will be getting close to the coveted four days in August. Be prepared for the weekend, it is not a casual weekend, You will be walking, playing, talking, eating, conversing, buying, and exploring. Wear comfortable shoes, bring a backpack and fill it with snacks and other gaming necessities. You should also expect late nights. If staying downtown, the lobbies of every hotel is filled with gamers and there are parties if you so choose to participate in those activities. Most importantly of all, spend the time prepping for an awesome four days and know that however you do your weekend, it will be a wonderful and tiring time. Oh the Things You Will Do! (An overview of things to see while at GENCON) Not much of a surprise, it is impossible to see and do everything during the four days of the convention, the main areas during the weekend are discussed. The biggest and most popular area is the vendor hall. Be ready to spend money. In a major portion of the Indianapolis Convention Center (ICC) is a room filled with hundreds of vendors selling neat trinkets to thousand dollar luxury items. Also scattered throughout, there are tables set up with board games, if you see an open table feel free to sit down and demo one! You might find your next favorite game. Take a stroll around and set a budget. It is extremely easy to forget just how much money one has spent. If vendor shopping is your thing, it will take about 1.5 days to see each booth if you go on a leisurely stroll. Make note of the vendors you find interesting and go back at a later time. Saturday is the most busy day and there will be people everywhere (be ready). If you are around on Sunday, most booths will offer end of con specials and be more willing to cut deals. If you find an item that is appealing to you and has the possibility of disappearing, get it, you will be glad you did. Pictures of things that can be seen in the vendor hall Connected to the vendor hall is the open gaming area. There are thousands of tables set up over here and most are reserved by companies either demoing, displaying, hosting tournaments or playing games. There is an area that is reserved for drop-in games indicated via cones on the table. You never quite know what you will find or what games will be available but check out the area to see a more intimate side of gaming. Further down on the opposite side of the convention hall is a pathway that takes you to Lucas Oil Stadium. Here is where you will find the gaming library. Thousands of games are donated to be used on the field where the Colts play (local NFL team). You can buy tickets to enter the area or wait in a standby line. Either way, this works the same as open gaming only with a bit less structure which it makes up by having the availability to play what you want to play. Liftoff! 2.0 Demo-ed during a open gaming session Most of the above activities all take place in the Convention Center but there is still so much to see. If you are feeling a tad peckish, head over to the “block party” where food trucks rotate all day to provide you with some delicious edible options. There are other events that take place in the ICC; it will show you on your event ticket where specifically it occurs. There are also ~five hotels connected to ICC and each hosts events as well. As mentioned previously, there is a lot of walking, expect a fifteen minute walk between each event if not in the same hotel. See you next year! (Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways) This has only been my second year attending the physical convention and each year gets better and better. Most everyone there is out to have a fun weekend doing things they love and the positivity shows. There are some awesome charity events that are so much fun to observe and participate in. One is called Cardhalla; anyone can take their old playing cards and make a fortress; at the end of the weekend attendees will throw coins knocking down the towers created all while donating to a charitable organization. Another favorite is a sculpture of sorts. On Thursday, a balloon sculptor takes his time at the con to create a handmade balloon dragon. Again at the end of the weekend he asks for donations and all of the kids in the crowd get to “slay” a dragon. The unbridled joy during this is enough to brighten everyones day! I believe that everyone should make it out to this weekend once if any of the topics featured at GENCON are personal interests. With so much to do and see, each year brings a new experience and stories to tell for years to come. #MikeSchnurr #AGuideandOverview #BestFourDaysInGaming #AnIntroductiontoGenCon #GenCon #articles #perspectives #USA #GenCon

Hi guys! It's that time of the year again! We thought we'll continue our annual tradition and make the search process easier for the players and provide you with a list of escape rooms & at home games from all over the world. We've also included some kids games and FREE games as well. Click on the image below for the game list and you can sort through by location, game type and more. Please note there are different tabs on the excel sheet. From the team at ESCAPETHEROOMers, we wish you all a happy Halloween. Have fun and be safe! P.S. If you company is not on the list and you would like to add your information, please email us. #CiciCao #Articles #Halloween2021 #event #HalloweenGames #DiscountCodes

Lessons From the Kickstarter: Airmail Adventures By Brent Price (and interviewing Chris Leigh) Chris Leigh is an avid gamer and role-player, creator of a set of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition condition chips and the Tome of Spell Holding; and a gamer who hoped to take his love of games to launch his own mail-based at home mystery game. Chris launched a Kickstarter called “Airmail Adventures: The Lost Journal of Flintlock Flynn.” Designed as an at-home mystery puzzle experience, it was kid-focused, planned as 6 episodes, and used paper components, maps, a compass, a journal, letters., and more to take you on an adventure stemming from a family secret! After sending several prototypes out for reviewers, the game went up on Kickstarter on May 2nd of 2019, and was cancelled on May 30th, having only achieved 31% of the required funding. Always curious as to the experiences of creators and how we can learn from them all, I decided to interview Chris about his experience, and he was gracious enough to accept. Please note: The interview was done over the course of a couple weeks through Facebook messenger and has been edited/cleaned up. Chris has approved all edits. Brent: Thank you for agreeing to this interview! The main focus will be on Airmail Adventures, which was a Kickstarter mystery puzzle game that didn’t make it off the ground. We wanted to discuss the game, what got you into the hobby, any future plans, and discuss lessons learned for other creators as they enter this space. But, first, first, tell me a little about yourself and what got you into this hobby in the first place. Chris: I'm Chris and I first got into the hobby with the idea of ARGs. I really wanted to bring fantasy to life for my daughter, so I wanted an adventure that would seem real to her but just be a fun thing for the family to do. That led to research and the purchase of various similar products--the big one that fired the most ideas was The Mysterious Package Company. Brent: That is such a nice reason! What is it about The Mysterious Package Company (MPC) that triggered your ideas, and how did that first ideation process go? Chris: I liked the idea of the mystery parcel arriving and the bigger narrative that ran into that. I was disappointed with the reality of it though. Brent: The ideas this gave you percolated for about a year I guess? Chris: Yes, the idea is so great! Brent: What moved you from thinking about that idea and your disappointment in the execution of MPC, to actually wanting to try to create your own game? Chris: Well, I started creating a game for my daughter, and after I put a bit of thought into it, I was trying to find a way to roll it out for other families. Brent: What was your original concept for the game, and did that change at all during the process? Chris: The original game was bespoke for my daughter. I tried to capture the same essence in Airmail Adventures, but I found it hard to pitch the difficulty of puzzles. Also I hate illogical or irrational puzzles which makes for a highly restrictive design. Brent: What is the story of Airmail Adventures? Chris: The story is that your great grandfather was a treasure hunter for the league of treasure hunters parents were going to be able to upload their own photos to the website, so you could literally look your relative up! You would find a map in your attic alongside a letter from the league and a compass. The map had a magnet embedded between the paper, and if you used the compass on the map it stopped pointing north and instead pointed to a single location. You then went on to the website and filled in a form to let them know what you found. That started the adventure off. Brent: That sounds really cool! What types of puzzles or game elements were included after you got started? Chris: I had a map to be reformed [like a jigsaw], a code hidden in music, a piratical diary and a book cipher and a Where's Waldo kinda thing. Brent: That really sounds fun! How far along in development did you get before you decided to try Kickstarter? Chris: It wasn’t too long in development. I’m a big board gamer, so I knew if I was gonna mass produce I’d need to use Kickstarter to get the volume. Brent: Were any board games an influence on Airmail Adventures? Chris: Not really it was just a mishmash of narrative ideas Brent: With the decision to try a Kickstarter, what research did you do on that process, and what lessons did you learn? Chris: I've done quite a lot of research into Kickstarter from backing a lot of stuff myself, to reading blogs, to looking at promotion. Brent: If you were to launch a new Kickstarter, what would you do differently now? Christ: I launched a Kickstarter yesterday! see end of interview of info [For this type of game], I think I would lower the price point and make it more paper based. Selling a singular experience for a kid at £40 is a difficult sell. Plus i'd do [tons] more advertising! Brent: Those are good lessons! Any last advice for future creators? Chris: Kickstarter is essentially one big hype machine. The more you sell people on the ideas before it goes live, the easier it is to succeed! Brent: Any plans to try this one again? Chris. Not really. The branding needed is too expensive at this point. Brent: Thank you for your time, and good luck in your future endeavors! I really thank Chris for his time and insights, and I hope you found this interview as interesting and informative as I did! To check out his current Kickstarter/Etsy Shop "Tome of Spell Holding", click on the bottom below! #BrentPrice #ThePuzzlemakerChronicles #AnInterview #LessonsFromTheKickstarter #AirmailAdventures #articles #perspectives #USA #EscapeRooms

Over the years, we've met and spoken with so many creative individuals!! We love to tell their story and share their passion with the world! Honestly, ESCAPETHEROOMers was inspired by an industry that allows developers to build & create adventures for players to experience them. We're honored to be apart of it and moreover be recognized by the owners/bloggers that we can now call friends! Here are some of the mentions that we've received from various companies... We first visited Clockwise Escape Room in San Francisco, California back in 2019. In addition to playing 2 of their games - "The Asylum" and "The Paranormal Experiment", we were fortunate to interview the owner for our "Exclusive Looks" channel on YouTube!! Sadly, they closed the San Francisco location. However, they opened a new location in Boise, Idaho and we were mentioned in their "In The News" section!! Click the link below: When the pandemic hit last year (2020), we started to explore other options of playing at-home games. One company that came highly recommended to us was Escape Tales by LockMe. We've played both of their games "The Awakening" and "Low Memory" and knew that we needed to know more about them. Normally, we would be traveling the world playing escape rooms and interviewing owners/ developers in person but now we needed to figure out new ways to tell the stories of how games were being made. So during the pandemic, "Behind The MasterMinds" was born and we were fortunate enough to get LockMe on as our first guest and learn more about "Escape Tales"! On their website, they've managed to compile a list of the most coveted escape room awards including our "Bullseye Awards" for their game! Escape Tales won our 2020 Bullseye Award for "Best Storyline"!! Click the link below: We recently visited both of EscapeTime's locations in Annapolis & Severna Park, Maryland earlier this year!! In addition to playing 3 of their games - "Dr. Mad's Lab", "The Secret Society", and "GHOST SHIP", we were fortunate to interview them for our "Exclusive Looks" channel on Youtube!! We appreciate the shoutout on their blog and the re-post of our video!! Click the link below: So far, we've played all of RI Riddle Room's games at both of their locations in Warwick & East Greenwich, Rhode Island!! We recently visited their Warwick location to play their newest game - "Imaginasium of Intrigue" and it was so much fun!! For our Bullseye Awards, we've awarded their "La Costra Nostra - An Inside Job" room back in 2019 and "Vanishing at the Velmont" in 2020. Here's a blog about us and their appreciation on the award on their site! Click the link below: We've played 6 of the games at Puzzle Theory in South Windsor, Connecticut so far. Puzzle Theory retired one of their rooms and created P. T. Railways, which is a replay-able game with 2 different experiences within the same space. We recently visited them to play those games - "Spectral Rift" and "Rebel Run" and it was amazing!! For our Bullseye Awards, we've awarded their "Warehouse 13" in 2020 and here's a mentioning of that on GLARTENT!! Click the link below: We've played 2 of the games at Ravenchase Adventures' Escape Room Arlington in Arlington, Virginia so far. The first game - "Supervillains" came highly recommended to us, so we had to try it! We were completely blown away by the whole experience - set design, storyline, puzzles, etc.! Without a doubt in our mind, we knew this room was worthy of our 2019 Bullseye Award for "Best Storyline"! More recently, we revisited them to play another one of their amazing rooms - "Mind Trap" and we definitely recommend it! This room has already made it's way onto our "Top Rated" rooms for 2021 in the US! We appreciate their blogpost acknowledging their 2019 Bullseye Award and we hope to revisit them soon! Click the link below to read their post: Here are some of the past "Bullseye Award" winners proudly displaying their awards (In alphabetical order) Agent November (UK) - https://www.agentnovember.co.uk/ Amazing Escape Room (USA) - https://amazingescaperoom.com/ Big Bear Escape Room (USA) - http://www.bigbearescaperoom.com/ Bruum Escape (ITALY) - https://bruumescape.it/ Captured LV Escape Room (USA) - https://capturedlv.com/ Club Drosselmeyer (by Green Door Labs) (USA) - https://www.clubdrosselmeyer.com/ clueQuest (UK) - https://cluequest.co.uk/ Complex Rooms (CANADA) - https://complexrooms.com/ Crack-a-Nut Mysteries (USA) - https://crackanutmysteries.com/ CreatorsUnited.nl (NETHERLANDS) - https://creatorsunited.nl DarkPark Games (NETHERLANDS) - https://www.darkparkgames.com/ Daydream Adventures (CANADA) - https://daydreamtoronto.com/ Deadlocked Escape Rooms (UK) - https://deadlockedrooms.com/ District 3 Escape Rooms (CANADA) - http://www.district3.ca/ Emergency Exit Escape Games (UK) - https://www.e-exit.co.uk/ Encrypted Escape Room (USA) - https://encryptedwr.com/ Escape Hour Austin (USA) - https://www.escapehouraustin.com/ Escape Reality Edinburgh (UK) - https://www.escapereality.com/ Escape Room Arlington (USA) - https://www.escaperoomarlington.com/ Escape Room Herndon (USA) - https://www.escaperoomherndon.com/ Escape Rooms Connecticut (USA) - https://escaperoomsct.com/ Escape The Puzzle (USA) - https://escapethepuzzle.com/ EscapeRoom Woodbridge (USA) - https://www.escaperoomwoodbridgeva.com/ Experios (AUSTRALIA) - https://www.virtualescape.com.au/ Fantasy Escape Games (USA) - https://www.fantasyescapegames.com/ Hourglass Escapes (USA) - https://hourglassescapes.com/ Hypno Dive (UKRAINE) - https://projectavatar.fun/ Hysteria Escape Rooms (UK) - https://hysteriaescaperooms.com/ Juan Pelotas Team (ARGENTINA) - https://juanpelotasteam.com/ingles.php Locked In Edinburgh (UK) - https://www.lockedinedinburgh.com/ Locurio (USA) - https://www.locurio.com/ Logic Locks (NETHERLANDS) - https://www.logiclocks.com/ Lost Escape (LITHUANIA) - https://www.lostescape.lt/ Lost Games (USA) - https://www.lostgameslv.com/ Mad Genius Escapes (USA) - https://www.madgeniusescapes.com/ Mass Escape (USA) - https://www.massescaperoom.com/ MindTrap Escape Room (USA) - https://mindtrapescaperoom.com/ Mobile Escape (CANADA) - https://www.mobileescape.ca/ Mysteria Escape (GERMANY) - https://mysteria-escape.de/en/ Mystery City (NETHERLANDS) - https://www.mystery.city/ Mystery Mansion Escape Rooms (CANDA) - https://mysterymansionregina.ca/ Next Level Escape (AUSTRALIA) - https://www.nextlevelescape.com.au/ NW Escape Experience (USA) - https://nwescapeexperience.com/ Oscape (SPAIN) - https://games.oscape.es/en/ Paruzal Games (USA) - https://paruzal.com/ PostCurious (USA) - https://www.getpostcurious.com/ Puzzle Theory (USA) - https://www.puzzletheory.co/ Puzzling Package Industries (USA) - https://www.puzzlingpackage.com/ Puzzling Pursuits (USA) - https://puzzlingpursuits.com/ Red Lock Escape Rooms (AUSTRALIA) - https://www.redlockescaperooms.com.au/ RI Riddle Room (USA) - https://www.ririddleroom.com/ Scarlet Envelope (CANADA) - https://www.scarletenvelope.ca/ Scenario Escape Room (USA) - https://www.scenarioescaperoom.com/ Sky High Escape Room (NETHERLANDS) - https://www.skyhighescaperoom.nl/ Spybrain Escape (GERMANY) - https://www.spybrain-escape.de/ Telescape Live (by Buzzshot) (UK) - https://telescape.com/ The Detective Society (UK) - https://thedetectivesociety.com/ The Escape Ventures (USA) - https://theescapeventures.com/ The Exit Games FL (USA) - https://www.theexitgamesfl.com/ The Lost Escape Room (USA) - https://www.lostescaperoom.com/ The Panic Room (UK) - https://thepanicroomonline.net/ Think Solve Escape (UK) - https://www.thinksolveescape.com/ ThinkFun (USA) - https://www.thinkfun.com/ Trapped! Escape Room (USA) - https://www.trappedescaperoomvegas.com/ trap't Escape Room Adventures (USA) - https://www.traptct.com/ Xcape Wellington (NETHERLANDS) - https://www.xcape.nz/ #BrandonChow #ETRinthepress #Media #News #Articles #EscapeRooms #RemoteEscapeRooms #IRLEscapeRooms

We've collaborated with "The Curious Correspondence Club" to bring you a full month of puzzles starting on September 1st, 2021! If you head over to The Curious Correspondence Club's Instagram (starting sept 1st at 1PM EDT), you'll get to solve a different puzzle every single day from a different creator from all over the world. You might even recognize a name or two from the participants below! Once you have the answer, direct message them on IG as correct answers submitted before the end of the day will be entered into the draw to win daily prizes! Three winners will be drawn from a random generator. Winners will be notified at 10AM EST the subsequent day. Watch out for a potential meta puzzle! Check out the awesome line up of creators below: The Curious Correspondence Club Argyx Games Bluefish Games Bluematter Games Enigma Fellowship Enigmailed Epic Escapes True Clue Games Escape Notice Games Escape Tales (By Lockme) Extraordinary Investigations Gruzzle Key Enigma The Curious Correspondence Club Postcurious Puzzle Post UK Puzzlesnacks Puzzling Package Industries Puzzling Pursuits Scarlet Envelope The Curious Correspondence Club The Conundrum Box The Fantastic Factory USB Escape Edaqa's Room Diorama Plankton Games Don't eat puzzle 50 Clues The Curious Correspondence Club #CiciCao #Event #FreeEvent #Puzzletember #TheCuriousCorrespondenceClub #PuzzlebyMail

No Time For Time Travel is a podcast for Nerds by Nerds. In this article, they provided a list of some escape room review sites to refer to and yours truly was mentioned! Check out the full article below: #BrandonChow #NoTimeForTimeTravel #NTFTT #ETRinthepress #Media #Articles

In this article posted on Note.com, writer Daisuke Yamakata posted some of the award recipients from our 2020 Bullseye Awards show! Check out the full article below: #BrandonChow #Note #DaisukeYamakata #ETRinthepress #Media #Articles

Video/ Photos have been provided by Marvo Mysteries Company: Marvo Mysteries Game: M.A.R.V.O. Archives: Phase One Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Detective Date Played: 6/12/2020 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (From same or multiple locations) Time: Unlimited (Play time around 45-60min) Price: £15/ per game "M.A.R.V.O. Archives: Phase One" is an online game adventure designed to be the prequel to one of Marvo Mysteries' future games. It felt like a hybrid of a digital escape game and a video game. The use of AI to "solve" obstacles on a "real life" heist mission made the experience truly unique. This was not your typical escape game where you had to use logic to solve puzzles and open combinations locks. You'll have to think outside of the box and utilize the "tools" given to you. There were a lot of cool gadgets presented in the game but we weren't able to utilize all of them. I would think in Part 2 (coming soon) they would be made available to us. Since we had a little glitch in the game (had to use self guided hint to bypass it), we finished in around 40 minutes. As a puzzle lover, I would love to see some more "puzzle" usage in the next game as it was such a cool concept but just felt like the play time felt too short especially for experienced players. (If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) Disclosure: We thank Marvo Mysteries for providing us with a sample of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #ESCAPETHEROOMers #AtHomeGames #EscapeRooms #MarvoMysteries #MARVOArchives #PhaseOne #DigitalEscapeGames #Rover #Adventure #Mystery #Detective

After playing over 30 remote escape rooms from all over the world, I figured it was time to do an update on the previous blog - "Remote Escape Room - A Player's Perspective". I'll cover similar points to the previous blog so you'll be able to see a comparison on how the industry is evolving. What is a Remote Escape Room? Our initial encounter of remote escape room was merely an avatar acting as our eyes and hands. We would direct him/her to walk to a certain location, use items to solve puzzles and input codes. It felt very robotic. Now we are discovering companies making this into a production. There are cinematic intros, prerecorded interludes, special effects, avatar performances, etc. It's really amazing to see what creative minds could put together in this short amount of time. Does it feel like a real escape room? Although some of our friends are still telling us that the remote experience is not for them, we are getting quite addicted. The best part about this experience for us was to be able to meet up with friends from all over the world and have an enjoyable hour together. It really uplifts our day. As companies continues to improve on camera quality, inventory list, and immersive elements, it definitely takes our experience one step closer to a real escape room. And honesty, it feels great to have someone else do the searching while I sip my coffee... How can remote escape rooms improve on player experience? 1. Website Description – We've seen a huge improvement on the companies' descriptions on remote escape rooms. Pretty much all of them have information on their site stating that you'll be in an actual escape room setting and controlling an avatar. This is definitely very helpful as there are a lot of different types of online escape games (ie. audio-led escape games, live stream puzzle games, etc...) and can be very confusing to players. 2. Know Your Players – Since we've been playing as reviewer/tester, we are unsure how players get their introduction. Companies already know we are experienced players so our avatar usually do not nudge or hint us unless we asked for them. We haven't seen surveys being sent out with our booking confirmation so I'm assuming they normally ask the players prior to the game but some games starts right away so I'm not sure how the survey would be conducted. We still feel like this is very important as you'll get more satisfied customers if you know the way they will like to play the game ( with or without hints, move slow or fast, nudge or no nudge, etc.). 3. Accessories – For most remote escape rooms, a good camera and a stable video conferencing platform are required. These are the platforms we've seen used so far: Zoom (most popular), Google Hangout, Jitsi, and Discord. Sometimes you'll also need a phone that has a QR scanner. There are so many variations of cameras being used in the industry right now. We've seen camera that's on a harness, handheld on a selfie stick, just a plain Iphone, etc. Some were pretty shaky and caused dizziness for us during and after the game. This can definitely cause displeasure for players. The harness ones seemed to be the most stable but they also restricting the avatar's movements. In that case, it would be great if the puzzles could be designed around the height or areas that the avatar's camera would be accessible to. Some companies also provided a 360 view of the room. Some even had multiple cameras. This definitely helped us visualize better but when there were too many choices provided, it also took our eyes away from the real action in the room and became confusing. We are also seeing most companies pairing the remote experience with a link to a website in which the players would have access to during the game to be able to visualize the room and items clearer. We will refer this as the "inventory list". There are many different types of inventory list. We've seen ones that provide just selected items that have more reading materials or puzzles that you would need to work on. We've also seen companies that provide pretty much everything that you can see in the room with separate zoomed in photos. Also, a still shot or 360 view shot of the room would also be provided. The inventory list definitely opens up doors for companies to design puzzles in a less linear way so more players are able to simultaneously work on different things, just like in a real escape room. Our favorite type of inventory list was the simple ones that provided a 360 view of the room and items that needed a close look. The real time input of items discovered and removed after we used it made it felt like how we would organize clues in a real escape room. Players's accessories for remote escape games normally would include a computer/phone/ipad with camera and audio, the video conferencing platform, paper, pen, calculator, headphones (great for audio puzzles) and of course your brain! 4. Set Design – In the last blog I felt that we were not able to experience the set design (especially lighting and sound) that we would in a real escape room. I was wrong. I was able to feel these missing elements in several really well designed rooms. Some companies even went for the extra mile and added special effects such as laser, fog and smoke into the games. It was definitely a tease to see it on camera. I wish I was playing these games in person. 5. Avatar – This was the biggest improvement we've seen since our last blog. We are surprised at how many game masters or owners who normally are behind the scenes are stepping out of their comfort zone and now have all became actors/actresses in front of the camera. As players, we really appreciate the hard work they have to put in to adapt to this new role. The transition with companies that already had live actors in their games seemed to be easier and you are able to see how natural these actors are in the remote escape rooms. They also tend to spend more time on the acting rather than solving puzzles with us. It is a bit frustrating for us as we're anticipating mostly puzzle heavy rooms and worry that we might not finish in time. We hope to see more avatars become "movie stars" during this time frame as many player's feedback have been that a great avatar was what made their game awesome! You definitely play a major part in this remote escape game world! A wise woman once said: you never know who's on the other side of the computer screen. You might be discovered to be the next Hollywood star! 6. Puzzle Design – We are seeing improvements on puzzle design from our previous blog. Due to the usage of the inventory list, many puzzles are able to be completed in a "divide and conquer" way like in a real escape room. Most of the feedback we are getting from players on what types of puzzles they enjoy the most are puzzles that take not too long to solve, clear logic, and stick to the story line. As puzzle lovers, we always enjoy a room that give us an abundance of puzzles. This might also be a preference thing as we realized that some countries are more focused on immersive theater type of experience rather than puzzles. There is a common consensus that we hear from players on what they don't like and that is searching. I'm already terrible at searching in a real escape room. In a remote escape room, the restrictive camera view paired with dim light source makes searching even harder. In some games, we felt that by the time we finished searching, we almost didn't have time to finish the puzzles. In addition, we notice puzzles that would require time to put together or calculate (jigsaw, logic, physical challenges...) might lose the player's attention since they are not physically doing it. When they watch the avatar solve the puzzle, the camera is usually focused on one position and it feels boring after after especially if the room is silent. We love a nice intro (some companies use video, some use avatar to tell the story and some just go right into the mission...) and a memorable ending. You need a highlight in your game so the players will always remember and talk about even after the game. 7. Language – After playing remote escape rooms in 13 different countries, I'm surprised that there were no issues with the puzzles in the games. We did notice that some avatars from different countries were not able to act out their character at his/her full potential as responding to our requests was clearly an issue. Our suggestion with that would be to add some prerecorded audio elements to better enhance the player's experience. 8. Pricing - We are still seeing a wide range of pricing on these remote escape games although it's becoming more apparent that the popular games are now increasing their prices due to supply and demand. You should also take into consideration that the labor and rent may be cheaper in some countries than others. In that case, players will have a chance to enjoy some great games at cheaper prices. If you love these remote escape room experiences, you should probably consider booking them ASAP as we do foreseen an increase in prices in the future as more people start to try them. It's definitely harder for the companies to run these remote games than the real escape rooms so companies will probably chose not to do them if the price doesn't cover their cost. I hope this was an enjoyable read on our thoughts on the remote escape room market right now. We hope to report back with more interesting findings on these online game experiences before we can roam freely again in the outside world. I'm pretty sure we have most, if not all of the remote escape room games on our "stay at home game list". If you are able to find ones that are not listed, please do let us know! There are so many great games out there and we just simply can't name them all. Below are some of our memorable ones with some particular categories that stood out for us (In alphabetical order). These are just our opinion according to our preferred game types, themes, etc.: Agent November - Virtual X-Caper: Avatar BreakOut Escape Room Milano - The Haunted Hotel: Avatar, Set Design Can You Escape? Malta - The Pub: A Puzzle Psychopath’s Trap: Avatar, Inventory Escape One Algarve - Atlantis: Set Design, Inventory List Escape 60 - Shagadelic Super Spy: Puzzle Design Fuzzy Logic Escape Room - Vet Office: Avatar, Puzzle Design, Inventory List Hourglass Escapes - EVIL DEAD 2™: Set Design, Puzzle Design LOCKED ROOM - Motel: Price, Puzzle Design Logic Locks - The Secrets of Eliza's Heart: Set Design Looking Glass Adventure - Mystery at Maryweather Mansion: Set Design Mystery Mansion Regina - Night Terrors: Puzzle Design, Avatar Red Lock Escape Room - Bank Heist LIVE: Puzzle Design, Inventory List Sky High Escape Room - Casino Mortale: Set Design, Puzzle Design Stratton Escape room - Set Design Trapped! Escape Room - Operation: X-13: Puzzle Design, Inventory List, Avatar #remoteescaperoom #escapetheroomers #escaperooms #allovertheworld #athomegames #avatar #zoom #meetonline

"Dattebayo!" Who else loves this Japanese Ninja anime character Naruto? I was especially in love with him during my high school years. I can still easily watch an entire episode nowadays. I'm so excited to see this news that SCRAP (one of the original creators of Escape Rooms in Japan) will be bringing this "Real Stealth Game" ( 沉浸式潜入游戏 by SCRAP ～成为忍者的试炼～ ) to the newly refurbished Shanghai New World Shopping Mall in the heart of Shanghai!!! Information provided by SCRAP's press release: The game will be one of the entertainment segments in the 7000 square meter (~74,000 sq ft) large NARUTO theme park, NARUTO WORLD, that will be situated on the 11th floor of the shopping mall. The concept is based on SCRAP's entertainment brand, Real Stealth Game, where players physically sneak around a venue, clear missions along the way, and complete their final mission. The game for Shanghai, in Simplified Chinese, will be a wholly redeveloped experience to appeal to the Chinese-speaking audience. Players are fully immersed inside a NARUTO-themed fortress for a 10-20 minutes action-packed experience with high-tech motion sensors, devices, large digital displays, and interactive props. Business-wise, SCRAP is re-branding their games and business model to actively appeal to overseas audiences and businesses, and seeking global partners to work with and bring these events to even greater heights. Entrance Fee: Adults: 170 yuan | Children/Senior/Disabled: 120 yuan Open from: Pre-open: 23 December 2019 | Grand open: 25 January 2020 Game style: Indoors. Use a device and make your way through an area without getting caught. Complete mini missions along the way and complete the final mission that Naruto tasked you with! Group size: Up to 3 players per team Duration: Between 10~25 minutes depending on how many times players get caught or how fast they clear the missions This is a must do on our list when we go on our China tour this year in October! Copyright for main visual: ©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / ©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2007 SHIPPUDEN All Rights Reserved. / ©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2017 BORUTO All Rights Reserved. Photo credit: SCRAP #escaperoom #escaperooms #naruto #anime #narutopark #shanghai #china #shanghainewworldshoppingmall #escapegames #escapetheroomers #grandopening

Hi guys! What are you doing this Halloween? We love Halloween as we are big fans of horror/eerie storylines and set designs. You'll probably see a lot of our top rated escape rooms and "Bullseye Award" winners in this category. This Halloween feels quite different for us and I'm sure feels quite different for everyone. Normally we would either be traveling, going out to play escape rooms, join some costume parade or visit some haunts. Due to COVID a lot of the locations are still closed or have provided a safer method for their guests or have moved their games to online. We thought of an idea of putting together a showcase of Halloween themed escape rooms all of the world and 60+ escape rooms participated! There are some that can be played only at their physical location, some only online experience and some offer both. Check out some exclusive discount codes being offered in this video and there's even an embedded secret word (different letters will appear at random lines throughout the video) which if you figured out what it is, email us and we'll be raffling off one winner that will win 2 escape room tickets to an escape room location of their choice anywhere in the world (online or physical location)! If you decide to spend this Halloween at the comfort of your home, fear not, there are many choices you can chose from our "Stay at Home" Game List (over 2500+ games!) This list include digital games, remote escape rooms, audio escape games, live stream puzzles, DIY games, puzzles online, puzzles by mail, video/app games, and immersive theater experiences. Everything that has a Halloween theme will be highlighted in orange. From the team at ESCAPETHEROOMers, we want to wish you a Happy Halloween! Have fun and be safe! #halloween #halloweengames #digital #digitalgames #toprated #escaperooms #horror #scary #eerie #halloweenescapes #remoteescaperoom #games #whatodothishalloween #onlinegames #puzzles #puzzlesbymail #onlinepuzzle #randomfinds

We recently met Frank while playing Murdoch Mysteries (a remote escape game by Escape Casa Loma ). We've reviewed hundreds of remote escape games since March of last year and Frank is the exact type of avatar we want to come across when playing an online adventure. He was hilarious, quick on his feet, in character and knows exactly how to utilize his camera as a tool to convey a message to the players. We've always emphasized the importance of avatars/GM for escape rooms as they could be the determining factor of what makes or breaks a game. We didn't get to meet Frank after the game that day but we made sure to tell the other host to say thank you to him and tell him what a great job he's done. I'm so glad Frank reached out to me a few days after and brought me this amazing short film he's created to show everyone what it's like to be an escape room avatar. Francesco De Francesco is an actor, writer and director. This short film was written, directed and edited by himself. The film has also received an award as "semi finalist" in the short film category in the "Couch Film Festival" and "Alternative Film Festival". As I was watching the film, I find myself kept saying "yes, yes, yes" to all the points he's making on what he perceives to be important as an avatar for virtual games. Here's a few tips that I think escape room owners and avatar/GM can take away from this: Build the mood - The players can definitely feel your mood. If you're energetic and excited for the adventure, we'll be uplifted as well. Can you create that suspense feeling when time is running out? Hand acting - If we can't see your facial expression, make sure your hands are "acting". Interact with the players - If there's a chance to make them laugh or a chance to scare them (in a horror themed room), make sure to use those moments as they'll remember them even after the game. Practice your camera angles - Be ready to show your "next shot" to your audience. Can you create that cinematic look? What do you want the players to see? Is the screen wide enough or are you cutting out some of the clues? If a secret door is about to open, is your camera ready to show it or will the players miss that moment? "Clue Staff Managing" - Did you check if all the props and clue items are at the right places before starting an online game? Some escape rooms are being used as in-person and online at the same. It's best to double check to make sure all the items that are needed for the online version is ready to go prior to the start of the game. On the spot improv - What if a prop or item broke during the game? Are you ready with a plan B? Make sure you can utilize anything off the screen and your improv skills to get through these hurdles. Treat each game as if it's a different "interactive theater show" - Your skit, the puzzles and the room might be the same but your players are different. You should get to know your players (whether they are experienced or beginners, perhaps where they are from, what they prefer in terms of type of play) as you play through the game. Bring joy to others for that brief period in their lives - This part really touched me in the documentary. Why do players play these games online? They want to escape reality for a bit and enjoy themselves in a fantasy world. If you treat being an avatar as just a job rather than something you actually enjoy and can bring some happiness to someone else's lives, perhaps the game could be more enjoyable for both sides. Lastly, we thank all the game master/avatar/hosts of games out there that are working so hard to bring that short period of joy into our lives. If you really enjoyed your GM's performance during a game, make sure you remember to give them a shoutout, review, tips or just a simple thank you. I'm sure it'll brighten their day! ❤ #escaperoom #avatar #remoteescaperoom #avatartips #gmtips #actinginanescaperoom #escaping #onlineescaperoom #onlinegame #gm #host #theater #acting

Photos provided by Lock & Mirrors Company: Lock & Mirrors Game: Lucky Heist Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Digital/DIY Escape Game 💻✂🖨️ Genre: Heist Date Played: 4/25/2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 4/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited (Approx. 30 minutes) Price: Min $5.00 (Pay what you want) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The Leprechaun is getting sneaky. He's no longer hiding the pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. With his newly earned engineering skills, he's build a crazy contraption to secure the Gold in a safe place. Hopefully you'll be able outsmart him and retrieve the Gold? 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Once you purchase the game, you'll receive a digital game code. If you want to play with friends and family over the internet, you can share the code and start the game together. The interface won't be synced so you'll each need to enter your own passwords. The game comes with a PDF file and an online portal for access. By printing and cutting the puzzle pieces out, it'll definitely make the game easier. You can also play the entire game without having to print anything. For enthusiasts, I suggest challenging this harder mode. There are build-in hint system if you need a little nudge. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The interface was very easy to use and navigate around. Since the puzzles were non-linear we ended up taking on different puzzles at the same time. We made sure to inform each other so we were caught up at the same places in the game. I liked how the PDF wasn't placed in the order of the game's sequence as that would've made the game play way too easy. With this setup it forced us to use observation and association to connect the puzzles together. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Although the puzzles were quite easy and we finished in 20 minutes or so, it was still a lot of fun. The game flow was really smooth and the interactive components on the interface were entertaining. We could see families with kids really liking this game. It's quite easy to get them to be hands on with these puzzles. Furthermore, this game was designed by one of our favorite cooperative game series, "Alone Together" by Enchambered. So if you enjoyed this game, definitely give their more advanced games a try! (If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) Disclosure: We thank Lock & Mirrors for comping our tickets for this game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #ESCAPETHEROOmers #AtHomeGames #EscapeRooms #Lock&Mirrors #LuckyHeist #KidsGames #Heist #escapegame #puzzles #fungames #Digitalgames #Teamwork #online

Photos provided by Fox In A Box Company: Fox In A Box Game: A Perfect Day to Save the World Language: English Country: Sweden 🇸🇪 Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Spy Date Played: 7/13/20 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 4/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited Price: €9.99 "A Perfect Day to Save the World" is a new digital game created by Fox in a Box. It is a 2D point-and-click adventure build on the story of stopping a missile launch and saving the world from a nuclear disaster. The game started with a cinematic intro video which bought us back to a WWII type of era. The graphics reminded us of the games we've played in the 90s which fit quite well since the game gave us that "take you back in time" type of vibe. As we explored and clicked on the items, the agent in the field would inform us of subtle hints on if we were doing the right thing or not. His "feedback" were quite witty yet comical at the same time. I took a little bit of time getting used to how to operate the items in the inventory. I was used to games that would need you to drag a key to a certain lock in order to open it but it this game you simply needed to click the key and it'll open up the next scene. Most of the puzzles were not difficult but went along with a spy theme quite well. The deciphering, planning schematics, secret compartments really made us felt like we were secret agents. The sound elements that were paired with each action also made the game felt more real. Once you purchase the game, you can share the link with your friends and be able to play the game together over a video conferencing app (we suggest Pub Hub since it's free and has no time limits). We had a lot of fun with this game playing together on one device as one of us would be doing the "searching" and the other was compiling the notes to assist with solving the puzzles. If you can't finish the game for whatever reason, it'll automatically save and you can pick it up anytime you want afterwards. Once the game has completed, you will not be able to go back to replay it again. Please note that this game is only available to be played on a desktop/laptop. Let us know when you are able to join us on the glorious side of "the heroes that saved the day"! (If you do decide to try this experience, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) Disclosure: We thank Fox In A Box for providing us with a sample of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #ESCAPETHEROOMers #FoxInABox #APerfectDayToSaveTheWorld #AtHomeGames #EscapeRooms #detective #bunker #mystery #thriller #adventure #detective #puzzles #teambuilding #pointnclick #avengers

This is our first time visiting the annual UK Escape Room Industry Conference (ERIC) but this is already their third year hosting the event. The 2019 conference was held at the beautiful CEME Conference Centre in the outskirts of London. Getting there by public transportation was quite easy but the organizers also conveniently provided free parking at the venue. The event ran for two full days from 9AM till 7:30PM with “after parties” until whenever! Lunch was included in the ticket price. The main event organizers are Sarah Dodd, David Middleton and Sharan Gill. They have an awesome team of volunteers that assisted in making this event possible. We are very grateful as we learned so much about the industry through this incredible schedule that they put together for us: We were also very excited to participate on the blogger's prospective panel at the conference with bloggers from all over the world! There were a lot of talented suppliers and escape room owners along with true enthusiasts and bloggers attending the event. We finally found people that were who as addicted to escape rooms as we were! Since there were easily over 500 people at this event, we were only able to capture some footage and people we met along the way. We hope you enjoy this as much as we do because we are already anxious to come back next yr! If you are interested in coming to ERIC next yr and have questions about the event, feel free to contact us for information! #eric #ericconference #uk #london #escaperoom #escaperooms #escaperoomconference #escapetheroomers #livereport #cemecenter #ceme #meetingoftheminds #games #puzzles