Farewell Corona! 5 Ways to Prepare for the Time After the Lockdown

Farewell Corona! 5 Ways to Prepare for the Time After the Lockdown

by | May 27, 2020 | Business

Shops in many countries of the world are still closed because of the corona crisis. But in a few weeks public life will go on again. Time to get ready for it. We wrote down 5 possibilities how you can use the time until the reopening in a wise way.

1. Familiarize Yourself With New Games and Tools

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We at Cluetivity used the past weeks to improve our products. For example we released Magic Portal 2.0 for you. New features, a new ActionPack and more creative freedom for you as the operator take the game to a new level.

Many of you have already tried the Cluetivity 2.0 Customizer. If you have not yet created routes in the new customizer, now it’s the opportunity to do so. Make good use of the time you save on other things, by familiarising yourself with the tool, optimising routes and working on puzzles.

You don’t have to go outside to test your routes and puzzles. In test mode, you can try everything from home.

2. Develop a Strategy to Attract New Customers

In many countries, there are still restrictions on outdoor activities. But as far as we know, people tend to be safer in the fresh air than indoors, because airborne transmission of the corona virus has not been proven yet. This may well be a marketing aspect for the time after the crisis: Outdoor Escape Games are safe.

Furthermore, summer is just around the corner in many regions of the world. People want to spend time outdoors, explore the city and enjoy the good weather – another sales argument for Outdoor Escape Games.

As long as you are still on a forced break, you can also develop a plan to reach new target groups. Especially the B2B sector offers great potential. Instead of groups of four to five players, you can expect to receive bookings from groups of 50 or more (as soon as the contact restrictions are relaxed).

Have a look at our articles on the corresponding topics:

3. Work With Other Companies

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Managers often misjudge the power of cooperation. However, cooperations with other small companies in the area can be extremely valuable, especially in our industry.

Whether it is being allowed to display flyers in another shop or getting positive word-of-mouth – for many escape rooms, leisure providers and other small businesses, these marketing measures are worth their weight in gold. They cost nothing and help you to improve your profile.

Check out more Marketing tips for Escape Rooms.

4. Exchange Strategies With Partners

We would also like to encourage you to exchange more intensely with other partners. We have many partners with great, creative ideas regarding Operation Mindfall, Magic Portal and our other games.

Use the network, for example through our Facebook group for partners, to get new ideas. Of course, we are always available to support you in realizing your plans too!

5. Increase Sales With Online Escape Games

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The corona crisis is far from over, even if some countries are slowly relaxing their restrictions. We are therefore convinced that the demand of Online Escape Games will continue to grow for a very long time – even beyond the time of contact restrictions.

To support companies keeping their employees motivated in home office, we launched a new platform for virtual team building events.

Online Escape Games offer many advantages:

  • Friends, family members and colleagues use them to have fun together over long distances.
  • As a team-building measure, Online Escape Games are very cheap for companies, since, among other things, there are no travel expenses.
  • Playing Online Escape Games is extremely flexible in terms of time and space. The players only need a PC/laptop or a smartphone/tablet.

Our Online Escape Game The Pegasus Project combines these advantages for you. Contact us to find out more.

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Thanks to Shay Reynolds from The AR Adventure for giving the initial idea to create this post.

Virtual Team Building Against Social Isolation

Virtual Team Building Against Social Isolation

by | May 15, 2020 | B2B, Business

The Covid-19 pandemic changes the demands of team building events. Many companies need solutions for their remote teams. A new virtual team building game helps employees improve their communication skills, while it increases motivation and satisfaction.

Many employees had to work from home in the last months. The Corona virus had largely paralyzed public life. In some parts of the world it still does.

Some people may be happy not to have to drive to the office anymore. But for many people it’s very difficult to work from home. Productivity, identification with the company and motivation often suffer.

To lay the foundations for successful remote work, there are chat programs, organizational tools and much more. Virtual team building events are still the exception. But their relevance increases massively.

Remote work has been an issue not only since the Corona crisis: More and more employers are offering home office days – and more and more employees enjoy working from home from time to time. In some companies – whether it is a big corporation or a start-up – it is quite normal that teams from different cities or even countries work together and never meet in real life.

But it is often forgotten that teams could be even more efficient if the individual members felt more connected to each other. Virtual team building is the keyword.

How Does Virtual Team Building Work?

Virtual team building starts with small actions. People take pictures of their desks and share the photos in group chat or take part in quizzes.

But while these things tend to act more as icebreakers for virtual teams, they don’t necessarily promote teamwork skills like problem solving and communication. That’s because the team doesn’t learn how to really work together effectively. So they cannot replace the effect of a real team building event.

Virtual team building games must meet the same requirements as games in which all participants are assembled on site: They must be fun, bring colleagues together and encourage collaboration.

Often team building exercises consist of a task to be solved together with a measurable result. One example is building a raft together. Since this is out of the question for remote teams, other solutions are needed.

We Proudly Present: The Pegasus Project for Remote Teams

At Cluetivity, we’ve been thinking about how we can meet the increasing need for remote team building. Which activities can be offered to remote teams that really meet the requirements for a good team event?

We soon realized that our agent game Operation Mindfall would be perfect for virtual teams! The game was already optimized for team events, and we could quickly adapt it to the new needs of companies.

We decided not only to adapt it, but to develop a completely new storyline and new puzzles. Our new game, The Pegasus Project, is a prequel to Operation Mindfall. We are very happy to present this brand-new Online Escape Game for Remote Teams!

Companies from all over the world can use The Pegasus Project for Remote Teams – no matter how many places their employees are located. Just like in an Escape Room, the virtual team building game confronts the players with tricky tasks that they can only solve together. With the difference that everyone participates from home!

In this way, The Pegasus Project strengthens important skills for remote teams that virtual teams should have – such as communication via digital channels, hands-on mentality and trust in colleagues.

Learn more now

Reduce Costs Through Virtual Team Building

Virtual team building grants companies several advantages. With activities for remote teams there are neither travel expenses nor time lost due to travelling – because each participant plays from home. Compared to traditional team building events, companies save a lot of money.

Companies that rely on virtual teams also benefit from the qualification of their employees in other areas:

  • Virtual team building promotes cooperation through more trust and motivation.
  • The remote teams learn to use communication tools such as Slack, Zoom etc. more efficiently.
  • Virtual teams feel connected more closely to the company.

Team building activities for remote employees therefore pay off on several levels. Contact us now and request a non-binding offer or take a look at our new platform for remote team building events!

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Make Education Fun Again: Why You Should Develop Educational Escape Rooms

Make Education Fun Again: Why You Should Develop Educational Escape Rooms

by | Feb 26, 2020 | Business

Education and technology aren’t something that always go hand-in-hand. Quite often, the term education is synonymous with outdated materials that fail to connect with the new generation. However, the year is 2020 and there are new exceptions to the rule. More and more schools, universities and other institutions are discovering how to use educational escape rooms to deliver lessons. Gamification is the key word, but what’s the real meaning behind it? Read ahead to find out how you can benefit as an escape room operator.

What can you expect from this article?

  • The definition of gamification
  • Why gamification is so promising in education
  • From sustainability to linguistics: the wide range of educational escape room scenarios
  • How escape room operators can benefit from the development of gamification

What is Gamification?

Have you ever tracked your steps to get a bonus from your health insurance company or as a competition among your colleagues? Do you sometimes start learning a new language and receive a badge after each lesson? Perhaps you use review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor and look forward to seeing how well your posts rank? If you do any of these, then you already have an idea of what gamification is.

Gamification is mainly a marketing-driven development. Rather boring topics and processes are to be made more interesting for the user by means of playful elements. This can be achieved, for example, by awarding rewards for achieving certain goals. These can be virtual “badges”, as well as real rewards in the form of products, coupons or discount codes.

Many people are also motivated by the idea of tracking their progress. Whether it’s a point or percentage display until a task is completed, or a progress bar, gamification affects people in many ways without them noticing.

Why Gamification is so Promising in Education

Gamification has great potential in the field of education. For years, children’s attention span has steadily declined, as has adult’s attention spans. Overstimulation from electronic devices is ensuring that our concentration spans are becoming shorter and shorter. When it comes to absorbing rather dry information, distractions come far too easily. Gamification can become a counterpoint here.

The playful communication of information does not have to be restricted to the classroom. There are also exciting gamification approaches for staff-training and team-building measures in companies.

Educational escape rooms are a form of gamification at school and work. Educational institutions have only recently taken advantage of this opportunity – and often lack the know-how to design a story, puzzles and props. This is where you come in as a professional escape room operator!

From Sustainability to Linguistics: Wide Range of Educational Escape Room Scenarios

There have already been some escape-room-inspired experiences in schools and universities. Sustainability has been one of the most popular topics so far.

In April 2019, Harvard Students were tasked with designing an Escape Room to learn about sustainability. Players had 25 minutes to solve the puzzles before a tidal wave captured them. The puzzles focused on questions related to recycling, waste disposal and energy consumption. The escape game was organized by members of the Harvard Resource Efficiency Program (REP) – and was met with acclaim.

Sustainability was also at stake in an educational escape room organised by social media network LinkedIn, for their employees. The challenge, aptly titled Escape from Climate Change, was so successful that some LinkedIn employees teamed up with an NGO to make the escape game known beyond the team event.

At a workshop during the University Forum Digitization, the participants developed Germany’s first digital linguistic escape room. The game, The Linguist’s Lair (TLLp), virtually guides students through different rooms which are assigned to linguistic topics, such as “syntax” or “pragmatism”. In order to master all rooms, students need to find clues and solve the grammar-centric puzzles.

The “OEB Global: Shaping the Future of Learning” conference in December 2020 is a suitable event discussing the what is in store for education over the next few years. Attendees can expect to participate in a workshop entitled “Serious Gaming: Designing an Educational Escape Room“. The speakers from Utrecht University will discuss the interplay of technology and education, whilst designing a pop-up escape room with the aim to demonstrate how they can be used for educational purposes.

How You Benefit from the Rise of Gamification

Gamification in the education sector and escape rooms for learning are certainly more than just a temporary trend. As it is still a new topic, you have the chance to become a pioneer this field.

For example, design puzzles and questions for a so-called breakout. Breakouts are played directly in the classroom and are dedicated to a specific topic. It is up to you whether you design the “treasure hunt” completely analog or integrate a mix of analog and digital tasks.

A breakout as an escape room for learning does not require a large investment. However, the possible applications are quite limited, and the games must usually take place indoors.

With a software like Cluetivity, you have more options. Cluetivity offers both ready-to-play missions with a child-friendly story in Magic Portal as well as many customisation options, allowing you to create educational games for children and adults on all possible topics. As a mobile escape game, Cluetivity works anywhere in the world. No complex setup is required.

Of course, you can also use Cluetivity for other purposes such as children’s birthdays, corporate events and bachelor parties. We’ve developed the software specifically to give you virtually unlimited options to expand your business.

Alternatively, you can of course also develop your own educational escape rooms. It is important that they can be adapted to different topics with ease. They should also be portable so that you can bring your games directly to your customer.

Whatever lessons you teach with Cluetivity, you will definitely be a key-player in revolutionising education!

Outdoor Escape Games: Twice the Fun, None of the Limits

Outdoor Escape Games: Twice the Fun, None of the Limits

by | Feb 12, 2020 | Business

If you manage an escape room, paintball area, or laser tag arena, then you will be familiar with problems such as overwhelming demand in the high season, too little space for your guests, and difficulties processing large bookings – and that is just the start. However, with Outdoor Escape Games, eliminating these issues has never been easier.

Summary:

  • In an Outdoor Escape Game, players explore the surroundings, follow a background story and solve puzzles, similar to an Escape Room.
  • Outdoor Escape Rooms can be played by almost unlimited players at the same time.
  • With an outdoor team game, you expand your offers and address new target groups.
  • An Outdoor Escape Game gives you a unique selling point.
  • With a GPS gaming software, you can set up routes and puzzles for your customers in a very short time.

Problem 1: We are always fully booked!

There are worse problems for a business to have than to be so in-demand that you cannot accept every booking request you receive. However, it is a problem when you are unable to exhaust your services to their maximum potential.

You can change all of that with an outdoor escape room. Your players are – as you can imagine – not based indoors, and not even on your premises. All you have to do is send them on a scavenger hunt throughout the city.

Using GPS gaming tools, you can create a route and send your customers on a grand mission, equipped with an iPad. With the power of software such as Cluetivity, you are presented with the option to choose pre-made routes for your area, complete with quests, puzzles, and riddles.

If you fancy making the game a bit more personalised, the option to design routes yourself is also available. The provided routes consist of twelve checkpoints that your customers visit to solve puzzles, accompanied by a story that makes the magic of the game come alive.

All of these aspects are completely customisable, too. For example: you might choose to create a route that leads your players to the most important landmarks in their area, and upon arrival, they are presented with fun-facts about their destination, or perhaps given some more information to build a backstory.

Problem 2: As the weather is so warm, we aren’t getting enough bookings during summer!

While your escape room, paintball or laser tag arena is usually fully booked throughout autumn and winter, the case is probably a bit different in summer. As nobody enjoys being holed up indoors when the weather is warm, tumbleweeds might pass by instead of the sound of ringing cash registers.

An outdoor escape room could solve your problems here. Whilst it will not make your premises any bigger, it will still drive additional business throughout the warmer months. By creating a summer-oriented route, your customers can make the most of the weather and explore the great outdoors in the sun! If they have a fantastic time with you, then the likelihood that they will come back for your other services increases!

Problem 3: We don’t have enough space for B2B events!

Space restrictions are a very real problem, especially for escape rooms. Most escape room providers host between two to four games, with four to six players per room. This means that a maximum of 24 people can play at one location at the same time. Whilst larger rooms do exist, the likelihood that you will come across one is rather narrow. As such, a large corporate event cannot be organised with limited space.

Again, this is where an Outdoor Escape Room saves the day: it offers unlimited space and unlimited capacity! With our game Operation Mindfall, our French partner, CBR Teambuilding, organises team events for over 1000 players. For organising this, they won the ‘Venus Innovation Award’ from Heavent Paris in 2019. When it comes to large events, CBR Teambuilding always adjusts its routes and puzzles individually to the respective company and offer a lot of flexibility when it comes to the venue. There are already numerous routes available in and around Paris, but these experts go the extra mile and organise games directly at the customer’s site.

Problem 4: We never attract repeat customers!

You probably go out of your way to make sure your guests have fun. They might even leave a great review for you Facebook or Google. However, the problem is that you never see those players again. You are not alone. In fact, you are just like many others in the industry. Only between 10 % and 20 % of customers go to the same escape room provider a second time, even if there are multiple missions available. We understand your frustration – especially as most of you go to great lengths to attract customers.

Struggling with your marketing? Let us help! Here are 30 marketing tips for escape rooms and small businesses.

Getting a customer to make their first purchase with you is always the most expensive and time-consuming task, they say in the marketing world. It would be great if your customers came back more than once, right? But if your customers are not quite escape room enthusiasts, the idea of playing a second escape room might not be so appealing. With alternative offers such as an Outdoor Escape Room, you might just be able to draw them back in.

Problem 5: We lack a USP!

Not everyone offers games like interactive city rallies. Therefore, they are ideal if you are looking to stand out from the competition. Thanks to Outdoor Escape Games, you have immediately paved the way to appeal to new target groups. Finding customers who represent big companies is just only one of many possibilities.

An outdoor escape room, for example, is particularly popular as a family event. In the same way, it is ideal for children’s birthday parties. The children can play in groups or compete against each other, whilst learning something new in the interactive city rally. Aside from wholesome fun, stag and hen parties also often book to play these sorts of games. Being outside in good weather, solving puzzles and enhancing the entire storyline with some drinks can be – for some – a lot of fun.

In addition to the vast flexibility we have already mentioned, you can also adjust the playing time individually to the needs of your customers. From a short route with a playing time of 60 minutes, to a city tour lasting hours upon hours, pretty much anything is possible. Guiding tourists to the most important sights of your city has never been more in your control.

Escape Room Software: 4 Tools for Boosting Your Business

Escape Room Software: 4 Tools for Boosting Your Business

by | Jan 22, 2020 | Business

The control centre of your escape rooms lies within Escape Room software. Using it, the Game Master can significantly influence the amount of fun players have with the room. But which functions is the program responsible for? Which other programs do you need to run an escape room successfully, and are there cost-efficient alternatives?

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