Blood, sweat and tears flowed into its development, but after months of testing we are pleased to announce that Cluetivity 2.0 is complete. This update of our customisation tool and Outdoor Escape Games allows users to access more features than ever before, opening up many new opportunities.
After months of testing, we released our first outdoor escape game, Magic Portal, in 2016. Along with the game, our online customisation tool was also released. This enabled our partners to efficiently create routes, puzzles and their own games for their location and their customers.
Due to the increasing demand and increasingly complex requirements, it became clear to us that our partners required an even more flexible software; one that they can adapt to their individual needs, is simpler to use, and relieves them of as much work as possible.
The new customiser runs on significantly faster servers and provides our partners with more freedom than ever before. You can create routes and puzzles with just a few clicks on your PC or iPad. Each route can also be created in several languages.
A Level Up for our Outdoor Escape Games
The routes and puzzles from the customiser are playable in the outdoor escape games, Operation Mindfall and Magic Portal. Updates for each game are also now available on the App Store.
Operation Mindfall is an augmented reality agent thriller and perfect for escape room fans and corporate events. The players take on the role of secret agents and must prevent villainous research company, Spider Technologies, from infecting the population with a mind control virus. They combine various objects, solve puzzles on the iPad and hack into the server from Spider Technologies.
Players solving a riddle in Operation Mindfall on their iPad.
The Magic Portal takes place in a fantasy world populated by goblins and is the ideal game for children’s birthdays and families. Malicious creatures pour into the real through one of the magical portals. The players’ mission? They must find crystals to close the portal. Will you win the race against time and be able to protect your empire? Thanks to modern technology, reality and fiction blur into an unforgettable experience.
Both games are optimised for outdoor use and combine the best elements from scavenger hunts, GPS geocaching and augmented reality. They can also be used indoors, as a mobile escape room, and as an individually adapted experience for corporate clients.
Get Lost Inside Reality
With physical tools, Cluetivity’s games allow players to lose themselves inside authentic experiences. In The Magic Portal, players combine wooden turntables, magic coins and goblin cards to solve their outdoor escape game puzzles. These items can be found in our ActionPacks (as seen below), each of which are tailored to their respective games. For The Magic Portal, there is a completely adjusted ActionPack, including new items, available.
If you want to know how you can increase your sales with a Cluetivity license for your area, feel free to contact us, and a member of our team will be in touch with you. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
A wide range of offers, innovative ideas – and lots of stag parties. This is Actionzone Outdoor Park in East Belgium’s recipe for success. Event Manager, Mike Schumacher, explains what characterises his event company’s business and the roles that Cluetivity’s outdoor escape games play.
You wouldn’t ever pass by this site by chance. Only a small country road without a pavement leads to the Actionzone site. Anyone unfamiliar with the province of the Belgian Ardennes might think they’ve lost their way. But then, there they are – the company sign, the colourful playing fields, complete with a BBQ grilling sausages and steaks.
From the Paintball Facility, to the All-in-One Outdoor Park
Here in East Belgium, Actionzone is an established institution. Launched in 2004 as a paintball facility, the outdoor park now also offers bubble soccer, Arrowtag, high-energy off-road bicycle tours and AR scavenger hunts – Magic Portal and Operation Mindfall – by Cluetivity. Paintball, however, is still an important pillar for Actionzone. With their grounds covering more than 25,000 square meters, they also have their own paintball team, BM United Deidenberg, playing in the 2nd German Paintball Bundesliga.
Mike Schumacher fully endorses Cluetivity’s added value!
“Our paintball offer is really diverse,” says Mike Schumacher, who has worked as the Event Manager at Actionzone since 2006. Whether a beginner or a professional, an adult or a child, Actionzone has the right offer for every player. Pro gamers can use the professional ‘Sup’Air Field’ as a training ground and even bring their own equipment. For children, there are special markers that operate with spring pressure. As such, they shoot at a much lower pressure than the markers for adults. “The pressure is comparable to throwing a tennis ball,” Schumacher explains.
Here comes the… escape game?
Interestingly in this unique use case Actionzone’s largest profits don’t come from office team events, nor children’s birthday parties. Actually, you’ll find that they come from stag and hen parties. While many groups come to play paintball with their friends, some tend to prefer the other offerings. Upon analysing the profiles of people that book with Actionzone, Mike found that the Cluetivity games are primarily booked by women as part of a bridal party.
Above all, the demand for outdoor escape games is rapidly increasing. “We have been with Cluetivity since 2017”, says Mike. “In the beginning, the demand for Magic Portal and Operation Mindfall was still a bit weak. However, even after only a year, we were already able to increase our sales by 300%. For 2019, we expect a significant increase again”.
Cluetivity games are an important addition to Actionzone. Therefore, Mike has created three routes available in four languages for his games, which his guests can now play care-free on the company premises. “Usually, we’re fully booked. We’re very pleased that we can send our customers that are playing Magic Portal and Operation Mindfall on a grand tour of the area.”
Always offering something new
Whilst someone might immediately think that because Actionzone is in a rural area, it’s plagued with disadvantages. However, they couldn’t be further from the truth. Mike believes that his visitors are more loyal than in a big city”. Around 30% to 40% of the players visit again. The company doesn’t need to rely on sophisticated loyalty programs, as visitors are likely to visit again.
To keep things fresh and exciting, Mike “regularly considers new activities and combined packages”. This leaves opportunity for Paintball and Bubble Soccer players to combine their session, for example, with a complimentary barbecue. Having complete control over the organisation of the games means that when large groups come, Mike can distribute them to different paintball fields and activities – and the power is in his control.
Looking to the future, the 32-year-old already has plans. On the one hand, he wants to use Cluetivity to expand his company’s catchment area by investing historical iPad treasure hunts for the two small towns of St. Vith and Malmedy. On the other hand, Actionzone is currently building a 400-square-meter hall for indoor activities. Hoping to attract dozens more people, this might be Mike’s solution to combatting outdoor games in the cold weather.
Are you interested in becoming a Cluetivity partner like Mike Schumacher? If so, please click here to get in touch with us!
With the rising popularity of Escape Rooms, it can be quite difficult to stand out from your competitors. However, with the combination of authenticity, outstanding service, and the willingness to engage with new audiences, Escape Room operators can simply create unique selling points. Are you struggling for a bit of inspiration? Read ahead for 5 tips to help you out!
1. A Great Story, and Even Greater Puzzles
It may sound obvious, however, holding high standards of quality for your rooms is the basic requirement for success. Only when the players are having fun will they recommend your Escape Room (known as Word of Mouth Marketing).
Poorly designed rooms with simplistic puzzles might still exist, especially in rooms that existed at the very beginning of the Escape Room trend. However, those who have not rethought and optimised their rooms, puzzles and storylines to meet modern standards, will have a hard time – and will only attract players by offering high discounts, for example. In the long run, only the good Escape Rooms will survive.
A credible backstory is pivotal; it speaks for the high quality of an Escape Room. Whether it be an agent thriller, zombie apocalypse, or bunker adventure – there are hardly any limits to your own imagination; you can also think of stories that suit your city.
Escape Rooms, which make exciting events from the history of the city come alive, have a special appeal for gamers.
We at Cluetivity are based in Berlin. There are, for example, Live Escape Games that are themed around the DDR. Sometimes, people try to flee the German Democratic Republic within 60 minutes. Sometimes, you take on the role of an agent with the State Security (Stasi).
As you can imagine, these rooms pair quite nicely with Berlin. They are based on real events and belong to the history of the city. But such a setting also requires a certain degree of sensitivity, because many fates are linked to the Berlin Wall and the escape from the east. In any case, it is important that the story is told stringently and that the facility fits the setting.
It’s important that customers have an authentic experience when they play your game. This includes that the decoration matches the theme of the room. For example, old switches and consoles, uniforms and documents must fit in with the GDR setting, but also furniture and other furnishings in the 1960s and 1970s style if you’re trying to recreate a historical, East German living room.
Once you have authentic props, you will of course also need interesting and challenging, but solvable puzzles to match. Codebreaking is a classic among Escape Room puzzles. But you can also make this exciting if you cleverly weave the solution into history. In our Outdoor Live Escape Game, Operation Mindfall, we’ve included a riddle in which players have to connect a code scanner to a router to get a combination of numbers. Since Operation Mindfall resembles a modern agent thriller, the technical props fit perfectly into the setting.
When the code scanner is connected to the router, it generates a secret code, which the players will need to solve the game.
Puzzles with base plates that trigger special effects are arguably, less conventional. However, they can prove to be far more interesting. With the option to change the colours of the lights, release smells, open door, the possibilities are endless. You could even configure puzzles that can only be solved as a team. How about a key trapped behind glass that the players can’t access at first? The key could be blocked by obstacles. But from a second room, players can move the key without seeing it, while players in the first room shout out how to get around the obstacles. These intricately designed puzzles will do wonders for making your games just a bit more interactive.
In order to survive on the market, Escape Room operators must think innovatively, be ahead of the curve, and offer new experiences. In addition to varied puzzles, using live-action actors in Escape Rooms is becoming increasingly more popular. The actors slip into their roles and prepare the customers for their upcoming scenario prior to the actual game. Providing subtle hints, setting the scene, and creating an atmosphere in this time, the actors contribute to an immersive experience. They may already drop in tips for the first few puzzles, so it’s worthwhile for the players to be attentive right from the very start.
If you employ an Escape Room actor, they can also take on several roles. Their appearances are usually limited to a few minutes.
Actors make the Escape Room even more authentic and entertaining.
Likewise, the role of the Game Master is gaining in importance. In the early days of Escape Games, Game Masters may have assumed the role of a neutral observer. Their role would be to explain the equipment and offer relatively neutral comments and tips during the game. But today, their entire appearance should be molded into the scenario. Nobody is expecting an Oscar-winning performance, but it’s important that your actors and staff don’t ruin the mood of adventure with their appearance.
3. 100 % Reliability and Professionalism
Whether it be an Escape Room, paintball or lasertag provider, we are all part of the leisure and entertainment industry – and we all know that things are usually rather flexible.
However, that doesn’t mean a laissez-faire attitude when dealing with your customers is acceptable. Remember: we are all service providers, and service providers are expected to go above and beyond expectations. Our partners expect us to always be there for them if they have any questions or requests regarding our games. Therefore, your customers expect the exact same from you. This includes reliability, outstanding service, and an unforgettable gaming experience.
Absolute professionalism is required, especially in the B2B region (Business to Business). Bookings from corporate customers can allow your sales to skyrocket, but these customers need to have a flawless experience with you. Many companies only send their employees to a company event once or twice a year – what is another customer for you is a special day out for your customer.
If their booking goes excellently, the company may also send more teams and sister companies to you.
So, what makes a professional service for corporate customers an outstanding service? It starts with the booking request. Be sure to respond promptly (ideally within 24 to 48 hours) to a B2B request.
To avoid answering menial questions, consider building a FAQ page for corporate customers on your website, which answers common questions. However, remember that flexibility is also required for company events, because companies often need individual solutions for their unique team events.
Our outdoor city rallies Operation Mindfall and Magic Portal can be a solution for enquiries from large groups. Since the games take place outside, there is almost no player limit. Whether 20 or 2000 participants, it’s all just a matter of organisation.
Pouncing on corporate customers is the first aspect of our next tip: expanding your target group. Companies are increasingly using Escape Rooms for team events and assessment centres. Whilst it’s trendy for businesses to do this at the moment, make offers around it to completely use it to your advantage.
B2B companies offer extensive amounts of potential. It’s not just that companies usually come with large groups, but they often book appointments during your off-peak hours. You’ll be able to make money during periods that are usually considered to be quieter.
If the groups are too large for your premises, you can send the teams on outdoor adventures through the city with our games. Operation Mindfall and The Magic Portal are suitable for bridging the slump that providers of indoor activities often have. Because in sunshine and high temperatures, many people prefer to be outside. It works with a GPS outdoor team game.
Even if you are already quite successful in your regular bookings, there is still potential to increase your revenue here. Have you ever thought about specific offers for stag or hen parties, birthdays and children?
Outdoor games are the ideal solution for large groups.
In order to be found on relevant topics such as “Escape Room for Stag Parties”, it’s best to create a separate section for this on your website. There, you will be to fully explain just what’s special about your offer. Does the bride or groom play for free in a group registration? Are drinks included? Do the players stop off at relevant locations during the game (e.g. a bar for a quick drink)? All of these things are important factors for customers to consider.
If you want to offer Escape Rooms for children, the most important thing is that your rooms are age appropriate. The setting shouldn’t be too frightening, and the puzzles should be slightly more lenient than in adult Escape Rooms.
5. Meals on Wheels? Nope. More Like Escapes on Skates!
Another rising trend is mobile Escape Rooms. There are already some providers who just got ahead of the game, but it’s not too late to expand your offerings with an Escape Room adventure on wheels. This gives your customers the opportunity to host their event at any location. A mobile Escape Room is also suitable for promotions in shopping centres, school fetes, and a plethora of other events.
So that you convert even more bookings for your mobile Escape Room, the gameplay should be as flexible as possible. There should be functionality to integrate products, brands, and topics that are important to the customer. You can also think about varying the length of the game. If your target demographic is people merely passing-by, a playing time of 60 minutes can be far too long. It would make sense to offer a condensed game with a playing time of 20 to 30 minutes. People will also be thinking more about their shopping, and not using all of their brain power on the game. Think about offering less complicated puzzles so your players enjoy themselves (and think about booking to play the full versions of your games!).
To successfully stand out from the competition, clever marketing that goes the extra mile is your best bet. Think about how you reach out to your target audience – communicate with them in a way that your competitors are not. If you’re struggling for ideas, we’ve even listed 7 Tips for Marketing on a Budget for you here.
What USPs do your games have? Let us know in the comments below! And if you want to find out more about our augmented reality games, get in touch with us!
Without props, an Escape Room is just merely… a room. As you can imagine, the production of Escape Room props is one of the most complex aspects. When considering an Outdoor Escape Game, of course, the world is your oyster. The only problem is finding a way for players to feel lost inside it. However, with small gadgets and tools, you can make a fantasy become reality.
When it comes to making anything, there are always quality expectations to be met. On the one hand, your Escape Room props have to look engaging and contribute to the atmosphere of your games. On the other hand, they have to be resilient, because players will push, pull, and tear apart anything that they think is a part of solving a puzzle. When surveyed, the majority of Escape Room operators even said that creating enticing-yet-durable props was their biggest challenge.
When making props for an Outdoor Escape Game, the costs of production are cheaper. This is simply because there’s not an entire room that needs to be equipped. However, we at Cluetivity still believe that the more props there are, the more engaging the game.
For example, at Cluetivity, ActionPacks are available for our games Operation Mindfall and Magic Portal. These include many items to help you create immersive experiences for players. Over 95% of our partners use ActionPacks to create augmented reality puzzles, generate secret codes, and outline the setting of Operation Mindfall.
In Operation Mindfall, players become secret agents who must stop mega-corporation – Spider Technologies – from infecting the world’s population with a mind-controlling virus. The accessories can be found in a heavy-duty suitcase (the ActionPack).
Even the design of the case fits with the theme of the game and is branded to fit with the game’s storyline. To solve the following puzzles, players must use the right equipment they find in the case at the right moment.
Included in the case is a UV flashlight. Players use this to discover a cryptic code on a note from Spider Technologies. In another puzzle, they combine a microscope with their smartphone camera to find clues on slides of microfilm. In addition to this, there are plenty of augmented reality puzzles that can only be solved when players scan objects with the iPad.
Making sure that the Escape Room props fit into the escape room theme is particularly important – obviously, the goal is to make the game’s background story come alive. In Operation Mindfall, we use a digital picture frame that players, lined with secret messaging that players can only decrypt with special goggles.
We also have a box with a screen (which almost looks like a DAB Alarm Clock), powered by a USB cable. The Code Scanner gadget is used by players in conjunction with a USB-enabled device, such as a laptop or power bank, to hack into the Spider Technologies server.
After the connection has been made, a code is slowly revealed on the screen, which in turn can be used for other mini-games. You can see how this works for yourself in the following video.
Are you someone who already uses unique Escape Room props? Then be sure to show them off so they become part of your marketing scheme! Check out our summary of 7 Escape Room marketing tips, including how to make exceptional deals for your customers and use them in your marketing strategy.
Precautionary Painting
Despite all precautions, it’s inevitable that Escape Room props will break or show signs of wear. Puzzle items must eventually be replaced sooner or later. So, what is the most sensible approach?
For small and fragile items, it makes sense to always have a replacement available. Keys and locks, as well as sensitive objects, can quickly disappear or be damaged. Our top tip is to paint decorative objects with a special coating to make them last longer. For this, your best bet is to use boat paint. It makes surfaces weather-resistant and provides an extra layer of coverage against wear and tear. When creating our ClueChest, durablity was an aspect for us to consider. We trialed and tested the boat paint, and we’re very satisfied with the result.
To create special details, look into a patina. A patina is a surface created by natural or artificial aging. It is one of the final steps in the production process of Escape Room props and is created by applying salts, acids, or even oil-based shampoos and wax to the surfaces. In this way, you can create beautiful color accents and details, such as particularly shiny and high-quality surfaces, or just old-fashioned and worn-out designs.
When talking about Outdoor Escape Games, another thing to be considered is that your accessories must be weatherproof. Even in cold temperatures, windy climates, and on rainy days, your props need to function as intended. Pieces of paper, for example, should be water-repellent or laminated so that they do not become unusable when wet. Try to create your other Outdoor Escape Room props out of sturdy, yet cost-efficient materials, such as plastic.
Want to find out more about our games? Get in touch with us and we’ll be more than happy to send you more information!
Self-employment might sound great, but how do you even go about it? Setting up an Escape Room Franchise can help you cut a lot of corners. However, setting one up is not as simple as it sounds.
Escape room owners often reach their limits quickly—limited space, small catchment area, tight budget etc. But let’s not talk about restrictions. Instead, we want to show you five ways you can expand your escape room business.
In recent years, the escape room industry has undergone many changes. Large franchises continue to grow, while smaller, independent operators find it more and more challenging to survive. However, there’s no need to get involved in a discount war against your competitors to stay alive. By following our tips, you can ensure that you’re doing the most to grow your escape room, expand your reach, and discover new audiences!
1. Open up your escape room to corporate clients
Our first tip isn’t a direct expansion of your escape room, but it is a tip that can increase your sales significantly. Consider offering team events for companies! More and more companies are using escape rooms for team-building events, staff development, or as part of recruitment processes.
Michael Meinke from the Association of Live Escape and Adventure Games (FvLEAG) describes in an interview a little more about what is behind the usage of escape rooms in team events. He states:
“The use of escape rooms for an assessment center, as a marketing tool, or as a team building measure is still relatively at the beginning of the possibilities. I think a lot about it myself. For example, you often experience a job applicant very differently in an interview than in an escape room.”
Hosting team events means having a lot of players at the same time
As businesses will be more inclined to play between Monday and Friday, you can fill out appointments during quieter hours. They also usually come in much larger groups than your average booking, so ensure you are well prepared!
But how easy is it to connect with companies? The first and easiest step is to set up a landing page for businesses on your website’s homepage. Whenever someone visits your site, one of the first things they’ll see is that you’re now offering corporate events.
Make sure companies get a great experience with you.
But how easy is it to connect with companies? The first and easiest step is to set up a landing page for businesses on your website’s homepage. Whenever someone visits your site, one of the first things they’ll see is that you’re now offering corporate events.
Using Google Ads and Facebook Ads, you could also target prospects likely to be responsible for organizing corporate events – for example, HR Managers. Connecting with professionals has never been more accessible with access to networks such as LinkedIn and Xing. If you prefer to meet with people face-to-face, try exhibiting at HR conferences or other B2B events. If you want to expand into corporate events but can’t entirely host over 100 participants, you might want to consider our next tip…
2. Offer outdoor activities
Imagine this: a medium-sized local business is planning a big team event and is keen to book your escape room. However, you don’t have access to a spacious enough area for the players. That’s no problem if you also offer outdoor escape games.
Using state-of-the-art augmented reality technology, games such as Blackout, Magic Portal and Operation Mindfall combine the best of scavenger hunts and live escape games and offer an AR teambuilding experience. What’s the aim? Players explore places in their city, scavenge for clues, and crack tricky riddles to solve their mission.
In Operation Mindfall, players take over the role of secret agents.
Cluetivity’s ready-to-play games are also customizable. You can create puzzles centered around your area or even tailored to your client’s individual booking. To make the experience even more realistic, each of Cluetivity’s games comes with Agent Packs, with high-tech gadgets and tools to help your players complete their mission.
Whether you’re on the client’s premises, in your town center, or even in an open field, Cluetivity can be set up anywhere in less than 30 minutes, making it the perfect additional service for your business. Our existing partners include escape rooms, team building and events companies, tour guides, paintballing businesses and laser tag arenas.
Marketing plays a crucial role in the success of an escape room. Only those who find you on the internet can book with you, and having a website with booking capabilities is now the bare minimum.
It’s essential to be present in search engine results. For example, if someone searches for “Escape Room Buxtehude,” you ideally want to be the first search result.
If there are a lot of competitive results above your website on Google, it’s time to invest in ranking high with a 1-keyword ad. This is called Search Engine Advertising (SEA). The amount it costs varies from case to case, but this is something that we will discuss in a later post.
The online marketing for escape rooms doesn’t differ much from marketing for other small businesses. But since many people gather information online before they book a game, you should definitely optimize your efforts as much as possible.
4. Build innovative, forward-thinking new rooms
One crucial thing to remember is that people don’t want to play in the same escape room twice. So, if you want your customers to come back, you’ll need several rooms with different scenarios.
The storyline possibilities are endless. Whether you are robbing a bank, escaping from another dimension, or regaining control of a driverless train, you can simply purchase ready-to-assemble rooms and have them installed by your vendor. The advantage is obvious – the effort required from you is minimal.
Building stable props and creating well-balanced puzzles are the biggest challenges when setting up an escape room.
Alternatively, you can conceptualize your own stories and create a niche in your market. However, this can be quite a time-consuming task. Among other aspects, you must write a compelling narrative, develop challenging puzzles that are neither too difficult nor too simple, and visual design elements to make your storyline come to life.
Even though it requires a lot of effort, more than 80 percent of surveyed escape room operators say that they develop their concepts independently or with their business partners. How creative!
5. Think big and create a second location
If one escape room isn’t enough for you, or you’ve just exhausted all the space in your current location, consider opening a new branch. The expansion also, of course, comes with a great deal of effort and risks. But, as we discussed earlier, small companies are becoming increasingly difficult to assert themselves. Therefore, you will have to make some big business decisions sooner or later.
Before deciding on an additional branch for your company, you should ask yourself a few questions:
What are my competitors doing?
Should I stay in my location or expand to a new area?
What revenue can I realistically expect at the new location?
What are the requirements for a new property?
Are additional investments necessary? For example, fire protection.
How do I announce my new escape room?
The amount of risk involved in expanding is almost comparable to the amount of risk involved in finding your first business. Whether or not you want to take this step, you can only decide for yourself. However, there are already around 400 providers with more than 1,000 rooms in Germany alone.
Is the investment in another location too risky for you? Outdoor games and city rallies can be a far cheaper alternative. The setup costs are low, no additional team members are required, and the possibilities are endless. Feel free to get in touch with us, and we will be more than happy to advise you on how to integrate AR gaming into your business!
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