Team Building Ideas: Top Places for Setting Up Your Escape Game

Team Building Ideas: Top Places for Setting Up Your Escape Game

by | May 17, 2022 | Business, Outdoor Escape Room

As part of a team-building event, an Escape Room is a fantastic way to build teamwork, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities. They’re also a lot of fun! If you’ve never tried one before, it might be time to give them a go.

 

TEAM BUILDING VS. TEAM BONDING

To be more effective, we need the two departments that spend most of their time in conflict to work together. So what if they did this by spending a couple of hours on a soccer field by having team-building or team bonding? Escape rooms are often the gamified solution used for team building and team bonding to resolve departmental conflicts.

But what exactly are team building and team bonding? Team building is an essential part of any workplace. Whether in the office, on a construction site, or at home with your family, teambuilding has several benefits. For example, trust-building and better communication skills to share ideas more efficiently and feel confident about yourself are significant advantages that should lead to patience when things don’t go according to plan.

Team bonding is an ongoing process that helps to increase loyalty among the team members. One way of achieving this objective, which many companies use, is by addressing past experiences in a positive light through fun activities like giving each other compliments or joining together for lunch.

Escape rooms offer both team building and team bonding. When you enter an escape room, the first thing that your group has to do is work together on little tasks to move along through a storyline toward the big goal – escaping!

You’ll find yourself at highs and lows of feeling like you never can get out when one person opens up another door for someone else who was stuck. The experience brings people closer together than they ever would have been before.

 

What is an excellent team-building activity?

An excellent team-building activity is fun for the team and challenging.

Escape rooms are an excellent way to get everyone on your team working together, solving puzzles to escape from an unknown room before time runs out. This type of activity requires teamwork skills such as communication, analytical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. All while you have some suspense and thrills thrown in for good measure.

The American Management Association published a study that found that 91% of those surveyed who participated in team-building activities reported improved communication, problem-solving, and creativity.

In the same survey, it was determined that 82% of participants said they would participate again to get another opportunity to use teamwork skills learned. In contrast, others see team building as a chance to build rapport among coworkers.

Suppose you would like your team-building event or company offsite to be memory and budget-friendly. In that case, escape rooms are an excellent option since they’re typically sold at a flat rate for time slots of one hour. They can accommodate any number of employees with different levels of experience.

 

What are examples of team building?

An example of team building is an escape room built for team plays. This type of activity uses gamification, and it can be done anywhere with any group size.

Another example of team building may include scavenger hunts or treasure hunt activities where teams have to find clues hidden in different places around the city. One could also incorporate these games into marketing products and services to customers by making them a part of the overall experience.

 

What are the excellent escape room themes?

The must-try escape room themes are horror, mystery, and technology-themed.

Horror Escape Room

A horror escape room theme is always a good option for team building. This theme features a zombie, a vampire, and other terrifying creatures. The team is in constant need of solving puzzles to escape the scary room.

Mystery Escape Room

A mystery escape room theme has clues that will lead your team of players to solve different riddles and puzzles as they explore the story unfolding within this virtual world. They must gather all the necessary pieces to solve the why’s of the escape game.

 

Technology-themed escape game

Technology is the future of team building, and it’s good to keep up with the news so that this one will be a favorite for most people. The latest gadgets and devices have been used in gamifying these escape rooms for your team-building adventures. Most of the technology-themed escape rooms use AR technology, allowing for a more immersive experience.

Under-the-Sea theme

Another great team-building escape room theme is the ‘undersea’ theme which offers a fun and different experience from what your team may be used to. This one will be perfect for those looking for something out of the ordinary, such as an underwater adventure with beautiful sea life images all around them.

Superhero theme

For an escape room that involves children or teenagers, a ‘Superhero’ escape room is perfect for this type of team building. This one will have your team working to save the day, and it’s up to them to be superheroes themselves!

Hopefully, these ideas helped you find something that may work out well for your next event or team-building session.

 

Top Places to Setup Your Escape Game 

If you’re setting up an escape game for your corporate events, the best places are:

#1 In a rented event space or office building

It is because escape rooms are usually designed to have six people at the most, so you will need plenty of room for all team members and no distractions from other workers around them as they try to solve puzzles.

#2 Indoor facility of escape game provider

You can also find many companies that provide these games on location, which could be in your area or state. These companies will typically have a team of people who travel around to set up games in different locations and can customize the game to your company’s theme or message if you wish them to.

#3 Meeting rooms for events and conferences in Hotels

Some other great places offer their meeting rooms for events and conferences because they often come equipped with escape room kits already there!

#4 Classrooms

Other rentable rooms that might be a good option are classrooms. The classrooms are great because they are already set up with desks, chairs, and whiteboards for any meeting you may have. You could also use the classroom to hold team-building activities requiring a little more room than your office provides, like dodgeball or other physical games!

#5 Theme Parks

The theme parks are optional for team building because it has the perfect escape room experience without traffic and parking hassles. Also, theme parks have lots of open spaces where you could set up pop-up escape rooms and create a team-building event that is interactive and engaging.

#6 Museums

Museums often have areas where they display interactive exhibits that are team-building in nature, or you can rent out one of their meeting rooms to host your event! Likewise, museums give off the mystery vibe that escape rooms are known for!

The options for this type of team-building adventure game depend on your needs, so consider how many people you want to have in the room at one time and what kind of environment will work best for them!

Just make sure that the venues follow COVID safety protocols. Here are a few things you should do before and after your escape room experience to go smoothly!

  • Inspect the rooms to make sure they are clean and COVID safe before letting people enter.
  • After every game, sanitize all surfaces in each room with a disinfectant wipe or spray suitable for cleaning hard surfaces.
  • Check all ventilation and airflow systems before and after every game. COVID safety protocols must be followed during each team challenge.
  • Ensure that you have an escape route for players in case of emergency by checking your fire exits and ensuring they can open from both directions (outward and inward).

In Conclusion

The best way to ensure your escape game is a success is by considering what themes are suitable for the age group you’re targeting and ensuring that the concept relates to your company’s objectives. You should also think about how many participants will be joining in on the fun so you can pick an appropriate size room with enough clues and puzzles.

If all this sounds too difficult, or if you just want someone else to handle everything from start to finish, we have experts who specialize in setting up custom-tailored escape games as part of our suite of corporate event services. Contact a Cluetivity specialist today!

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Escape Room Puzzles: 7 Ideas For Your Missions

Escape Room Puzzles: 7 Ideas For Your Missions

by | May 5, 2022 | Business

Whether they be independent ideas or straight off-the-rack, unique Escape Room puzzles are a deciding factor for the success of your business. Are you seeking inspiration? We have compiled a list of ideas, sectioned into 7 different categories.

What you can expect to read in this article:

  • The different types of Escape Room puzzles
  • How each puzzle can challenge each of your senses
  • Standing out from the crowd with unusual puzzles
  • Using soundtracks and certain perspectives to create unique Escape Room puzzles
  • The attraction of interactive puzzles

Buying or developing your own ideas?

Buying premade Escape Room puzzles saves a lot of time, because it’s much faster to access existing ideas and have them built in by professionals than to come up with them yourself. However, the fun and individuality of your Escape Room can be lost in the process. Perhaps a competitor in your region has already bought the same puzzle?

You want a guaranteed unique selling point for your company? Contact us now and find out how you can stand out from the competition with our outdoor, mobile and online escape games.

If you are avid Escape Room players yourself, creating and developing Escape Room puzzles is probably one of your favourite pastimes. Bookkeeping, personnel administration and your audience are, of course, also part of it. However, time for creating a unique-yet-professional game must be put aside.

By creating your own Escape Room puzzles, you will stand out from the competition. However, you must also accept that the journey from the initial idea to implementation is a bit longer. Remember, once you have developed your idea, you need to test and build it, too. 

Key challenges setting up an escape room
If you have a case of Writers Block and need some inspiration for developing ideas, you are in luck! Read ahead for 7 different ideas that might just help you out.

1. The Sound of Music

Some puzzle types are absolute essentials and can be found in every Escape Room. Therefore, we want to focus on something a bit more unusual – the soundtrack of your puzzle.

Birds croaking, Frogs roaring, Lions chirping?! Something does not add up here! Only if your players listen carefully, they will realise that the sounds are part of your Escape Room puzzles. As music and other sounds often run in the background, it is easy to ignore them. The fact that they are actually part of a puzzle only becomes clear, when the players listen carefully. This is what makes them so exciting and extraordinary – players have to use another sense to escape from your room.

Sounds can also be used to implement great Escape Room puzzle ideas for children. It can be about assigning different sounds to animals, or to recognise messages in well-known children’s film songs. There are no limits to your creativity, but the puzzles should always fit the setting of your Escape Room.

2. It All Depends on the Perspective

Everything in life is relative. Some situations are good or bad, depending on how you view it. This very philosophy can be applied to your Escape Room puzzles – the correct answer all depends on which perspective the players look at something. Sometimes objects from a distance look very different from what they look from up-close. You can take advantage of this effect.

Paint cryptic symbols on walls and furniture that look like they do not make sense. But when players stand at a certain point in the room, they will recognise the code. For example, numbers, letters, or shapes become visible when your players find a certain pair of glasses. The glasses would then decode the markings to reveal a clue, which the players need to solve a puzzle.

3. It Must Be Here Somewhere!

Hidden objects are a standard puzzle in Escape Rooms. They are used in almost every challenge. Often keys are hidden – in decorative objects, under desks or behind windows. A good example for a puzzle would be to place a row of books on a shelf. One of the books is hollow on the inside, and thus, offers space for a hiding place. You can then place the key to a padlock or other Escape Room puzzle items inside.

Another variation of this classic puzzle is to place a crate with a trap door inside. The players will find something when they open the crate, but by digging a bit further, they will discover the item they really need.

Of course, you can also hide other items for Escape Room puzzles. Players may have to assemble a file with different letters circled in it, but the snippets are scattered throughout the room. Perhaps players may be looking for the pieces of a map where they need to decipher something. The possibilities with hidden object puzzles are almost endless.

4. The Writing Is on the Wall… Or Is It?

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most clueless of them all?

You can build mirrors into your Escape Room puzzles in many ways. With a mirror, players can read text backwards, direct beams of light to specific locations to trigger effects and turn cryptic hieroglyphics into decipherable messages. The characters can also be in another room, separated by bars, upon which the players have to take the mirror in their hand and stretch their arm through the grid to decipher them.

But in the same way messages can be hidden on the mirror, you can inscribe mirrors with soap. The writing is only visible when players breathe on the mirror. Alternatively, a backlight can be used to make a message appear on the mirror. The players have to activate the light before by solving a different puzzle.

5. Let There Be Light!

In the suggestion above, we mentioned light as part of Escape Room puzzles. You can use it in very different, yet creative, ways in your Escape Rooms. Often UV-light is used to make the invisible visible at first. A sequence of lights, however, which results in a Morse code-like pattern, or lights up in different colours are great ideas for clues.

UV flashlight showing escape room puzzle
Also unique (or rather scary in the right setting) is a strobe light. Strobe lighting not only creates a tense atmosphere but achieves a disorientating effect. Did you know that a rotating fan “freezes” under strobe light? Due to the speed at which strobe lights illuminate a space, it actually looks as if the fan is no longer moving. From the perspective of an Escape Room operator, you can hide a message in the rotor blades that can only be deciphered under strobe lighting.

6. Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

You can see a key, but you do not have a clue on how to reach it? Perhaps there is a way to reach it from another room. Then teamwork is needed here. One player tries to get the key without being able to see it, while the other tells them what to do. Or you chain two players together and they have to find a key first before they can move independently again.

Escape Room puzzles of this kind are especially interactive, because they can really only be solved if the players work together. Celebrating successes together bonds them together. This is why more and more companies are booking Escape Rooms as a team-building measure.

However, not every Escape Room operator has enough rooms to accept bookings from large groups. If this problem seems familiar to you, an Outdoor Escape Game might be the solution for your problem. With Cluetivity games like Operation Mindfall and Magic Portal, you can send hundreds of players on exciting missions at the same time.

Try our games for free

7. Something “Obvious” Is Easily Overlooked

Sometimes players are so focused on looking for codes and hidden crevices that they no longer notice the obvious. This gives you the opportunity to surprise them. Avoid trying to disguise all the clues, but quietly place some tips right in front of the players’ noses.

A few footprints in the ground are pretty obvious. For example, you can open a secret door or activate a light that illuminates clues. In the same way, a mechanism in a sofa cushion can be built in to trigger an effect. Perhaps a rather conspicuous carpet could have a passage to a secret area built underneath it!

We hope our suggestions have inspired you to create some original ideas for your Escape Rooms. Is there something that we perhaps left out? Feel free to drop us a comment!

Are you in a company and looking for a fun remote training for teams? Check out our new platform for virtual team building events.

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8 Tips to Create the Best Escape Room Scenarios

8 Tips to Create the Best Escape Room Scenarios

by | Apr 27, 2022 | Outdoor Escape Room

Creating a good escape room is hard. It’s not enough to just have an interesting premise or some fantastic puzzles – it needs the right balance of both. Most escape rooms suffer from one of two problems; either they’re too easy, and you can solve them without any thought, or they’re so complicated that you need to spend hours trying every possible solution before finally getting through.

The escape games in Cluetivity were created by experienced game designers who know how to make fun scenarios for players with all levels of experience and skillsets. Our team has decades of combined experience in creating physical games that challenge people in new ways, but we also understand how tricky online gaming can be to make sure your customers have a great time!

We’ve put together this resource page full of tips on what makes for a great escape room scenario and how you can use this information to complete your excellent rooms!

Tip#1 The game should be appropriate for the age of the players.

The escape room should be appropriate for the participants. As you may know, escape rooms are usually done for entertainment and team-building activities. That’s why it is essential to choose the appropriate room according to your group’s skills and interests.

For example, it is not good to bring children under 13 years old into escape rooms intended for adults. That’s because they are still developing their decision-making skills and will have difficulty dealing with situations that could arise in an escape game.

That is why the escape game should be appropriate for the age of the players. The puzzles will depend on how mature you are, but they can range from easy to complex.

 

Tip#2 Themes should be cohesive and have a sense of direction

You should make the themes of your escape games cohesive. It can be confusing when the theme changes from game to game, and it’s hard for players to have fun if there isn’t any sense of direction or common thread between them.

One of the best ways to make your escape game themes more cohesive and have a sense of direction is to write an introduction for each room. In each escape room, the host gives an intro about the game. The opening will be essential for your escape room. You’ll capture the participants’ attention and explain what they need to do to win a prize.

It helps to understand better what’s going on in this type of game and sets up expectations for what will happen during the game. You can do it by giving a short and informative introduction before beginning.

Escape Room Themes

 

Tip#3 Puzzles need to have logical and sequential solutions – no random guessing!

The most important thing about puzzles is that they have logical solutions. If the escape game is too easy to solve without a challenge, it defeats the purpose of the escape game.

To make an escape room more challenging, try using the items outside their intended purposes. For example, if you’re stuck in a lab and have syringes lying around, why not use them to squirt some ink on the floor to find hidden clues?

Tip#4 Rooms should be challenging but not impossible to solve.

Some games are pretty tricky and require critical thinking. Sometimes you have to be very clever to solve the puzzles and find your way out of that room! Yet, it doesn’t have to be frustrating and challenging – to the point that players will give up.

So when designing an escape room scenario that will not frustrate the players, it has to be something everyone can relate to. The challenges can be anything that players can encounter and use the skills acquired to solve the problem.

It’s essential to keep the clues for your mystery game clear. Ensure that they are understandable and guessed by observant players, but you should also make them challenging enough to challenge.

Solving an Escape Room Puzzle with a Cryptex

 

Tip#5 Clues should be hidden in plain sight or require logical thinking rather than just guessing.

Great clues are usually cleverly hidden, requiring some logical thinking to get it. But, they don’t have to be hard enough so that everyone gets stuck on them. Clues should be hidden in plain sight, but not directly. Solving it should require some logical thinking because if it’s too easy to figure out, the puzzle won’t be fun anymore.

Tip#6 The time limit needs to make sense so that players don’t get bored waiting around for clues.

Next time you create a game, think about how long the player will be playing. You don’t want them to get bored before they finish the game!

One way to keep a game fast-paced is by limiting the amount of time allowed. It forces players to make quick decisions, keeping the action going! Yet, for each task, the time limit should be reasonable. If it’s too short, people will get bored and leave; if it’s too long, then there won’t be a sense of urgency.

 

Tip#7 An ideal escape room scenario will provide the players with an enjoyable time, rewarding when they solve it!

Many elements can make a great escape room scenario, but one thing is of utmost importance. A great scenario should be fun and enjoyable for the players! A good scenario should have a primary goal and conflict. While it’s essential to provide a sense of fun, remember that players want something challenging and engaging!

The main goal of a scenario is to get the player from point A to point B. The conflict should slow down or even stop them in their tracks. When writing a scenario, it’s essential to think of what happens in the beginning, middle and end. The main goal is the story’s purpose, while conflict creates tension and uncertainty.

The goal can be achieved in different ways, but the player won’t know which way to go until they are given more information about their mission.

 

Tip#8 The setting needs to be immersive and believable but also manageable in size, so it doesn’t take hours just to escape one room!

Three elements make an escape game setting immersive and believable. The first is how you interact with players. The second is how you present information to them, and the third it’s about creating a logical layout for their surroundings.

The best escape rooms are realistic and engaging. It’s essential to provide the players with some clues to help them solve puzzles and create a ‘real-life’ setting in an imaginary space. The mysteries need to be logical and well-thought-out to feel engaging so players don’t get bored.

 

In Conclusion

Creating a good escape room is hard, but it doesn’t have to be. You can find the perfect balance of difficulty with a few simple steps. First and foremost, you need an exciting premise that will grab your players’ attention from the start – make sure they’re invested in solving your puzzles before they even walk through the door! Next, consider how complex each puzzle should be; not too easy (or people might get bored) and not too hard (so people don’t give up).

Finally, think about what type of customer or demographic you want to attract with your escape room experience. This way, you can design an escape room that’s just right for them! Have you thought about creating one for yourself? Cluetivity experts are here for you.

We understand what makes a tremendous puzzle-based experience work and how to create captivating games with compelling storylines. Contact our team now if you want help designing an escape room for your business to see firsthand how we do things differently than others.

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Pros and Cons in Booking Outdoor Escape Game Today

Pros and Cons in Booking Outdoor Escape Game Today

by | Apr 7, 2022 | Outdoor Escape Room

You want to have a fun time with your friends or colleagues, but you’re not sure if an outdoor escape room fits you.

We all know that booking outdoor escape rooms can be a lot of fun, and it’s also incredibly challenging. But there are two sides to every story! Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of booking these excellent experiences today.

 

What is an escape room, and how does it work

Escape rooms are a great way to bond with your coworkers and improve teamwork! But, how do you get the most out of them? Depending on where they’re located, escape rooms can be played both indoors or outdoors.

As a real-world immersive game, escape rooms offer interactivity that makes them captivating for users’ satisfaction. They come in two forms: you can choose between escaping different types of puzzles by finding clues or solving problems and live-action games with physical tasks such as assault courses and obstacle races, all while trying not to be caught by “the warden.”

Unlike any other team bonding, the escape room does improve the physical health and emotional and social health of the participants.

Outdoor Escape Game for companies

In a standard escape room, players are provided with clues that they must use to solve the puzzles. These clues can come in three different forms: physical, visual, or auditory. The clue is usually designed to fit together to solve the mystery and escape from an enclosed space.

The room is designed with a series of puzzles, which you have to solve to escape! You’ll need help from your teammates and some creative thinking. The team’s tasks are tracked on an online platform or in person. Some rooms have puzzles that can be solved, while others require moving large items around the area.

 

What to Expect?

Escape rooms are a great way to have fun, but some crucial information should be considered before entering one. Knowing how the room operates and what your limitations might be beforehand can help keep things from going south on an adventure too quickly!

The most important thing about escape rooms is understanding their operations to give you more idea of whether or not this will work for you.

 

Why should you book an escape game today?

Escape rooms are a physical and mental challenge, and they’re exciting. Here’s what to know before booking an outdoor escape room.

Pros of booking an outdoor escape room today

Take Advantage of the Newest Escape Game Developed

Finally, we see the calm after the storm. We’ve learned to accommodate our lives under the new normal standards. Escape Games! The COVID situation allowed the gamification software developers to plan and brainstorm for a thrilling escape game.

Also, it gave a lot of window time to the digital escape game software developers to further polish their escape games and remaster some of the all-time favorites to cater better to escape room players’ needs. So the next time the escape room opens to the public, there’s a new escape game experience that awaits.

Blackout

More Personalized Outdoor Escape Game Experience

Many have learned the lessons of overcrowding. Thus, more escape room owners will attempt to offer an escape game experience that is more private and personalized. To minimize the number of people using their outdoor escape game materials and make the escape game experience safe, unique, and unforgettable.

Escape Game Players are Safe and Secured

When you book your outdoor escape game, users rest assured that the gadgets they’ll be using are clean and properly sanitized. Unlike in the days when proper sanitation of materials used in escape games was taken for granted, escape owners now give utmost care to the people who will be using their materials and storage because cleanliness will be one of the assets of an escape business to prosper.

ActionPack Blackout

 

Cons of booking an outdoor escape room today

A limited number of participants

Expect that escape business owners will set a maximum number of players who can play their outdoor escape games due to the existing local laws to prevent the further spread of COVID.

The fact is that we’re getting over those restrictions, and the specific number of players is not a restriction anymore in certain regions. Check this link to learn more about COVID restrictions in your area.

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A limited number of available escape game organizer

Various states have different health protocols and travel restrictions, so expect that not all escape game businesses will be open for outdoor team building you’ll plan for your company. However, interested players can take advantage of online escape games for remote teams to gamify that annual team bonding everyone is anticipating.

 

Why is it better to book your escape game than DIY?

DIY Escape Rooms have the potential to be cheaper than booking an actual escape room designed by experts. It can be more accessible for those who do not live near a city that offers these facilities or wish there were closer alternatives in their area. However, they may not provide as much fun and excitement as booking an outdoor escape game.

It could even make DIYers spend more than booking a game because of the hidden charges a DIY designer might encounter in the process of organizing a DIY escape room. Think about the safety, the materials to be used, the mobility and transport of the materials to be used, and the time it will take to design an escape game where everyone will enjoy it.

Rather than pressure yourself to make all those preparations and experience many setbacks during the event, it’s better to let the escape game specialist do the job for you. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to arrive in the location with all of your precious time dedicated to winning the game with your comrades, then worry if all the participants will enjoy your DIY escape game?

 

In Conclusion

Outdoor Escape Rooms provide the perfect combination of team-building activities and mind-bending puzzles for groups who enjoy solving problems together. Whether you’re looking for something new on your corporate retreat or just want to have some fun with friends, this experience will leave everyone talking about what happened when they escaped from their last challenge! Book a demo today.

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3 Harsh Truths That Escape Room Operators Don’t Want to Hear (and What They Can Learn From It)

3 Harsh Truths That Escape Room Operators Don’t Want to Hear (and What They Can Learn From It)

by | Mar 5, 2022 | Business, Business

As human beings, it’s natural that sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. This also applies to Escape Room Operators – some business owners are so focused on the minute details of a situation; they fail to see the bigger picture. With this comes plenty of brutally honest truths to be told. If you find yourself easily frustrated, perhaps this article is not for you. However, if you are prepared to face reality, keep reading ahead and see what you can learn from some mistakes you’ve probably been making.

1. The Quality of Your Escape Rooms Does Not Matter

Normally, the team at Cluetivity tell you how essential the quality of an Escape Room is. A captivating story, a wide variety of puzzles, and an inspiring game master are all crucial aspects. We cannot stress enough that these points are still valid! As Escape Room Operators, you can develop the most exciting missions, but if you don’t have players visiting your rooms at all, there is nothing we can do to help.

The truth of the matter is that most players can’t intricately rate the quality of an Escape Room anyway. They lack the experience. Maybe they’ve played an Escape Room before, but even then, they won’t notice much difference – so as long as your Escape Room meets standard expectations.

The absolute minimum that we would expect from an Escape Room includes:

A backstory: Escape Room Operators should come up with stories for their missions. Locking players into a room and solving disjointed puzzles that have no real connection to each other no longer works. An exciting and rigorously told story ensures that your guests can immerse themselves in the action – like a cinematic blockbuster or a fantastic video game.

Functioning puzzles: We love creative puzzles and thinking outside-of-the-box. With our Outdoor Escape Games, Operation Mindfall and Magic Portal, we also seek to inspire the players with an exciting story and versatile puzzles. The most important thing, however, is that the challenges are solvable. Nothing is more frustrating than when a puzzle, for example, fails to work because of technical problems.

An appropriate level of difficulty: Most Escape Rooms have a success rate of about 30%. You should also aim for this rate as an Escape Room operator. If it sits well below it, that itself is a sign that your puzzles are too complex or incomprehensible. If your success rate sits above 30% and teams manage to escape in well under 60 minutes, the rooms are probably too easy or there aren’t enough puzzles.

Attentive Game Master: Whilst they are based outside of the room, an attentive Game Master is a crucial element for success. They don’t have to be the perfect entertainer, but they have to be attentive and helpful. It’s pivotal that they follow the player’s journey throughout the game, and if your guests need a clue, the Game Master must have it ready.

What You Can Do To Tackle This

Don’t expect players to open the door for you, no matter how good your missions are. As Escape Room Operators, you need to take action yourself to attract customers.

You should pay as much attention to your marketing as you do to design your spaces. Check out our blog here for 7 tips on how to market your escape room.

If you’re especially new to the market, you need solutions that bring success quickly. In addition to obvious things such as an appealing logo, flyers and your own website, it is important to not forget about online ads. Advertisements on Google (AdWords) and Facebook are usually particularly effective under a cost-efficiency view.

With Google Adwords, you can target ads to specific keywords to appeal to people around you. The ads appear above Google’s normal search results. If you run an Escape Room in Berlin, it can look like this:

Escape Room operators are usually also active on Facebook and Instagram. Using these platforms, you can also run ads and target people in your local areas. You can also interact with your fans and followers through competitions (that are compliant with each social media platforms rules and regulations). Lottery draws often achieve high engagement rates, so you can secure your relationship with your existing fans whilst drawing in a new audience.

Last, but not least, it is also advantageous to offer guests a wide variety of games to play. In addition to Indoor Escape Rooms, you can also offer them Outdoor Escape Games.

Outdoor Escape Games, such as our agent thriller Operation Mindfall, are significantly faster and ready for use at a cost much lower than traditional Escape Rooms. They offer challenges which have been tried-and-tested thousands of times, and can be adapted to your individual needs with minimal effort. They’re even suitable for both small and large groups with over 2,000 participants!

2. Operating an Escape Room is Draining

If you’re still reading, it must mean that you dealt with the first harsh reality particularly well. Are you ready for the second? Here goes… Escape Room operators have the most inflexible schedules. Whilst this is certainly the case for many self-employed people, not many industries can compare when it comes to anti-social working hours.

Many Escape Rooms open between 2:00pm and 4:00pm during the week and close around 10:00pm. On weekends, it usually starts earlier – in extreme cases at 9:30am or 10:00am – and lasts until 10:00pm and longer.

As an Escape Room operator, you always have to be there a little earlier and stay longer in the evening– prepare the rooms, clean the premises and so forth. In addition to being ever-present on-site, there are other obligations as entrepreneurs:

  • Precise bookkeeping
  • Managing employees and preparing their schedules
  • Managing marketing activities as well as social media presence

However, there is the advantage of that during the week, you can at least use the mornings for running errands and general life management.

What You Can Do To Tackle This

What does that mean for you? Are the masterminds behind the rooms at least financially well-compensated for their efforts? Or is the Escape Room industry not the right one for you?

The latter of both of these questions is an answer only you can answer yourself. Some get along better with irregular working hours – others, not so much. There are, however, definitely easier ways to manage being self-employed.

You have to really know how much stress you are able to cope with and how your role in the Escape Room industry affects your social relationships. Once you’ve built a solid business, you’ll be able to seek support sooner or later, and eventually become a backseat driver in maintaining the business. It’s important that you learn to give up responsibility and find staff you trust.

From a financial perspective, an Escape Room business can be quite lucrative, but it’s no ‘get rich quick’ scheme. The fact of the matter is that you sell 60 minutes (with briefing about 75 minutes) entertainment for around 25€ per person.

In larger cities, some Escape Rooms might charge higher fees. But let’s take the above numbers as averages and assume each room attracts 125 players a week (the value depends, of course, on factors such as region, season and number of missions available). The total earnings become 3,125€. This amounts to 12,500€ per month.

Out of 12,500€, the following will correspond to:

  • Payroll payments
  • Rent and incidental costs
  • Maintenance costs
  • Royalties (for example, for software)
  • Advertising

You can argue that owning an Escape Room can lead to earning a healthy income. For some people, however, this amount of money is nowhere near enough. If you’re looking to get more out of your business, we are more than happy to give you a helping hand.

3. Escape Room Operators Could Save a Lot of Money If They Were Craftier

Conjuring up Escape Room puzzle ideas is one thing. Another thing is to implement the ideas – and then equip the entire Escape Room with props.

Building an Escape Room requires not only a creative mindset, but also great craftsmanship. There is a reason that there are companies that specialise in constructing Escape Rooms. Teams complete with game designers, set designers, carpenters, electrical engineers, software developers, graphic designers and filmmakers work to install the pre-made missions in your premises.

It’s your decision on whether you want to offer your customers ready-made Escape Rooms or, instead, an idea from scratch. Whichever route you take, repairs are naturally going to be imminent. If you’re someone who is particularly crafty, you can undertake most of these tasks yourself – but not everyone is a naturally gifted carpenter.

With the installation of puzzles, hidden passageways, and decorative items, how much of it can you really do yourself? What do you need professionals for? The truth is you could save a lot of money if you are a bit handier.

What You Can Do To Tackle This

Don’t beat yourself up too much for a start. No-one is perfect, and what is not, can still be.

Nobody is born with an expertise in carpentry. They have acquired their skills over the years. You can do exactly that. Consider taking up craft courses or watch tutorials on YouTube. Start with small construction projects and gradually expand your knowledge.

Want a game that doesn’t require any craftsmanship knowledge whatsoever? Check out Cluetivity’s solution here!

Due to the “new normal”, many employees work from home. To support the companies in keeping their remote teams motivated, we developed a completely new platform for Online Escape Games and custom solutions.

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