Escape rooms have become quite a craze in recent years - so much so that Nottingham is lucky to boast almost fifty different rooms in and around the city. Ranging from the family-friendly and fun to the downright creepy and challenging, the premise is simple - your team is locked in a space for typically one hour and must solve a series of puzzles in order to escape - and with intricate sets, curious props and clever narratives, they make for an immersive and unique experience.
We decided to chat to one gamemaster in Notts to see what goes on behind the scenes, learn how the stories are created, and hear some of the strange observations they get on human relationships …Can you guess which escape room we spoke to?
Escape rooms combine detailed aesthetics with a plethora of intricate puzzles. What is the process like for building the narratives and sets for each game?
The thought process starts with our mysterious leader, The Key-Master, who hides himself away in his ‘mind palace’ only to return with the theme, story and most importantly the puzzles. We tend to leave him to it as creating rooms can be an exhausting task, especially when it comes to themes such as serial killers that include a live actor intent on butchering their victims..
However our design and build team are the real heroes in the process. Tasked with the impossible task of making the Key-Masters vision a reality, they truly capture the feeling of immersion with their set designing skills. The biggest achievement was building a room on a revolving platform!
Puzzles will always be the hardest element, as we pride ourselves on our ability to provide players with a true sense of immersion, therefore any puzzle created must have relevance to the rooms theme and story. Furthermore, we attempt to create puzzles that go beyond the traditional puzzles methods used in the industry, which therefore means a lot of testing within our workforce until it’s perfect.
I’m sure you have some interesting stories from watching over teams. What’s the weirdest thing that has happened - any particular stand out memories? Have you overheard anything strange? Seen some bizarre tactics?
Our serial killer's lair tends to be where most of the ‘magic’ happens, groups have literally hid in the room for their full sixty minutes, out of sheer terror they might get caught by our live actor!
Furthermore, the serial killer's lair tends to attract teams on a first date, some haven't gone as well however, and true colours show as people leave their date to fend for themselves... So much so, our butchering serial killer has felt sorry for the isolated date and teamed up with them!
Our bank heist room features an actual getaway car (engine removed of course) inside the room… Some groups have tried to drive it after completing their mission.
Other moments can be quite adorable, our Robin Hood themed room features a slide which channels every adult player's inner child as they express true joy sliding down it.
The serial killer's lair tends to attract teams on a first date, some haven't gone as well however, and true colours show as they leave their date to fend for themselves...
You must get a unique perspective on human behaviour whilst watching teams solve the puzzles. Do people’s personalities change a lot through competitiveness and battling time restraints? Arguments, mishaps, break-ups?
Our bank heist room causes a few couples to cause a few fall outs... But I would probably be just as stressed if I was tasked to set off an EMP device to wipe all the data of my group’s thievery!
Our haunted toy shop room requires a volunteer to sit on a toilet alone, in the dark and wait (no spoilers why) ...it's always interesting to see who's no longer the brave one of the group when it comes to this part.
Currently we have eleven rooms so we get a large number of team building days with big companies around the UK, which means the reception area can be a wild place to be in terms of banter from one team to another.
What is the formula for a winning team? Do friend groups work together better than couples or families?
Every team is different, we find the best advice is to communicate and not overrule someone's idea. Normally, experience helps in regards to our harder rooms, however we do offer rooms that cater to beginners.
There are some absolute fanatics out there that ‘collect’ escape rooms. Do you get many visits like this and what are they like?
Absolutely, we read a lot of feedback online that some enthusiasts save their ‘100th room to play’ for our hardest room that quite literally moves on a spinning platform.
Why do you think there is such a craze for escape rooms?
Before lockdown we had concerns about the rise of digital themed activities, that and the decrease in retail shopping led to lower passing trade …however given the effect that lockdown had on us, in more recent times people seek out activities that bring us together in person, this and the need for escapism. With this in mind, escape rooms are the perfect activity for such requirements, as they require the group to work together and problem solve in a highly immersive setting.
There are some absolute fanatics out there that ‘collect’ escape rooms. Do you get many visits like this and what are they like?
Absolutely, we read a lot of feedback online that some enthusiasts save their ‘100th room to play’ for our hardest room that quite literally moves on a spinning platform.
Has anyone ever been ridiculously quick to solve the puzzles? Anyone who has outsmarted the game in some way? Weird tactics? Cheats?
The only time we consider cheating is using your phone as a torch - our serial killer room is an experience, so using your torch ruins the fun, just ride the wave... and don't get butchered!
Have you ever realised a clue was missing or part of the game didn’t work as well as you’d hoped?
Some clues don't land as well depending on the group, so in desperate times our room runner will voice a clue (as a very last resort). However our Robin Hood themed room features the ghost of Maid Marian as a clue system... It's pretty funny hearing our male staff trying to do their best Lady Marian impressions to confused groups.
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