escape room

File:Interior of Getaway Room Escape.jpg, Finland]]

Escape rooms are inspired by escape room video games, live-action role-playing, point-and-click adventure games, puzzle hunts, interactive theater, and haunted houses.{{cite book |last=Hall |first=L.E.|author-link=Laura E. Hall |title=Planning Your Escape |date=2021 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9781982140342 |chapter=The 2000s: Precursors and the Birth of Escape Rooms}}{{cite thesis|url=http://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/145879|title=History of Escape Games : examined through real-life-and digital precursors and the production of Spygame|first=Katriina|last=Penttilä|date=14 August 2018|access-date=5 January 2019|via=www.utupub.fi}}{{Cite web |last=Nicholson |first=Scott |date=2016-03-07 |title=Emergence or Convergence? Exploring the Precursors of Escape Room Design |url=https://analoggamestudies.org/2016/03/emergence-or-convergence-exploring-the-precursors-of-escape-room-design/ |access-date=2025-02-02 |website=Analog Game Studies |language=en-US}} They are also referred to as "room escapes", "escape games", "exit games", or "live escapes".

In spite of the name, escaping a room may not be the main goal for the players, nor is the game necessarily confined to a single room.{{cite web|url=https://thecodex.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/00511Wiemker-et-al-Paper-Escape-Room-Games.pdf|title=Escape Room Games: "Can you transform an unpleasant situation into a pleasant one?"|first1=Markus|last1=Wiemker|first2=Errol|last2=Elumir|first3=Adam|last3=Clare|date=November 2015| publisher = White Paper}}

The participants in an escape room normally play as a cooperative team of two to ten players. Games are set in a variety of fictional locations, such as prison cells, dungeons, and space stations. The player's goals and the challenges they encounter usually align with the theme of the room.{{cite book|title = Planning Your Escape | first=L.E.|last=Hall|author-link=Laura E. Hall|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=2021|isbn=9781982140342|chapter= Making Games Yourself}}

The game begins with a brief introduction to the rules of the game and how to win. This can be delivered in the form of video, audio, or a live gamemaster.

Players enter a room or area wherein a clock is started and they have a limited time to complete the game, typically 45 to 60 minutes. During this time, players explore, find clues, and solve puzzles that allow them to progress further in the game. Some escape rooms, especially horror-themed variants, may also include escaping from restraints such as handcuffs or zip ties. Challenges in an escape room generally are more mental than physical, and it is usually not necessary to be physically fit or dexterous. Different skills are required for different types of puzzles, ranging from chemistry to mathematics, geography, and a basic understanding of other subjects. Well-designed escape room puzzles don't require players to have expert knowledge in any particular field; any specialized or little-known information required to solve a puzzle should be obtainable within the room itself.

If players get stuck, there may be a mechanism in place by which they can ask for hints. Hints may be delivered in written, video, or audio form, or by a live gamemaster or actor present in the room.{{cite book|title = Planning Your Escape | first=L.E.|last=Hall|author-link=Laura E. Hall|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=2021|isbn=9781982140342|chapter= How Hints Work}}

The players "fail" the room if they are unable to complete all of the puzzles within the allotted time, but most escape room operators strive to ensure that their customers have fun even if they don't win. Players may be given different experiences depending on their success or loss in forms of "good endings" and "bad endings" within the room if they win or fail, respectively. Good endings are usually represented by either escaping "alive" within the time limit, completing the room's objective, or even stopping the threat or antagonist of the story, while bad endings usually represent the players getting "killed" by the main driving force of the story or an antagonist of the room coming to get the players once the timer has run out. Some venues allow players extra time or an expedited walk-through of the remaining puzzles.

Sometimes, teams with fast times are placed on a leaderboard, and records are kept for future teams to beat.

File:balance_puzzle_SMIL.svg

Escape rooms test the problem-solving, lateral thinking ("thinking outside the box"), and teamwork skills of participants by providing a variety of puzzles and challenges that unlock access to new items or areas in the game when solved.{{cite book|title = Planning Your Escape | first=L.E.|last=Hall|author-link=Laura E. Hall|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=2021|isbn=9781982140342|chapter= Team Building and Cohesion}}

Escape room puzzles include word games, numbers, and "arranging things into patterns"{{cite web | title=Popular board games to try this holiday season | website=NPR.org | date=November 27, 2021 | url=https://www.npr.org/2021/11/27/1059539578/popular-board-games-to-try-this-holiday-season | access-date=November 28, 2021}} such as substitution cyphers, riddles, crosswords, Sudoku, word search, and mathematics; puzzles involving physical objects such as jigsaw puzzles, matchstick puzzles, and chess; and physical activity such as searching for a hidden physical object, assembling an object, navigating mazes, or undoing a rope knot.

Different attractions contained elements similar to modern escape rooms and could thus be seen as precursors to the idea, including haunted houses, scavenger hunts, entertainment center 5 Wits or interactive theater (such as Sleep No More, inaugurated in 2003).{{cite book|title = Planning Your Escape | first=L.E.|last=Hall|author-link=Laura E. Hall|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=2021|isbn=9781982140342|chapter= The 1980s–2020s: New Ways of Looking at Shared Spaces}}

The format of a room or area containing puzzles or challenges has been featured in multiple TV game shows over the years, including Now Get Out of That (1981-1984),{{cite web|url=http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Now_Get_Out_of_That|title=Now Get Out of That|publisher=Labyrinth Games|access-date=2018-01-04}} The Adventure Game (1980-86),{{cite news|title=Prigionieri in una scatola?|journal=Io Gioco|year=2017|number=supplement to The Games Machine n. 346|language=it|page=20}} The Crystal Maze, Fort Boyard and Knightmare.{{cite book|title = Planning Your Escape | first=L.E.|last=Hall|author-link=Laura E. Hall|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=2021|isbn=9781982140342|chapter= The 1970s–1990s: A Game Vocabulary for the Public}} Similar experiences can be found in interactive fiction software and escape the room video games.{{cite book|title = Planning Your Escape | first=L.E.|last=Hall|author-link=Laura E. Hall|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=2021|isbn=9781982140342|chapter= Types of Rooms}}

An additional impetus for escape rooms came from the "escape the room" genre of video games. Escape the room games, which initially began as Flash games for web browsers and then moving onto mobile apps, challenged the player to locate clues and objects within a single room.{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/arts/video-games/in-escape-rooms-video-games-meet-real-life.html | title = In Escape Rooms, Video Games Meet Real Life | first= Chris | last = Suellentop | date = June 4, 2014 | access-date = December 20, 2019 | work = The New York Times }}

File:Light Puzzle.jpgAn early concept resembling modern escapes room was True Dungeon, which premiered at GenCon Indy in Indianapolis, USA, in July 2003.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2008/08/true-dungeon-lures-would-be-dragon-slayers/|title=True Dungeon Lures Would-Be Dragon Slayers|last=Sjoberg|first=Lore|date=2008-08-13|magazine=Wired|access-date=2019-08-22|issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite web|url=http://new.truedungeon.com/index.php/forum?view=topic&catid=590&id=193775|title=True Dungeon: True Dungeon Timeline: 2003 Info (1/7)|website=new.truedungeon.com|access-date=2019-08-22}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Created by Jeff Martin (True Adventures LLC), True Dungeon had many of the same elements that people associate with escape rooms today: a live-action team-based game where players explored a physical space and cooperatively solved mental and physical puzzles to accomplish a goal in a limited amount of time. True Dungeon "focuses on problem solving, teamwork, and tactics while providing exciting sets and interactive props".{{Cite web|url=http://www.truedungeon.com/true/overview.htm|title=True Dungeon - Real Dungeon. Real Props. Real Cool.|date=2007-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630095137/http://www.truedungeon.com/true/overview.htm|access-date=2019-08-22|archive-date=2007-06-30}}

Four years later, Real Escape Game (REG) in Japan was developed by 35-year-old Takao Kato,{{cite news | url = http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2009/12/20/to-be-sorted/real-escape-game-brings-its-creators-wonderment-to-life/#.UVfsthc0WuI | title = Real Escape Game brings its creator's wonderment to life | access-date = 2013-03-31 | last = Corkill | first = Edan | date = 2009-12-20 | publisher = Japan Times | newspaper = The Japan Times Online | archive-date = 2013-06-04 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130604043742/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2009/12/20/to-be-sorted/real-escape-game-brings-its-creators-wonderment-to-life/#.UVfsthc0WuI | url-status = dead }} of the Kyoto publishing company, SCRAP Co., in 2007. It is based in Kyoto, Japan and produces a free magazine by the same name. Beyond Japan, Captivate Escape Rooms appeared in Australia and Singapore from 2011,{{cite web | url = http://recognitionpattern.com/2012/01/31/the-real-escape-game-in-singapore/| title = The Real Escape Game in Singapore | access-date = 2013-03-31 | last = Marinho| first = Natalie | date = 2012-01-31 | publisher = recognitionpattern|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724092041/http://recognitionpattern.com/2012/01/31/the-real-escape-game-in-singapore/|archive-date=2012-07-24}} the market growing to over 60 games by 2015.{{cite web | url =http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/erfacwhite.pdf | title = Peeking Behind the Locked Door: A Survey of Escape Room Facilities | access-date = 2015-05-24 | publisher = White Paper}} Kazuya Iwata, a friend of Kato, brought Real Escape Game to San Francisco in 2012.{{cite web | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/06/21/real-life-escape-rooms-are-new-us-gaming-trend.html | title=Real-life 'escape rooms' are new US gaming trend | publisher=CNBC | date=21 June 2014 | access-date=12 July 2016 | author=Cheng, Evelyn}} The following year, Seattle-based Puzzle Break founded by Nate Martin became the first American-based escape room company.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2018/nate-martin/|title=Geek of the Week: There's no escaping it — Puzzle Break's Nate Martin created his dream startup|date=2018-06-22|website=GeekWire|access-date=2018-10-30|language=en-US}} Japanese games were primarily composed of logical puzzles, such as mathematical sequences or color-coding, just like the video games that inspired them.

In 2003 in Spain Differend Games opened the doors of the escape room Négone first in Getafe with "La Maquina" and then in 2005 in Madrid with "La Fuga".

Parapark, a Hungarian franchise that later operated in 20 locations in Europe and Australia, was founded in 2011 in Budapest.{{Cite web|url=http://velvet.hu/trend/2011/09/09/parapark_tokeletes_elmeny_egy_romkocsma_pincejeben/|title=ParaPark: tökéletes élmény egy romkocsma pincéjében |language=hu |trans-title=ParaPark: A Perfect Experience in the Basement of a Pub's Ruins|last=Bence|first=Gyulai|access-date=2016-07-17|date=2011-09-09}} The founder, Attila Gyurkovics, claims he had no information about the Japanese escape games and based the game on Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's flow theory and his job experience as a personality trainer.{{Cite web|url=https://bbj.hu/life/room-escape-games-the-latest-craze-in-budapest_64942|title=Room escape games the latest craze in Budapest|last=Kummer|first=Krisztián|date=March 2013|website=Budapest Business Journal}} As opposed to the Japanese precursors, in Parapark's games, players mainly had to find hidden keys or reach seemingly unattainable ones in order to advance.

In 2012, the Swiss physics professor Gabriel Palacios created a scientific escape game for his students. The game was later offered to the public under the name AdventureRooms and distributed as a franchise in twenty countries. AdventureRooms introduced scientific puzzles (e.g. hidden infrared or polarized codes) to the genre.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lch.ch/fileadmin/files/documents/BILDUNG_SCHWEIZ/2013/09_2013.pdf|title=Physik: Kriminelle Energie erwünscht|last=Hess|first=Stéphane|date=September 10, 2013|website="BILDUNG SCHWEIZ" (Education Switzerland)|pages=24–25|access-date=April 21, 2018|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221400/http://www.lch.ch/fileadmin/files/documents/BILDUNG_SCHWEIZ/2013/09_2013.pdf|url-status=dead}}

As of November 2019, there were estimated to be over 50,000 escape rooms worldwide.{{Cite web|url=https://thelogicescapesme.com/news/international-escape-room-markets-analysis/|title=International Escape Room Markets analysis{{!}} The Logic Escapes Me|website=thelogicescapesme.com|date=November 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-21}} These can be particularly lucrative for the operators, as the upfront investment has been as low as US$7,000, while a party of 4-8 customers pay around US$25–30 per person for one hour{{Cite news|url=http://www.myajc.com/entertainment/attractions/for-this-alpharetta-business-will-lock-you-inside-room/zKjBaCJt2KyLy8I9ByycBJ/|title=For $28, this Alpharetta business will lock you inside a room|newspaper=myajc|access-date=2017-01-16}} to play, potentially generating annual revenue upwards of several hundred thousand dollars.{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-weird-new-world-of-escape-room-businesses-2015-07-20|title=The unbelievably lucrative business of escape rooms|last1=French|first1=Sally|last2=Shaw|first2=Jessica Marmor|date=July 20, 2015|website=MarketWatch|access-date=June 19, 2016}} As the industry has grown, start up costs have increased dramatically and so has the competition. Some customers now expect higher production values and games can cost over $50,000 to create.

File:86th FSS unveils Port Royal Mystery Escape Room 160621-F-ZC075-096.jpg

The South China Morning Post described escape rooms as a hit among "highly stressed students and overworked young professionals."{{Cite news|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1148918/real-life-escape-games-offer-respite-daily-stresses|title=Real-life escape games offer respite from daily stresses|newspaper=South China Morning Post|access-date=2016-10-14}} Sometimes players damage equipment or decorations inside the game area.{{Cite news |url=http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2013-09/21/content_16982459.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926165401/http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2013-09/21/content_16982459.htm |archive-date=2013-09-26 |title=Rooms with a different kind of view |newspaper=China Daily USA|access-date=2016-10-14}}

The use of Hong Kong room escapes as distractions from the city's living conditions has been commented on by local journalists.{{cite web | url =http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1148918/real-life-escape-games-offer-respite-daily-stresses| title = Real-life escape games offer respite from daily stresses｜ |access-date=2013-04-10 | date = 2013-02-13 | publisher =South China Morning Post}}{{cite web | url =http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hong-kong-thrill-seekers-think-their-way-to-freedom-1.1406771| title = Hong Kong Thrill Seekers think their way to freedom｜ |access-date=2013-02-22 | date = 2013-02-22 | publisher =CBC News}}

Early games consisted mainly of puzzles that were solved with paper and pencil. Some versions are digital or printable only.{{Cite web|url=https://fisherhuntz.com/faq/|title=Escape Room FAQ|website=www.fisherhuntz.com|access-date=2021-02-21}} As escape rooms became more sophisticated, physical locks were introduced that could be opened by finding combinations, hidden keys, and codes using objects found in the rooms. These ideas have evolved to include automation technology, immersive decoration,{{Cite web|url=https://www.escaperoomuk.com/wiki/Immersion|title=Immersion - UK Escape Game Wiki|website=www.escaperoomuk.com|access-date=2019-10-10|archive-date=2019-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515102704/https://www.escaperoomuk.com/wiki/Immersion|url-status=dead}} and more elaborate storylines to make puzzles more interactive, and to create an experience that is more theatrical and atmospheric.

Some escape rooms have begun to incorporate virtual reality elements.

{{Main articles|ToNiePokój escape room fire}}

File:Artlung_blacklight_messages.jpg torch to assemble to reveal messages in invisible ink ]]

The first known fatal accident to occur in an escape room was the death of five 15-year-old girls in a fire in Koszalin, Poland, on January 4, 2019. The fire was caused by a leaky gas container inside a heater and resulted in the death of the five victims from carbon monoxide poisoning. One employee was treated for burns. According to the state firefighting service, the chief failure that led to the deaths was the lack of an effective evacuation route. Shortly after the accident, authorities ordered safety checks in escape rooms across Poland and 13 more such establishments were shut down for safety flaws as a result.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46765692 |title=Escape room fire kills five teenagers in Poland |work=BBC News |date=2019-01-04 }}{{cite news |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4820270/poland-escape-room-deaths/ |title=Man charged after 5 girls killed in escape room fire in Poland |publisher=Global News |date=2019-01-06 }}

Reno 911, an American comedy show, aired the episode "Escape-O-Rama Room" in August 2020.{{cite web | title=Reno 911! S07E14 - Escape-O-Rama Room (TVShow Time) | website=TV Time | date=August 24, 2020 | url=https://www.tvtime.com/en/show/72336/episode/7901080 | access-date=January 19, 2022 | archive-date=November 6, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106110812/https://www.tvtime.com/en/show/72336/episode/7901080 | url-status=dead }} Canadian comedy show Schitt's Creek aired an escape room episode, "The Bachelor Party", in March 2020. The Big Bang Theory, an American comedy, aired an escape room episode, "The Intimacy Acceleration", in 2015.{{Cite web |title='The Intimacy Acceleration' |url=https://ew.com/recap/the-big-bang-theory-season-8-episode-16/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=EW.com |language=en}} In 2023, the Dropout game show Game Changer aired the episode "Escape the Greenroom".

The escape room concept has also been explored in other television programs such as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Bob's Burgers, and Harley Quinn.

In 2019, the American psychological horror film Escape Room was released in theaters, and its sequel Escape Room: Tournament of Champions came out in 2021 following several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2021/04/escape-room-2-2022-release-date-1234680330/ |title=Sony Moves Up Escape Room 2 To Summer, Lands On Same Date As Studio's Cinderella |date=April 26, 2021 |first=Anthony |last=D'Alessandro |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=April 27, 2021 |archive-date=April 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427020729/https://deadline.com/2021/04/escape-room-2-2022-release-date-1234680330/ |url-status=live}} Both films deal with a mysterious, deadly series of puzzle rooms that explore the traumatic pasts of its players. Escape Room grossed $155.7{{nbsp}}million worldwide against a production budget of $9{{nbsp}}million,{{cite web |title=Escape Room (2019) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=escaperoom.htm |work=Box Office Mojo |access-date=May 10, 2019}} and Tournament of Champions grossed $51.8{{nbsp}}million.{{cite Box Office Mojo |id=9844522 |title=Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021) |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 22, 2021}}{{Cite The Numbers |title=Escape Room: Tournament of Champions |id=Escape-Room-Tournament-of-Champions-(2021) |access-date=August 22, 2021}}

In February 2022, the children's book Escape Room by Christopher Edge was named "Children's Book of the Week" by The Times.{{cite web |last1=O'Connell |first1=Alex |title=Escape Room by Christopher Edge review — gamers will love this mad, intense thriller |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/escape-room-by-christopher-edge-review-ffp6qk62v |website=The Times |access-date=23 February 2022 |date=29 January 2022}}

Escape rooms started reaching new audiences through the TikTok app.{{Cite web |last=Akhtar |first=Saima |date=2022-05-13 |title=Viral TikTok shows group performing 'ritual' in Manchester escape room |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/viral-tiktok-shows-group-performing-23926630 |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}} Escape room companies such as Exit Game OC,{{Cite web |last=Law |first=Peih-Gee |date=2024-01-12 |title=REPOD Special Release Bonus Episode from S6E3: Going Viral with Christine Barger |url=https://roomescapeartist.com/2024/01/12/repod-bonus-episode-s6e4-christine-barger/ |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=Room Escape Artist |language=en-US}} Breakout Games{{Cite web |date=2023-03-02 |title=Escape Room Worker Uses Metal Gear Solid Sneaking Skills To Help Unwitting Players |url=https://kotaku.com/tiktok-escape-room-breakout-sneaking-metal-gear-solid-1850178420 |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=Kotaku |language=en}} and Amazing Escape Room{{Cite web |date=2023-10-02 |title=Man locks escape room employees in building and leaves clues on how to escape |url=https://www.unilad.com/community/viral/man-locks-escape-room-employees-building-pennsylvania-377247-20231002 |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=UNILAD |language=en}} have found new customers through organic viral TikTok videos.

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Category:Logic puzzles

Category:Immersive entertainment