Doesn't look right in your email client? View this email on the web here

Hello Escapists!

And just like that, my inbox has filled up with festive pop-ups. I'm primed and ready to "save Santa" in 38 unique ways this season.

November is one of my favourite months in the escape room industry. Each year it means two things - TERPECA voting will begin soon, and the World Escape Room Championship finale will take place very soon. Make sure you get those in your calendar, and read on for everything else happening in the escape room world this season.

As always, if you have any news you'd like to share for the newsletter - whether a new room opening, or a story you spotted - please do email it over and we'll include it in an upcoming issue.

That's all for this month. We'll catch you in December!

Until next time 👋

Mairi Nolan
Editor of Escape Industry News

P.S. If a friend has forwarded you this email, please consider subscribing!

Trending Now ⌯⌲

TERPECA Nominations are Closed - Voting Begins Soon

From a post earlier this month: The 2026 nomination window is now closed! Thanks as always to all of our contributors. Over the next several days, we will be finalizing the data and tabulating the results to determine which rooms will be this year's finalists.

Once all the data is finalized and we get some new exciting features tested, we'll announce the full list of nominees and finalists and kick off the voting phase, likely around November 12. Voting will then close on November 30 at 11:59pm Pacific.

Also, don't forget, this year's awards show will be Saturday, December 19 at 1pm PST / 4pm EST / 9pm GMT / 10pm CET / 11pm EET / 8am Sunday AEDT!

World Escape Room Championship (and Conference) This Month

The 10th Jubilee Edition of the World Escape Room Championship takes place in Wrocław this month on November 14th, with two days of talks and events as part of the tie-in conference. There are still tickets to attend in person, or you can watch along online.

🕹️ Sponsored By 🕹️

Game On '27

Only 11 Early Bird tickets left for Game On! Join escape room owners from around the world in London on 20–21 April 2027.

Get ideas you can use from industry veterans in practical talks and hands-on workshops. Meet the speakers. Your ticket includes lunches, experiences and three networking evenings.

Book for £290 and save £100.

In Other News ⌯⌲

• IMPORTANT: Microsoft recently made some changes to emails being sent from custom domains, and if you're an escape room owner, you may not have noticed some emails going missing. We (at Buzzshot) wrote an article about it with some steps to fix it (and built a tool to check if it effects you)
• Elsewhere on the Buzzshot blog, we started a new series where I interview creators in the escape room industry. The first was with Escape Puzzles, and the second is with Immersif.
• The State of the Escape Room Industry: Owners Survey is now accepting submissions.
• Escape Roomers DE has posted some stats from this year's TERPECA nominators on their Facebook.
• A Reminder: The ER Champ Conference takes place next month.
• Nataša Potočnik has posted some statistics and a report on the Slovenian escape room industry.
• Interesting articles from Room Escape Artist this month:
  • Even For Escape Rooms, Format Is Experience by Richard Burns
  • WTF is a Full Contact Escape Room? by David Spira
  • The Rise Of Escape Room Drama by Richard Burns
• ChinaEGA has posted a recap of the EGA2026 Immersive Entertainment Industry Summit & Hengdian Awards Ceremony.

Not quite an escape room but we think you'll be interested in...

• Thinky Con has now finished, and their talks from the event should be posted up on their Youtube soon.
• Also from Thinky Games, the Thinky Awards will return this December.
• A code for a 400 year old padlock was finally cracked using modern technology (but honestly I think some of us reading this might have been able to do it without)
• All the articles on the Voynich Times' "Features" section are well worth a read - there are three from last month:
  • Dead on the Vine: Cooper’s 1928 Cipher Stories
  • The Kooba Cola History Museum: The Soda That (Mostly) Never Was
  • A Baffle Book Doth Make Sherlocks of Us All
• By the time this newsletter is out, Escape Academy 2 will be out on PC and consoles.
• I spotted this interesting article on why puzzle books are becoming so popular.
• A new Hellraiser escape room-style tabletop game is planned.

I normally list the following in "Other News" but I think they deserve their own spaces:

• Challenge Arcades Monthly Update (Challenge Arcade News)
• Thinky Third Thursday (Puzzle Video Game News)
• Escape Talk NL's Weekly News (Dutch Escape Room News)
• The Voynich Times (Tabletop Puzzle Game News)

Upcoming Dates for your Diary ⌯⌲

Through November
TERPECA Voting
Online

November 12th - 13th 2026
ER Champ Conference & Expo
Wrocław, Poland

December 19th
TERPECA Awards Show
Online

February 25th - 28th 2027
TransWorld Interactive Entertainment Show
St. Louis, MO

Through March
Enigmarch
Online

April 19th - 21st 2027
Game On
London, United Kingdom

April 2027
The Escape Room Awards
Spain

Recent Doors Unlocked ⌯⌲

🇺🇸

• 60 Minute Missions Escape Room has opened a new room, Santa's Beartastrophe, in Greensburg, PA.
• (not quite an escape room but) Edge of Elsewhere is now open in Somerville, MA.
• Escape Hour Vineyard has opened a new room, Gretel, in Vineyard, UT.
• Escape Reality has opened a new room, Toyshop Trouble, in Sarasota, FL.
• Escapes in Time has opened a new room, Heart of the Dragon, in Orem, UT.
• Ingenious Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Lost in Blackwood, in Bakersfield, CA.
• Limitless Escape Games has opened a seasonal room, Mixed Up Christmas, in Livermore, CA.
• Mindtrix has opened a new room, The Morning After, in Tulatin, OR.
• North Valley Escape Room has opened a new room, Bunker 105, in Anthem, AZ.
• Puzzlers Escape has opened a new room, Spooky Doo and the Train Phantom, in Westminster, CO.
• Red Door has opened a new room, The Game Show Studio, in San Mateo, CA.
• Think Tank Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Apothecary, in Spokane, WA.

🇨🇦

We didn't find any new escape room openings in Canada this month! Is this a mistake? Let us know.

That said, an honourable mention that FUBAR at Escaparium in QC is now taking reservations.

🇬🇧/🇮🇪

London & the South

• Absolutely Escapes has opened a new room, Hunt for the Aurora Cluster in Hemel Hempstead.
• All Stars Escape Rooms has opened a new room, The Wandkeeper's Oath, in Weston-Super-Mare.
• Clue Finders has opened two new rooms in Basildon.
• EO Escape Rooms has opened a new room, The Boy Out of Time, in Sudbury.
• Escape London has opened two new rooms in Islington, London.
• Escape Plymouth has opened a new room, Carnival of Screams, in Plymouth.
• Dreadlock Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Detention Elf-Style in Bodmin.
• Horror Escape has opened a new room, Coven, in London.
• Pier Pressure has taken over Exciting Escapes and has opened two rooms in Basingstoke.
• Principal Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Nightmare at the Museum in Witchford.
• Rockhill Escape Rooms has opened with one room, Who Let the Dogs Out.
• The Lift has opened a new room, Seconds from Disaster, in Brighton.

Midlands

• Break Free has opened a new room, Candy Cane Catastrophe in Stoke.
• Clue HQ Birmingham has opened a new room, The Portal, in Birmingham.
• Daventry Miniature Race Cars has opened a new room, Murder on the Daventry Express in Daventry.
• Escape Live has opened a new room, Frankenstein's Lab, in Birmingham.
• Top Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Freezy the Snowman, in Worcester.

Yorkshire & North England

• A Place to Escape has opened a new room, The Coven, in Redcar.
• Breakout Manchester have opened a new room, The Bite of 64 in Manchester.
• Enigma Rooms has opened a new room, The Last Priate, in Pontefract.
• Escape Newcastle have opened two new rooms in Newcastle.
• Escape Room Scarborough have opened a new room, Saving Santa, in Scarborough.
• Escape Rooms Durham has opened a new room, Back in Time For Christmas in Durham.
• Escapism Chester have opened a new room, Ghost Hunt, in Chester.
• Evadare have opened a new room, Santa Claustrophobia, in Edenfield.
• Lake Escapes has opened a new room, Clamped Claus in Workington.
• The Hidden Castle have opened a new room, The Curse of Hidden castle, in Skipton.
• West Kirby Escape Room has opened a new room, Traitor in the Lab, in Wirral.

Wales

• Bala Lake Hotel have opened a new escape room, Mission Control, in Snowdonia.
• Escape Hunt has opened a new site in Cardiff with 7 rooms.
• Mansion of Mystery have opened a new room, Frankenstein's Reanimation Chamber in Carmarthenshire.
• Treforest Escape Rooms have opened a new room, The Dollmakers Curse in Pontypridd.

🇦🇺/🇳🇿

• Next Level Escape has opened a new room, Train Gang, in Sydney NSW.

A shout out to the resources & individuals who were a huge help this month: Escape the Review (UK), Rich Bragg (USA), ERA Mag (Australia) Morty App (Global).

Listen ⌯⌲

Last month in Podcasts, Radio & Live Shows

Escape This Podcast
"A show that’s a mix of escape room puzzles and tabletop role-playing."

• Sherlock Not Home ft. Chris Grace and Eric Dittelman Oct 7
• Podcast This Escape - Sherlock Not Home Oct 14
• Tomb Room ft. Zane and Peebr Oct 21
• Podcast This Escape - Tomb Room Oct 28

Reality Escape Podcast
Reality Escape Pod is an interview podcast diving deep with people who make the world’s best immersive games and experiences

• Brett Kuehner: That Guy With The Puzzles Oct 5
• Japan's Puzzle Scene with Tokohal Oct 12
• Masquerade with Asher Young Oct 19
• The 13th Gate with Dwayne Sanburn Oct 26

The Infinite Escape Room
The escape room podcast where a bunch of friends make and solve homemade audio escape rooms for each other. One part escape room, one part role-playing game, a sprinkle of point-and-click adventure, and a whole lot of laughs.

• World's Okayest Escape Room Oct 4
• Puzzle Creators React: Hey Duggee Oct 11
• Welcome to Wizard Countdown Oct 23

Welcome to The Labyrinth
A playable puzzle game audio drama. Navigate a winding labyrinth with the help of a dubious narrator. Solve the puzzle in each episode to be able to impact the story’s conclusion.

• Inbetweenisode 5.33 Oct 6
• Inbetweenisode 5.67 Oct 26

Escape Roomers DE Podcast
The EscapeRoomers.de podcast takes you on exciting escape room trips around the world. We share our experiences from different locations and offer practical tips for planning, booking, and making the most of your escape adventures while travelling.

• The Escape Roomers DE Podcast didn't post in October, but they're also well worth checking out.

What are you listening to? Let us know!

Monthly Puzzle ⌯⌲

Since I like to do my Christmas Cracker jokes in December, here's a festive dingbat or two for the season:

• ABCDEFGHIJKMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
• y y y men
• PRES ENTS
• setpotia

Escape Industry News is brought to you by...

Enjoyed reading

Escape Industry News?

Spread the word!