We're 99% sure we haven't accidentally reported an April Fool's Joke as true... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ‌  ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ‌:  ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

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

Happy April, Escapists!

Writing the Escape Industry Newsletter in any given April is a minefield of avoiding accidentally reporting on an April Fools Joke. My favourite this year was from The Escapologist, which is a real room I'd like to play.

Jokes aside, here's the actual news from this month. There's a whole heap of new openings in the UK and Australia. Fewer in the USA and almost none spotted in Canada this month unfortunately. Know of any? Let us know by replying to this email.

Elsewhere we've got a few European escape room events coming up - The Escape Room Awards in Barcelona this weekend, LEAG in Bottrop next week, and the Prague Escape Summit next month.

And perhaps most importantly, I'd love to draw your attention to the escape room fundraiser that's currently taking place for Sera Dodd, which you can read more about (and bid to win some cool prizes) here.

Before I sign off, I leave you with something that made me laugh in light of the clocks changing:

Until next month!

Mairi Nolan
Editor of Escape Industry News

 

🕹️ Sponsored By

Buzzshot Bookings

A complete system built for escape rooms,
with over a decade’s experience in the industry.

Got games that share resources?

Many booking systems can’t handle that. Buzzhot’s Shared Resources feature manages complex availability automatically so you never double book, even with multiple games using the same space.

Learn More

🧩 Trending Now

Escape room fundraiser has over 70+ prizes

The escape room community is rallying around one of its own: Sarah Dodd - enthusiast, TERPECA advisor, ERIC co-founder and one of the most experienced players in the world -is fighting terminal cancer. A community auction is now live, with 70+ prizes donated by over 50 escape room owners worldwide. The auction will be live until 25th April.

Fundraiser

Prague Escaping Summit takes place in May

I hadn't heard of this event until now, but it seems really interesting! Here's more from the description:

"An event for escape room enthusiasts and professionals to gather in Prague. Play two epic large-scale games, participate in a one-day conference and/or simply find new contacts and friendships!"

If you're planning to go, let us know! One of our team (Tom from Buzzshot) will be there and we'd love to say hi!

Learn More

The Escape Rooms in Education Showcase Returns

In collaboration between Heriot-Watt University and the University of Indianapolis, the Escape Rooms in Education Showcase will take place online next month. This is the third year (of hopefully many) the team runs the event, and it's aimed at education professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts. And would ya take a look at who is scheduled to be a keynote speaker! 🤗

Learn More

🧾 In Other News

• A piece of news from our sponsors! Buzzshot has recently released a new feature: Buzzshot Bookings and I've been writing some articles about it. Check out the new feature here, and my latest article here.
• Less than 100 days until the
ER Champ qualifications! Don't forget to sign up if you want to take part.
• The April 2026 issue of
ERA Mag (Escape Rooms Australia Magazine) is now live.
•
WhereToEscape is a new and interesting website that recently launched for planning escape room trips.
• The latest article that caught my eye on
China EGA is: "Twelve Years of Escape Rooms in China: Decoding the "Hidden Brain" Behind Immersive Entertainment" (note: this isn't available in English)
• David Spira has published a
thought piece on Room Escape Artist on playing locally vs globally.
• I can't get past the paywall, but
The New York Times has a piece on "How escape rooms helped me escape my life" that might be an interesting read.
• If you're in the UK Escape Room Enthusiasts group,
Sera Dodd posted a great round-up post about Devon and Cornwall rooms.

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

• Enigmarch has now concluded! I don't know what to do with myself anymore other than
solve all the other puzzles people submitted.
• The winners of the
2026 No Proscenium Awards have been announced.
• Check our ARGNet's write up on the
MIT Mystery Hunt puzzles.
•
The Infinite Escape Room podcast has returned with Season 2.
• Applications are open for the
Black Immersive Creators grant.
• The LA Immersive Makers Meetup will happen April 15th.

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

Challenge Arcades Monthly Update
Thinky Third Thursday

 

📆 Upcoming Dates for your Diary

April 12th
Escape Room Awards
Barcelona, Spain

April 19th - 21st
LEAG
Bottrop, Germany

May 14th - 15th
Escape Rooms in Education Showcase
Online

May 21st - 23rd
Prague Escaping Summit
Prague, Czech Republic

May 30th
ER Champ Stress Test
Online

June 20th
ER Champ Qualifications
Online

August 16th - 17th
RECON 26
Laval, QC, Canada

September 13th - 16th
PuzzolCon
Memphis, TN.

 

🔑 Recent Doors Unlocked

🇺🇸

Cryptic is a new immersive experience opening in Denver, CO.
EDscapade has opened two new rooms in beta in San Jose, CA.
Secret City Adventures has opened a new experience, The Wedding Party, in Boston, MA.
Surf City Escapes has opened a new site in Huntington Beach, SA.

🇬🇧/🇮🇪

South

Aylesbury Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Crazy Cat Lady, in Aylesbury
CTRL ALT ESC has opened a new room, The Heist, in Margate.
Escape Windsor has opened a new room, Avalanche, in Windsor.
Horror Escape has opened a new room, Ravenswood Asylum, in Peckham.
Housetrap Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Tomb, in Bodmin.
Immersion Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Blitz, in Alton.
Lock & Code Escape Rooms has opened a new room, The Archives, in Weston-super-Mare.
Mythologic Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Lilith, in Gillingham.
Room Lockdown has opened a new room, Prison Escape, in Hornchurch.

Midlands

Alderford Escape Islands has opened two new rooms in Whitchurch.
Chesterfield Escape Rooms has opened a new room, The Inside Job, in Chesterfield.
Escape Quests has opened a new room, Save Sugarvale, in Ross-on-Wye.
The Commandery has opened a new room, The Servant’s Secret, in Worcester.

East

Escape Ipswich has opened a new room, Sub Zero, in Ipswich.
Funky Snake Escape has opened a new room, The Order, in Leighton Buzzard.
The No Work Club has opened a new site with three rooms in Peterborough.

North

Just In Tyne Escape has opened three new rooms in Newcastle.
Project Breakout has opened a new room, Dr. Ruben Cubix’s Antique Emporium, in Brighouse.
The Ice Cream Farm
has opened a new room, Funfair Frenzy, in Tattenhall.

Scotland

Bell Pettigrew Museum of Natural History has opened a new room, Code to the Crown, in St Andrews.
Closeburn Escape Rooms has opened a new site with four rooms in Closeburn.
Riddle Rooms has opened a new room, Burns Room Teens, in Glasgow.

🇦🇺/🇳🇿

VIC

Escapade has opened a new room, Eureka! in Ballarat, VIC, Australia.
Escape Hunt has opened a new room, Legend of the Sword, in Brisbane, VIC and Gold Coast, QLD.
Escape Reality Rowville has opened two new rooms in Rowville, VIC, Australia.
Lockology has opened a new room, Lost in Time, in Warrnambool, VIC, Australia.
Ukiyo has opened a new room, Sonata of Shadows, in Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

WA

Escape This has opened a new room, Lost Tomb, in Perth, WA, Australia.
Gone in Sixty Minutes has opened a new room in Port Kennedy, WA, Australia.

NSW

Escape This has also opened a new room, Magic School, in Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Ice Break Escape Room has opened two new rooms in Sydney, NSW, Australia.

SA

Esc Rooms has opened a new room, Club 69, in Hindmarsh, SA, Australia.

TAS

Evolo has opened a new room, Secret Agents: Operation ATOMSHIELD, in Moonah TAS, Australia.

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

 

🔊 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."

  • Up in the Heir - Part 3: The Art of Conversation ft. Kirk Damato and Ty V Mar 4
  • Podcast This Escape - The Art of Conversation Mar 11
  • Up in the Heir - Part 4: A Halfway Decent Proposal ft. Holly Musgrave and Emily Bates Mar 18
  • Podcast This Escape - A Halfway Decent Proposal Mar 25

Inventures
"The podcast where we invite creative minds to invent the ultimate immersive adventure"

  • Creating Live Immersive Worlds | Inventures Podcast with Neil Connolly Mar 31

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

  • Neil Patrick Harris Commits Murder (Mystery) Mar 16
  • Puzzle Master Will Shortz, The Complete Bonus Episode Mar 23

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.

  • The Infinite Escape Room Season 2: We're Back Mar 22

The following podcasts didn't release a new episode this month, but you should check them out anyway:

  • The Escapuzzled Podcast
  • The Cager Express: Escape Break
  • Tori With A Story
 

🔎 April's Puzzle

As a part of Enigmarch, I've been trying to write a cryptic clue every day! I'm very pleased to say I managed to keep it up the whole month. For your puzzle solving enjoyment this newsletter, here are a few I'm most proud of:

  • Panicked by returned desserts (8)
  • First thing, bright rays illuminate cracked keystones (5)
  • Kitchen utensils serving up cruelty (7)
  • Animals afar in hiding (6)
  • Hostile option holds early positivity. (10)
  • Mixed triple lemon in French town (11)
  • Know its something sweet if nervously given first (7)
  • Gang around? I'm down to play (6)
  • Eye beholding the art (5)


Check out all the submitted puzzles by everyone
here!

Did you take part? Let me know. I'd love to play your puzzles if you did!

 


Escape Industry News is brought to you by

 

Enjoyed reading

Escape Industry News?

Spread the word!

facebook link

Our mailing address is:
94 Maresfield Road, Brighton, BN2 5ER, GB

Unsubscribe