|
|
|
|
Happy February, everyone! 👋 Besides the obvious hearts-and-roses filled festival this month *cough* Valentine's Day, this time of year is also home to World Puzzle Day (January 29th). I know which of the two I prefer, haha. I also like to use February to limber up for Enigmarch, which is set to return again for 2025. In this month's biggest news, the folks at ER Champ have announced the plans for this year's World Escape Room Championship. And, if you're looking for more fun escape room (and escape room-ajacent things) to celebrate, look no further than the Best of Morty 2024, ESCAPETHEROOMer's Bullseye Awards, and the inaugeral REAction Awards. The latter of which, the REAction Awards, is a unique one, celebrating people who have done amazing things for and within the escape room industry. In any case, it's an exciting month for the escape room industry, and I can't wait to see what the rest of February brings! As always, we can't write this newsletter without the support of all our excellent readers, so if you're enjoying hearing from us each month, please consider sharing this newsletter with your escape room friends... Or enemies, or local escape room business owners, or that one team you see on the leaderboards at every company. Why not! Until then 👋 Mairi Nolan
Editor of Escape Industry News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
🕹️ Sponsored By Game On 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Game On 2025 agenda is here! Get ready for two days packed with insightful talks, interactive workshops. From future-proofing your business to exploring new formats and technologies, the sessions are tailored to provide actionable strategies and fresh perspectives. Check out the full lineup now! Game On tickets include: 2 days of talks and interactive workshops Two brand new immersive experiences Food, drinks and networking nights Access to discounted lodging
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Save 20% on your ticket with the early bird discount—available until February 19th! Full Agenda |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ER Champ Details & Dates for 2025 Announced In a recent post, the team behind the World Escape Room Championship (or ER Champ for short) have announced all the details for upcoming 2025 competition. This year's theme is a murder mystery, and the finale will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria on October 19-20. Stress Test: May 31, 2025
Qualifications: June 28, 2025
Finals: October 19-20, 2025 The team also announced that this year's competition will have an Escape Room Conference for Industry Professionals running alongside. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Best of Morty 2024 Published Morty App has published it's annual "best of" list of escape rooms from all around the world. It's algorithm takes into account all the ratings, user experience level, recency of room and so on to determine some of the highest rated rooms in the world. This year's list honours 263 escape rooms, and 11 haunted attractions across 26 countries. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
• Bloggers ESCAPETHEROOMers have published their 2024 Bullseye Awards, rounding up their favourite escape room and puzzle games of the year.
• Room Escape Artist introduced a new award focused on the community. Read all about this year's REAction Awards here, or watch the ceremony.
• Recently shared on the Escape Room Design link is this amazing collection of prop design videos.
• Recently the team behind Lockme have been sharing an escape room diary around Athens, over multiple posts. You can read all about their trip and the rooms here.
• In the latest by Richard Burns from Room Escape Artist, "Escape Rooms As A Performer’s Medium – The Player’s Perspective"
• I'm always glad to hear when people enjoy their first escape room like these journalists from Aftermath. Not quite an escape room but we think you'll be interested in... • The Thinky Game Awards, an awards body for puzzle video games, are back, and have a whole host of community choice awards you can vote on.
• The Thinky Third Thursday newsletter published a GOTY edition, and I was a guest writer on it contributing some puzzley, escape room-ey content.
• A while ago, Mattel tried to trademark the word "escape room in a box" in the UK. Recently, the result was published and it's an amusing read.
• Andrew Reynolds of Room Escape Artist wrote a useful wrap up of convention puzzle games at PAX Unplugged 2024.
• Exit The Game is releasing a Catan crossover.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
📆 Upcoming Dates for your Diary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It's a quiet one for new openings this month! Which is a shame. As always, if you spot any rooms in your local area popping up - please let us know. No news is too big or too small :) 🇺🇸 CA Handstand are running a pop-up escape room, Jidara, next month in San Francisco.
Trivium Games are running some upcoming pub quiz style games in Oakland. FL Fox in a Box is opening a new room this month, Mastermind, in Miami. IN Clever Cat Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Arcade Arena, in Mishawaka. KY Most Fun You Ever Had has opened a new room, Project: Arctic, in Louisville. OH Conundrum Rooms has opened a new room, Escape Dodge City Jail in Grove City. 🇨🇦 GTFO has opened a new room, Deadly Inheritance in Edmonton, AB. 🇬🇧/🇮🇪 East England Cluetopia has opened a new room, Curse of the Lost Temple in Braintree.
Cluetopia has also re-opened The Grand Portobello Hotel Heist in Walton.
Ware Escape Rooms has announced a new room opening soon, Locked Inn, in Ware. Midlands Alderford Escape Islands have opened games, Frozen Voyage and The Traveller's Rest in Alderford.
Escape Leicester has opened a new room, Alice in Leicestershire.
The Puzzle Room Cannock has opened a new site with four games in Cannock. North England Escapologist has opened a new room, Mafia Heist in Cleethorpes. Mission Classified has opened a new room, Red Rock Canyon Reloaded in Grimsby. The Escapologist Gateshead has opened a new room, Temple Raider: An Elemental Quest in Gateshead. South England Escape From the Room have opened a new experience, Mr Majestic’s Mysterious Magic Boxes, in Sutton/Epsom.
Escape In Time have opened a new room, Emerald Phantom, in London.
Screamworks has opened a new room, Open House, in London. 🇦🇺/🇳🇿 None spotted this month!
A shout out to the resources & individuals who were a huge help this month: Escape the Review (UK), Rich Bragg (USA), Morty App (Global)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last month in Podcasts, Radio & Live Shows Escape This Podcast
"A show that’s a mix of escape room puzzles and tabletop role-playing." • Bonus - Goosebumps of Time and Fear Jan 8
• Bonus - Struggle Down Under (Finish It!) Jan 15
• Eskate This Room ft. El Wheeler Jan 29 Escapuzzled Podcast
"Your one stop shop for all things escape rooms, immersive experiences, puzzles, virtual and tabletop escapes. In this podcast we'll be delving into all things escape rooms and talking to industry leading owners, creatives and designers to unlock the secrets behind these experiences." • Ezekiel Cager Ky, Beth Divel & Tatiana Abarro - The Cager Express Jan 1
• Brendan Mills - Escape Plan Jan 15
• Mairi Spaceship Nolan - Freelance Puzzle Design Jan 29
(hey look! a familiar face) 👆 Reality Escape Podcast
"Your hosts David Spira & Peih-Gee Law explore immersive gaming from all angles. Our guests have made awesome stuff: ARGs, puzzle hunts, tabletop games, and of course, escape rooms. Our aim is to bring together different segments of the gaming world and share ideas between them." • CU Adventures S1E4 Throwback with Anne & Chris Lukeman Jan 14
• Leaked Bonus Show! The Escape Ventures (S8E8) Jan 28 The Infinite Escape Room
"The puzzling podcast where a gaggle of geographically diverse chums come together, have a drink - and work together to solve a home made escape room of the ears." • New years bonus! Reviewing Tonypandy and Rhondda Escape Rooms Jan 1
• Ronald's Revenge: E.T. Get Clue Jan 5
• Ronald's Revenge: The Ski Pad Jan 12
• AliEspress ISS: Shenanigans in engineering Jan 19
• AliExpress ISS: Is there a panda in the lab? Bearly Jan 26 The following podcasts didn't release a new episode this month, but you should definitely check them out anyway: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last February I shared a riddle from Jane Austen's Emma. This year, I want to share another riddle from a book. This one comes from Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma. It goes: The answer to this riddle has a hole in the middle,
And some have been known to fall in it.
In tennis, it's nothing, but it can be received,
And sometimes a person may win it.
Though it's not seen or heard it may yet be perceived,
Like princes or bees it's in cover.
The answer to this riddle has a hole in the middle,
And without it, one cannot start over. Let me know what you think the answer is! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Escape Industry News is brought to you by
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Enjoyed reading Escape Industry News? Spread the word! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
