Escape room
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An escape room is a physical adventure game in which players are locked in a room and have to use elements of the room to solve a series of puzzles and escape within a set time limit. The games are physical versions of "escape the room" video games. Games are set in a variety of fictional locations, such as prison cells, dungeons and space stations, and are popular as team building exercises.
The earliest room was created in 2006, and escape rooms became popular in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Canada and mainland China in the 2010s. Permanent escape rooms in fixed locations were first opened in Asia[1] and followed later in North America, Europe, Australia, and South America.[2] Notable organisers include AdventureRooms, ClueQuest, The Escape Hunt Experience, ClueJob, and Puzzle Break.
Contents
History
The earliest escape room, "Origin", was created in Silicon Valley by a group of system programmers in 2006.[3] The mysteries and challenges in the game were inspired by the works of Agatha Christie and became a popular tourist attraction.[4]
Real Escape Game (REG) in Japan was developed by 35-year-old Takao Kato,[5] of the Kyoto publishing company, SCRAP Co., in 2008. It is based in Kyoto, Japan and produces a free magazine by the same name. Beyond Japan, escape games appeared in Singapore from 2011.[6] Escape games in Singapore expanded quickly with over 50 games by 2015.[7]
In 2015, there were over 2,800 escape room venues worldwide. These are particularly lucrative for the operators, as the upfront investment can be as low as $7000 USD, while a party of 4-8 customers pay around $25-30 USD per person for one hour to solve a room puzzle, being able to generate annual revenue in the range of several hundred thousands.[8]
A 2015 American Science Channel television game show Race to Escape is based on this theme.
Reception
The South China Morning Post described escape rooms as a hit among "[h]ighly stressed students and overworked young professionals."[citation needed] Sometimes the excitement becomes a bit much, though, and players get so invested that they tear down equipment or decorations inside their "fake" prisons, as Zhu Yumeng, chief operating officer of Beijing room escape game site Taoquan told China Daily.[citation needed]
Hong Kong room escapes have been reviewed by local journalists as an attempt to escape the living conditions of the city.[9]
Escape rooms have been used by corporate organizations as team building exercises.
References
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- ↑ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-weird-new-world-of-escape-room-businesses-2015-07-20
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