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The escape-room games industry is booming

economist.com

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Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#61

Post by DyslexicAtheist »

I went with my gf and her friends for her birthday last year for the first time. We had a great time and we'll certainly be going again. What made me wonder though is how they are able to attract repeat customers, e.g. if they only have 4 rooms/puzzles then soon people will be quickly moving to a different company. Repeat business must be difficult to retain unless you keep changing your rooms frequently (or rely mostly on tourists (or people who only do this for their birthday or other special events - but not as a serious hobby).

One thing that annoyed me was that we were obviously unable to solve the puzzle and the guy kept giving us hints over the comms.

I told him to stop several times (since it wouldn't matter - if we can't solve we'd return another day). Though he must have had instructions to push all customers into a "successful outcome" no matter how poor they do. For that I was furious - though will certainly go and check other companies next time and make it clear that if they do give hints (no matter how bad we do) they won't get paid.

lastly there was news just last week that one of these rooms burned down in Poland. Sounds like a backstory to one of the "The Saw" films:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/poland-escap...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/poland-escap...

Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#62

Post by stordoff »

nanoseltzer wrote: post #17
ehsankia wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you got a bad one. As someone who has done a dozen, there's definitely a wide range in term of quality, but the good ones can tickle the puzzle solving itch really well. This is coming from someone who has played almost every puzzle video game out there. It's definitely not for everyone, and I'll say, I personally like it better when there's only 1 or 2 others in the room; more than that gets too hectic for me.

Tbh I’m not sure if they are meant for less interaction. I think they were meant to get you talking to a bunch of other people, not for true puzzle solving aficionados. Then again - I’m not sure where you could satisfy your puzzle solving itch. Perhaps there is a market for escape room type mystery books and strategy games. Reminds me of those Sierra games in the 90s lol.

> Perhaps there is a market for escape room type mystery books and strategy games

There absolutely is. Zero Escape is basically a series of escape room games.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Escape

Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#63

Post by forkLding »

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #61

I went with my gf and her friends for her birthday last year for the first time. We had a great time and we'll certainly be going again. What made me wonder though is how they are able to attract repeat customers, e.g. if they only have 4 rooms/puzzles then soon people will be quickly moving to a different company. Repeat business must be difficult to retain unless you keep changing your rooms frequently (or rely mos…

They're like amusement parks in a way so the repeat customers are more spaced out but people will come back due to the memories and bring different people with them.

Also customers come back when themes change for the rooms or the room is redesigned.

Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#64

Post by nullmedium »

gkoberger wrote: post #37

I was really fascinated by the industry, so I got into it and eventually built my own as a side project ( http://StartupEscape.com ) It can be a good business if you have a few rooms. There's two types of people who get into it: passionate people, and people who buy designs online for a decent revenue. The latter makes more money, but there's some amazing escape rooms that are Disney-parks-level. Unfortunately, escap…

I live in Munich (the city with the highest rents in Germany) and there are like 4 or 5 rooms within walking distance (Maxvorstadt/Schwabing West area). I wonder how they make a profit if there is so much competition close by.

Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#65

Post by wav-part »

EliRivers wrote: post #57
wav-part wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Businesses did not make buildings safer just because someone told them to. It is naturally considered a bad idea to kill your customers. Businesses would always create an environment that generate more profit. Safer establishments are one of many ways. Businesses would _always_ stay ahead of any bureaucratic recommendations/requirements, because they have the incentives. Rather misguided/outdated laws are real proble…

Businesses did not make buildings safer just because someone told them to. I disagree, and I believe the evidence supports me. Buildings became fire safe AFTER regulation and enforcement in country after country. It is naturally considered a bad idea to kill your customers. Yet in China, the milk powder suppliers killed their customers and now nobody trusts the milk. Likewise various other foods and also medicines in…

Whos paying for safer buldings/milk/etc ? Could not the people who just benefited from these laws, give money directly to the businesses ? If people really want and can fund something they want, they can just pay the private sector directly. Why waste so much money by routing it through the gov ?

If one cant pay for the gov service/product one is consuming. Then he should be grateful for the forced charity not the gov. Gov created improvement in QoL for free, is not permanent.

Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#66

Post by talltimtom »

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #61

I went with my gf and her friends for her birthday last year for the first time. We had a great time and we'll certainly be going again. What made me wonder though is how they are able to attract repeat customers, e.g. if they only have 4 rooms/puzzles then soon people will be quickly moving to a different company. Repeat business must be difficult to retain unless you keep changing your rooms frequently (or rely mos…

> and make it clear that if they do give hints (no matter how bad we do) they won't get paid.

That sounds a bit harsh. The escape rooms I have been at all made it clear that the objective is to finish as fast as possible but if you get stuck on things and it seems unlikely you’ll make it on the hour they will give you clues. It’s just part of the deal, you will almost always finish, and “winning” vs losing is a question of how fast you finish.

This doesn’t apply to competitive rooms of cause. Where I actually don’t know how they handle clues as that has never been an issue for my groups in those room.

Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#67

Post by talltimtom »

gkoberger wrote: post #37

I was really fascinated by the industry, so I got into it and eventually built my own as a side project ( http://StartupEscape.com ) It can be a good business if you have a few rooms. There's two types of people who get into it: passionate people, and people who buy designs online for a decent revenue. The latter makes more money, but there's some amazing escape rooms that are Disney-parks-level. Unfortunately, escap…

What are your favorite or most exotic gimicks? Like additional rooms hidden behind mirrors, or blacklight revealed writings on the walls?

I’m always curious to find out what new things people are creating, but due to the nature of the game it’s quite hard to find “reviews” of escape rooms and I mostly just talk superficially with others about where they’ve gone and how they liked them.

Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#68

Post by yakshaving_jgt »

ljf wrote: post #43
CJKinni wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I loved the Crystal Maze as a kid. It started back up again a couple years ago. It's now hosted by Richard Ayoade.

Total tangent, but if you enjoy Richard's work - check out The Double which he directed - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Double_(2013_film)

I enjoy Richard’s work, but I found The Double quite boring.

Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#69

Post by nothrabannosir »

talltimtom wrote: post #66
DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #61

I went with my gf and her friends for her birthday last year for the first time. We had a great time and we'll certainly be going again. What made me wonder though is how they are able to attract repeat customers, e.g. if they only have 4 rooms/puzzles then soon people will be quickly moving to a different company. Repeat business must be difficult to retain unless you keep changing your rooms frequently (or rely mos…

> and make it clear that if they do give hints (no matter how bad we do) they won't get paid. That sounds a bit harsh. The escape rooms I have been at all made it clear that the objective is to finish as fast as possible but if you get stuck on things and it seems unlikely you’ll make it on the hour they will give you clues. It’s just part of the deal, you will almost always finish, and “winning” vs losing is a quest…

>> and make it clear that if they do give hints (no matter how bad we do) they won't get paid.

> That sounds a bit harsh.

He’s negotiating in advance, not punishing them. It’s about making it clear what you want for your money, and allowing the other party to make a choice. This is how negotiations work.

“Hi I’d like a room here but I have a special request: don’t call me ‘sir’. It’s non negotiable; if you do I won’t pay you.”

Either: “ok that’s fine.”

or: “sorry, I’m afraid we can’t do that, sir.”

are ok. But once you’ve accepted, that’s it.

Negotiating. It’s the foundation of trade. I wish it didn’t have such a bad rap.

Re: The escape-room games industry is booming

#70

Post by [deleted] »

gkoberger wrote: post #45
irrational wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We went to one escape room is a super sketchy part of town. It looked like an old abandoned business. I imagine rent was super cheap. The escape room was awesome. One of the best I've been to.

Mine is in SF, in the Tenderloin. There's a few reasons! First is that rent is cheaper. But more importantly, the landlords are more flexible. In a nicer area, landlords would prefer a restaurant or shop, with 5-10 year lease. Nobody wants to sign a 5-10 year lease for escape rooms, since there's not a lot of replay-ability. Also, escape rooms require weird build outs and permits, so landlords of nicer areas prefer n…

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