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Today we’d like to give you all some insight on how an escape room is designed and hopefully heighten your appreciation for the art itself. Think of it all together: puzzles, props, scenery, and story woven into an incredible tapestry of unique, team-building experience for friends, family, and co-workers alike! How does it all begin though?

Each journey starts with a single step and designing an escape room is no different. That first stride forward is the idea. A tiny idea blossoms into a heart-pounding scenario formatted to thrill every customer. Motivation to get out is just as important as the puzzles themselves. Story is the difference between solving puzzles in a room and cracking the diabolical codes of a deranged murderer to escape his clutches! 

Next would be the heart of the escape room experience, the puzzles. Without this you have no idea what props or scenery to create. Each crafty concoction starts simple, perhaps a riddle. After that comes trial and error. Does it work? No. Can it be changed to work? Yes! No puzzle is too permanent to not tweak just a little to make it all move like clockwork. An escape room is not just an assortment of puzzles. The puzzles must flow from one to the other so that logic and reasoning dictate the success of customers: not blindly solving crosswords attached to levers until something works.

Props are an odd corner of the escape room scenario. They must be resilient enough to withstand abuse, but precise enough to be utilized in solving a puzzle. Some props are bought from a store and need no further effort to be worked into a scenario. Others are born from staring at an object, having an idea, putting it together in your mind, and seeing if it’s possible.

 Lastly is scenery: the overall feel when you walk into the room. Whether it’s cold, creeping dread or joyful nerves of anticipation, the reaction is a reward itself before a single puzzle is solved. It must fit the time, place, and mood of what is required. Perhaps a Victorian parlor chair in a banker’s smoking room made of cherry wood, but reinforced with steel rods in the legs because the player needs to stand  ontop to reach a key. A simple piece of forethought can be the difference between a room running well and bad reviews.

Ultimately, after the design is thought through and created, a beautiful new escape room is born and ready for the public to experience. All of this can take months and even years, just to set up the best possible experience for you!