Welcome back to the next issue of Escape Rooms Australia.
Yet again we have so many new escape rooms opening across Australia. The industry is definitely on the rise up and we are all loving the fact we have so many more rooms to do.
To help me understand what content you would like to see, I would appreciate you completing a 1 minute survey
Click to complete a 1 minute survey
Enthusiasts and GamesMasters feel free to send us your stories, we would love to hear about them.
Please feel free to share this magazine with fellow Escape Room Enthusiasts by clicking on the share icon.
Owners, please keep us updated on any new rooms you have opening, we would love to promote them for you.
The same button will allow you to bookmark and save to favourites.
Advertising
If you would like to advertise in the magazine email us at era@eludegames.com.au and we will send you an information pack.
The Magic Moonstone
Frightening visions have drawn you all to Celestia’s stately old house in the woods.
You are in a lifeless forest, it’s dark and freezing cold. Celestia an enchantress and guardian of nature’s balance, is pleading for your help…
You look up to the darkening sky and see an eclipse has begun – the vision is coming true. The house is empty, but you can hear her voice, an echo from far away. You learn that the evil sorcerer Morpheus is casting the Eternal Darkness spell. Channelling the mystical energy from the eclipse, he is becoming more powerful with every passing minute. He is holding Celestia captive so that she can’t stop him – but you can!
A moonstone with immense power is magically concealed within her house. You must find it and break the spell before Morpheus becomes unstoppable, and the eclipse lasts forever…
Features:
Follow Celestia’s clues (with help from her owl Cedric) and use magic to cast spells and discover the many secrets hidden in her home. This is a truly enchanting experience in a spacious beautiful room designed for families, large groups and lovers of magic.
Level of Difficulty: 4+ out of 5 (difficulty is higher for small teams)
Group Size / Ages: 2 to 14 people – Ages: 5+
Time: 60 Minutes
Undead Army
Can you survive the end of the world?
JMC Armed Forces invites applications for all new recruits to sign up for special training within the JMC Special Forces Military Division. You will be drilled, broken and reborn as the new elite of excellence in soldiers and armed forces. At the leading edge of research and technology, JMC only accepts the best that the world has to offer.
Training begins here at the JMC Army Barracks. Work your way through the ranks to excellence and glory!
All training, fire-arms and uniforms will be provided to you.
You will be required to sign over all your medical rights and accept with honour the JMC Vaccination program on your first day of basic training.
We look forward to training you into the NEW brand of soldiers – for the future of JMC and the world!
*Not suitable for young children. Recommended age 15 years and over.
Time: 60 Minutes
Overdose
A new street drug, V, is gaining popularity for its dramatic weight loss effects.
You are a part of a syndicate distributing the drug. You operate a 1950’s nostalgic American diner which launders the trade’s earnings.
You catch wind that a rival gang is on their way to overtake your operation, starting with the diner. Can you recover the cash and supply of V from the diner and escape before they arrive?
Recommended minimum age: 14 (strong drug themes)
Playable group size: 2-8 Players
Recommended group size: 3-5 Players
Difficulty: 3/5
Game design style: High immersion & low locks
Time: 60 Minutes
Murder in the Mob
In an attempt to gain power over the city’s underworld, you and your fellow gang members have broken into the hideout of the Castello gang and executed a hit on several key mobsters.
After your escape, you realise that you’ve dropped your glove, which could lead police straight to you! Go back, get the evidence, get out.
*Revamped from The Crime Scene, Parapark.
Time: 60 Minutes
Motel of Madness
You and your team are on a road trip when a terrible storm hits. You decide to find accommodation for the night, but only one bed and breakfast is available in the area.
It is an unusual venue and the host makes it very clear that you’re not to go exploring past any red doors.
But what do you do… you go exploring… And this bed and breakfast makes it very hard to go back.
*Revamped from The Mad Landlord, Parapark
Time: 60 Minutes
Caramel Chaos
Trouble has struck at the Newcastle Confectionary Company! All the pipes are clogged with caramel and the machines aren’t working! It is on you to unclog the pipes and ensure the production of chocolate can be resumed!
Recommended Group Size: 2-6
Level 1: Beginner – A room designed as an introduction to Escape Rooms, whilst still presenting a challenge for teams to overcome. Family friendly experience.
Fear Factor: 0/5 – This room has not been designed to scare.
Time: 60 Minutes
Alice in Darkness
Welcome back Alice, it’s been too long. This is not the fairy tale you remember it to be. I’m afraid Wonderland is not what it once was. Once a place filled with magic and wonder, you had not a care in the world. Yet this fantasy would not last, you could not see the tragedy to come. Through shadow and flame, your world broke, forever left lost and alone. Tormented by your grief, your mind fractured, and wonderland along with it. Now, only the mad are sane here…
Recommended: 2-6 Players
Challenge: 3/5
Suitable for: Parental discretion is advised for players under 15. An immersive horror experience that contains minimal blood and gore.
Time: 60 Minutes
The Mad Scientist
The genius Professor Prism has an evil plan to destroy the world. Can you and your team work with his laboratory assistant, Alex, and thwart his plans?
This room is for kids only (ages 7-12). The game master takes on the role of Alex and is the guide in the room to support a team of between 4 and 6 players try and turn of The Prisminator before it destroys the world.
Perfect choice for birthdays for younger kids.
Time: 60 Minutes
The Freak Show
Within moments of entering Madame Black’s notorious freak show, bags are thrown over your head as you are dragged away… Dazed and disoriented, you wake up in a cage, destined to be the latest of Madame Black’s victime. Don’t waste a second, you need to escape before Madame Black begins the horrific process of turning you into freaks for her show…
Minimum 3 players
Jump Scares
Small Crawl Spaces/Claustophobic
3-6 Players
Difficulty TBD
5/5 Scary- Not for the faint hearted. No refunds
Time: 60 Minutes
Behind Enemy Lines
Behind enemy lines, they’re coming south.
It’s World War II, you’re an Australian soldier on Japanese soil. Your partner has been captured with crucial information, that if retrieved would result in total victory against the Japanese.
The last message your partner passed by radio, is the location where these documents are hidden. You are here now!
Get the documents to allied head quarters before time runs out. You have 60 minutes, succeed or all hope is lost. God bless.
Players: 2-6
Difficulty: 7/10
Time: 60 Minutes
School’s Out
Will you escape every teenager’s worst nightmare, Friday afternoon detention?
The final siren for the school term has been rung and everyone has raced out of the school to get to the biggest party of the year. However, you and your mates are stuck … in detention. There are rumours that some kids in last year’s class left clues as to how to escape detention if only you can figure them out.
If you escape you will go down in school history as ultimate cool kids, if not …
Difficulty: Medium
Players: 2-6
Time: 60 Minutes
The Nuclear Express
Can you prevent the biggest nuclear disaster in Australian history?
The maiden voyage of the world’s first nuclear powered bullet train has been sabotaged and now The Nuclear Express is hurtling uncontrollably towards Sydney. The only thing that can prevent the train from crashing full speed is you.
You didn’t sign up for this when you purchased your train ticket but you must choose – stop the train or be at the centre of a nuclear explosion.
Difficulty: Hard
Players: 2-6
Time: 60 Minutes
Opening on August 15, 2022
Congratulations to our winners.
Mathew
Amy
The Valley of Cheer
From playing in and hosting many teams through Escape Rooms, I have figured out the most crucial element for a team’s success.
It isn’t a team of all-star thinkers and puzzlers.
It isn’t Sherlock Holmes manifested as a player.
It isn’t even having a sheet with all the room’s codes on it.
The best weapon you can have on your team is: someone who is happy.
I don’t mean just ‘regular’ happy. Good for you if you are content with life in general. You might be a top person, but I want someone on my team overflowing with happiness. Exhilarated, euphoric, jubilant and eternally optimistic. Even if it is just going to be for the 60 minute session of being locked away, a player who remains upbeat and encourages others is worth their weight in gold.
Happy How?
Now you might be wondering: this is just a cheerleader, not a veteran Escaper and Mensa member. It is the effect they have on their teammates, generating good vibes that improve your chances of escaping on time.
Being cheerfully supportive of others (i.e. your team) makes them happier. Being happier not only makes you healthier by stressing less – please ignore our giant countdown timer in the corner of the Room! – it makes your brain work better. Having someone who can see the efforts you are making and recognising them helps boost your self esteem even in just the short term situation.
The endorphins (happiness chemicals in the brain) released by getting involved physically in an Escape Room also help to make your brain more hardy and resistant. Having the payoff of solving the next puzzle and opening the lock is good for your health! And that rush you get with cracking a code is even better when your team recognise it.
Happiness > Key > Success
Our brains are wired up with mirror neurons that influence our response to seeing smiles by making us smile back, and collective laughter helps stimulate brain activity. So when your cheerful players are there to put a positive spin on the experience, even a failure to escape or a missed clue can still lead to a fun moment when a big smile gets shared around the squad. Channeling optimism through the room will keep heads up and access positive emotions more easily.
Live Laugh Leave
I’ll say this as an argument against though: I have hosted teams that have looked to be upset or even angry throughout their time in the room, but then as soon as the timer has stopped (win or lose) have instantly turned into joyous, smiling party-goers. Players are strange people sometimes.
Laughing is a safe way to lessen tension or conflict as it triggers a social side of our brain that encourages harmony and wanting to belong to the group. Having someone able to see the silly side of a frustrating padlock will help get the team back into happy mode.
Happiness > Key > Success
So here’s my Escape Room recommendations for this episode:
1. Start with a smile,
2. Get ready for a laugh,
3. Encourage your teammates.
Enjoy your cheerful escapes!
What in the world is Wordle?
It’s a word finding craze that has spawned multiple spinoffs and captured the attention of millions for six words at a time.*
Players need to guess the day’s preselected five letter word, with each submission given a green shading for a correct letter in the correct spot, a yellow shading for a correct letter in the wrong spot, and nothing for any letter not found at all in the answer.
Go have a try at getting today’s word at
Wordle – A daily word game in your six guess limit. I’ll wait here.
Got it? Good.
Many articles have been written about the site’s ability to share progress with friends (via letterless coloured blocks) or how only one game available per day helps it becoming a huge timesink. But I want to talk about Wordle as a training tool for Escape Rooms.
Come on, it’s codecracking by any other name. We know how big the combination needs to be. We can take the feedback from incorrect answers as our early attempts at interpreting clues in a Room. The elation from an immediate solve or the relief from just scraping in with the correct answer also sound familiar. Have a look around, see what is available, and draw our deductions from there. Is it luck or skill that gets you the result earlier?
Figuring out a correct combination isn’t just guesswork. Your six guesses in Wordle stop random attempts, just as you aren’t going to start spinning dials in an Escape Room. The skillset employed in playing Wordle is both the same as we find used in solving anagrams or competing in Scrabble games. We even started this with the alphabet blocks we were given before we could even read!
At any point in these activities we can see the pieces available in front of us: we have the limits of what our response can be. It’s just a matter of trying things out as our tiny little minds turn the cogs until click! Knowing possibilities (how many five letter words do you know?) and then narrowing it down (how many five letter words do you know that end with “R”?) with every bit of data received is a lot of mental computing that you might not be aware is happening.
In an Escape Room, you could help this selection process by factoring in the theme of the Room. Look at what you’ve already uncovered, find a pattern, apply a mix of logic and creativity in your thinking. Or panic and ask for a hint. Dealing with the constraints of play helps you out in the real world too.
In summary, keep your brain looking for solutions and staying healthy by getting in on word games. Then once you’ve warmed up your intellect, book in your Escape Room visit!
*occasional US misspellings included…
Get Escape Room Super Powers with Morty
If you’re into escape rooms at all (we know you are), then there’s an app you’re going to love. It’s called Morty. Part directory, part online community, Morty is a hub for escape room enthusiasts and newbies alike. Their goal is to make the world of interactive entertainment more accessible and fun for everyone. It includes a number of features that will make it easier to find great escape rooms, keep track of your progress, create more meaningful reviews, and connect with other players.
Locate Venues Near You
With Morty, you can locate escape rooms almost anywhere in the world. You can browse the globe and sort games by distance, personal ratings, or community score. You can even filter out games that you or your friends have already played and get notified when a new room is opening in your area.
While games in some countries are still being added , Morty offers the most accurate escape room database in the world for the United States and is very accurate in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Next up Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, and Spain!
Tracking and Reviewing
In addition to locating games, you can also track the games you’ve played with Morty, and store your escape times, team photos, and whom you played with.
And if you choose to rate or review the game you’ll see an even greater wealth of information that Morty can store.
Morty reviews include basically everything you’ve ever wanted to know about an escape room before booking, and the community has already contributed thousands of reviews. For each room, you can read what other users think about the puzzles, story, atmosphere, customer service, scariness, ideal number of players, and much more.
Community Collaboration
Taking part in the Morty community goes beyond just playing, logging, and reviewing games. You can also add new games to your wishlist for later. And if you invite friends to join, you can read and comment on their reviews and see what rooms are on their wishlist.
You can even collaborate with a group to pick a room that’s best for everyone (automatically excluding games that other group members have played).
Morty also open sources their app database as a way to give back to the community. If you have feedback, an update, or a suggested edit to a game or venue you can submit it right in the app. They’re constantly trying to improve the user experience and make sure their listings are up to date.
Download the Morty App on iOS
That’s Morty! Since it was launched in 2021 the startup has made a lot of progress in just a short time. And there’s still more to be done. Look out for more updates like in-app time slot information, collaborative planning, and a full web version. Download the Morty app (iOS only for now) or check out the Morty website today for more updates and a roadmap of their development-in-progress.
NSW Parents Vouchers, 5 x $50 , if you didn’t know you can use individually or all 5 at one time.
Parent vouchers valid until Sunday 9 October 2022
Create an Escape Room Meme using one of the pictures below.
Screen shot the image, add your text and email to us at era@eludegames.com.au
