Oct 22

Seeking the Lost Chagama

Asylum Escape

Retro Revenge

For years I poured my heart and soul into creating a video game; Retro Revenge, but no one wanted to play it. Instead, I was shunned, ridiculed, and scorned. So, I set up my basement and started MAKING people play it. What a thrill to see the terror in their eyes, watching them tremble as they try to solve my devious puzzles.

If they’re smart enough to succeed, I return them to their mundane life. But for most, it is Game Over… forever.

… I see my new players have just woken up! Let the game begin…

Features:

You are the real-life players of a serial killer’s game based on all things retro. The room features darkness, mild jump scares and horror themes, but also a good dose of quirkiness and fun thrown in.

Level of Difficulty: TBD
Group Size 2-8 / Age: 2 to 8 people – Ages 15+

Duration: 60 Minutes

Da Vinci

For hundreds of years, the world speculated whether Leonardo Da Vinci was hiding his genius works somewhere.
That is until now. Archeologists have discovered an underground secret lair, rumoured to be filled with Da Vinci’s greatest inventions. However… no one has made it out alive.
You and your team have been enlisted to venture into the depths of the underground to uncover his inventions and find a way out! But, it seems that Da Vinci won’t give up his secrets that easily.
Do you have what it takes to outwit one of the most intelligent men in history? BOOK NOW!

Players: 2-6
Difficulty 4/5

Duration: 60 Minutes

The Black Pearl

Stowed away on a pirate ship, you hear the mutiny of the captain, you find yourselves on a cursed ghost ship and now you and your friends must uncover the location of the curse treasure chest and return the items that were once stolen or suffer the same fate as the rest of the crew…

Warning: A very small percentage of people may experience a seizure when exposed to certain visual images, including flashing lights or patterns that may appear in this game, please advise your Game Master on arrival.

Players: 2-6
Difficulty 3/5

Duration: 60 Minutes

Extraction

Extract the artefact and don’t get caught… easier said than done when the item is held in a secret lab in Area 51. Our technology can get you in, but after that, you’re on your own. We hope you have what it takes… after all, the future of the planet is at stake!

​Extraction is an immersive, action-packed adventure set across multiple levels with loads of fun physical elements. Be the star of your own action movie!

For fans of Mission Impossible, James Bond, Science Fiction

​Extraction may not be suitable for players with knee or back problems or existing medical conditions.

Physical Game Elements:
Extraction may not be suitable if you have severe back or knee problems

Extraction Physical Elements:

• Spiral Staircase
• Regular Staircase
• 8m Tunnel (1m x 1m)
• Spiral Tunnel Slide
• Enclosed climb (3 x 1m high platforms – foothold at 50cm)

​
It is possible to bypass all elements except for the stairs.

Other effects include some loud sounds, flashing lights and fog machine effects.

Players: 2-6

Duration: 75 Minutes

Click Image for Answer

The Adventure of the Six Napoleons

Too many cooks spoil the broth but many hands make light of work.
What’s the best balance of leadership for a team in an Escape Room?
What’s the best form of leadership for a player in an Escape Room?

Being in a front row seat, I’ve seen all kinds of team structures appear.
Here’s a short [and by no means exhaustive] list:

–Two Players: Mainly talking about the teams who are also couples. Usually they have a good dynamic (hence the relationship), but I’ve seen a few pairs look ready to call it quits while aggressively arguing the best puzzle approach, only to complete the room and be all smiles and happiness again on exit. A first date? An even more entertaining display (for me anyway) of who takes the lead.

–The Family: So the basic family unit takes its lead generally from mum or dad. It’s usually pretty easy for us hosts to see who leads more at home when the family members defer more to one or the other. But what if the parents get something wrong? How well can they acknowledge that their kids have a better idea on one puzzle than they do? It happens a fair bit. I’ve delivered the clue “Hey: Listen to the kids!” many times. I’ve got a lot of respect for the parents who bring their kids into the play, showing patience and character to bring the best out of their children.

–The Kids’ Party: Mayhem. Almost always just pure mayhem. The main issue will be the lack of a driving agent (parent?), someone who can bring the focus back to the next puzzle. Not having a person filling this role means that panic often takes their place, and throwing attention wildly at everything in the room can sometimes pay off.

–The Corporate Booking: Doing a fun activity instead of work? Yes please! (This was my first Escape experience too!) Already existing team structures can have a system of leadership from the office, but what works in accounting might not work in an Escape Room. The boss might step up and take charge, or the team might be shuffled to see who else can show some leadership. There are plenty of good reasons more and more businesses are using Escape Rooms not just for team-building, but for growing leadership and for hiring ventures.

–Settled Teams: The dream. Everyone knows their strengths in terms of Escape Room puzzle types. These guys have finished lots of Rooms together, and have figured out that Alice is best at number-based problems, Kat works well with colour patterns, and Lawrence is king of the more athletic puzzles.

Two of the leadership forms we notice in Escape Rooms are the players who play coach, involving all the team members through good communication and empathy; and those that can drive the team forward through delegating players to puzzles and tasks to make the most of their time and experience.
Any player, no matter their age or experience, can exhibit these [or other] characteristics across the wild play of an Escape Room. Good leadership brings out the best in the team, and ideally: gets them out of the Room on time.

(Our next edition is going to be about pre-game rituals: what does your team do to get psyched up before going into an Escape Room? Let us know at era@eludegames.com.au)

Grille

A grille, also known as a cutout, is a great way to hide your message away in text that you know will be seen no matter what. We aren’t going to try and hide this text, only our intended message. Prepare for arts and crafty codes!

Our old French mate Cardinal Richelieu, is credited with coming up with method of concealment back in the 1600s, cutting holes in a card to plot out a message, then hiding it within a larger block of text that looked like an innocent letter.

Grilling 101

Step 1: Figure out what message you want to send.

Step 2: Obscure the message by adding in filler-words in between your message-words so it makes sense as a separate piece of writing. Your original message should appear in a scattered fashion, but one that can clearly be read in order going downwards.

Step 3: Get a piece of paper or card and cut out small holes so that your message shows through. Use a hobby knife or fancy scissors for this, and be careful!

Step 4: Fill in the gaps on the message paper with your filler-words.

Step 5: Make a copy of the grille for your friend so they can uncover the hidden message. Use your original grille as a stencil to duplicate.

Step 6: For your future correspondence, start by using the grille to create a message on blank paper. Then remove the grille, add your filler-words and go again!

Barbecued

This method does have limitations. Both you and your friend need to have the same grille, and if you lose it there is the trouble of replacing the physical replica.

To Grill Or Not To Grille?

Even earlier than Richelieu’s system, Doctor Cardano of Milan used basically the same method, but based it around smaller removed sections so that it focussed on singular letters instead of whole words. This can be a bit more versatile in building your ‘filler’ text to hide in, but it likely means your hidden message will be shorter.

Cutting Edge Of Escape Rooms

Anything could be used as a source text for a message. Find a book, poem, invoice – any of these could contain the words to a secret message. It’s only when we find a grille that we know to actively look for a source. Overlay the grill over the correct text and off you go!

With Australia’s borders open, many of us are taking interstate and international trips again. My go-to resource when planning travel is the Top Escape Rooms Project (TERPECA) website. TERPECAs is a list of enthusiast-nominated and voted best rooms internationally. Yes, I plan my travel around escape rooms, that’s normal behaviour right?
Last year twenty Australian rooms were nominated in TERPECA Phase 1, and it’s a great ‘should play’ list of games and companies. We’re excitedly planning a trip to Spain where there appears to be a concentration of highly rated games.
This is the fourth year of the TERPECAs, and nominators need to have a played 200+ escape rooms (including live online games) and voters 100+ rooms. If you have played 50 rooms please get your application to vote in before 1st October and you’ll be considered under last year’s required minimum. These requirements mean that as enthusiasts you know that the recommendations are the views by experienced players.
Australian rooms were probably under-represented in the 2021 TERPECAs because last year we only had seven voters. If you love Australian escape rooms and qualify to nominate or vote, please apply, we need you! This video walks you through the application process. It’s a satisfying feeling contributing to this international resource with other enthusiasts.
The TERPECAs were set up by Rich Bragg and a group of international enthusiasts who were unimpressed by many of the ‘best escape room’ lists which seemed to be random or popularity contests.
If you have questions please reach us through the TERPECA website.
As you can guess I’m really excited for this year’s awards!

• Dubbo Escape Rooms
• Elude Escape Rooms
• Escape Hunt Sydney
• Escape Rooms Albury
• Escape Rooms Central Coast
• Labyrinth Escape Rooms
• Mission Escape
• Narrow Escape Rooms
• Next Level Escape
• Room Eight Escape Rooms
• Scram Escape Rooms
• Social Escape Rooms Sydney
• The Cipher Rooms