How to Make an Escape Room that Actually Works Using Everyday Stuff
Have you wanted to create a magic moment with your family? How about locking them in a room until they can escape? I created this quick-and-easy Escape Room packet that you can download for free. No kidding.
Use it at a party or just because you want to create some fun for the family after a hard day.
Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind as you plan out your escape room:
What is the story? Theme? What are players trying to do?
Who will be playing? Smaller groups really help get more people involved.
How long will the game last?
What happens if they don’t succeed? (If your team is trying to escape from a desert by building a flying contraption, but don’t make it, they need to drink “inventor juice” to get their ideas flowing again, long enough to survive for you to give them a hint.)
In order to accomplish a goal, players do 1, 2, 3 and then solve big puzzle together. Keep it simple!
Try putting it on storyboard (index cards) or post it notes so you can move things around.
There are lot of different kinds of challenges:
1. Pencil and paper challenges
2. Riddles that are written or spoken
3. Physical challenges may need props or setting up
The best games are about one third tasks, where players are DOING something, like when they see a maze, they instantly know how to do it – they just have to DO it. The next third is PUZZLES, and these feel harder than the tasks because players have to solve something because doing takes nearly no time at all once they figure out what to do. And that last third is the fun – mix in party games like physical challenges (set up a “Success Condition”, like “you can open this envelope as soon as all players do this…”).
Don’t forget to add Red Herrings! The extras you put in there to distract the players.
Also add the “Easter egg” – a bonus super-hard puzzle that gives extra time or a prize at the end. It’s something that doesn’t get in the way of the main game, and is intended for those people who are really passionate about escape rooms and need the extra challenge.