How much does sound design matter?

At RECON, Troy will show us how thoughtful sound design can enhance any immersive experience, and will provide practical guidance on how to improve your audio on any budget.

About Troy

Troy Armstrong is the Director of Product Design for Great Big Game Show, where he leads the creative development of immersive, live-action game show experiences.

Troy has worked in the escape game industry since 2017 and joined The Escape Game in 2020. There he continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the sound and music identity of its award-winning experiences including The Depths, Timeliner, Cosmic Crisis [Golden Lock Award Winner 2024], Ruins, and Legend of the Yeti. He has also collaborated with clients ranging from Nickelodeon (Rugrats) and Cheetos to Disney (Mysterious Benedict Society) and Hulu (Only Murders in the Building).

Troy holds degrees in music composition from the University of Southern California (B.M.) and the University of Texas at Austin (M.M.). An active commissioned composer, his concert works have been performed across the United States, Canada, Central America, Australia, and Europe by distinguished ensembles including the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the U.S. Navy Band.

He currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with his partner, Taylor, and their dog, Elly.

The post How Much Does Sound Design Matter? appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Can you build world class escape rooms by yourself?

Bill Dalitsikas is the founder and creative director of Lockhill, an internationally recognized horror escape room brand based in Athens, Greece. At RECON, Bill will explore his triumphs and struggles as a solo creator, providing invaluable lessons on the risk and rewards of relying too much on yourself.

Bill has faced a lot as a solo creator in one of the world’s most competitive escape room markets. For anyone in a creative field, working solo or with a large team, come take insights from Bill’s experiences to better position you to make creative decisions for your business.

About Bill

Bill Dalitsikas is the founder and creative director of Lockhill, an internationally recognized horror escape room brand based in Athens, Greece.

Over the past decade, his work has received multiple international distinctions and has been ranked among the top horror experiences worldwide, contributing to the broader conversation around narrative-driven immersive design.

Rather than refining a single formula, each new project explores a different direction for the medium. He was among the early adopters of integrating live actors as core gameplay elements and has developed continuous narrative structures and immersive introductions that begin before the first puzzle is touched.

In most of his projects, Bill has worked hands-on across disciplines, from architectural builds and puzzle systems to lighting and sound. This multidisciplinary approach grew from curiosity and necessity and continues to shape how he thinks about creation, collaboration, and long-term sustainability.

Listen to Bill on REPOD

Bill was a guest on Season 9, Episode 12: Designing for Chaos:

The post Can You Build World Class Escape Rooms by Yourself? appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

What’s an escape room business worth?

Marcelo Morales built a multi-location escape room business through acquisitions and original builds. He’ll share his perspective on the value of an escape room business and what choices you can make to increase of decrease that value.

Whether you’re looking to grow your business, or just understand how to run a healthy one, Marcelo will share lessons you can bring back to your own escape room or immersive gaming business.

About Marcelo

Marcelo is a senior project manager for an industrial production line manufacturer and a multi-location escape room owner operating approximately 18 active games across four locations under Encrypted Escape and Captured LV in PA and MD, with experience growing businesses through both acquisitions and original builds. By day, he manages multimillion-dollar industrial projects where capital planning, risk management, and execution discipline are critical. By night, he enters the realm of escape room design, construction and their finances.

He has built games, evaluated, purchased, and integrated existing escape room businesses and learned firsthand that the real challenge begins after the deal closes. Replacing aging games, funding rebuilds, managing cash flow, and maintaining guest experience often cost more than expected, even as acquisitions reduce early risk by avoiding permitting and build-out. His decisions focus on long-term profitability through disciplined reinvestment, careful use of capital, and resisting short-term growth that quietly erodes margins over time.

The post What’s an Escape Room Business Worth? appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

More recently, Christine is best known in the Los Angeles escape room scene as the co-creator the satirical horror escape room 13th Basement at Exit Game OC.

Christine has a million followers across her social media platforms and she uses these platforms to bring people to her escape room venue. Learn how this works at RECON Los Angeles! Her talk is… TikTok (so they want to play your games).

About Christine

Christine Barger is an entertainer, entrepreneur and animal lover. She has been in many projects as an actor in tv shows & movies, as well as performing live comedy and ventriloquism. (One of her little wooden friends also does mentalism.) She has acquired over a million followers across her social media platforms.

An obsession with haunted attractions & escape rooms led to her blog The Haunt Girl and eventually the 13th Basement at Exit Game OC which she built with her husband Jeremiah. Christine believes it’s important to enjoy life and is always doing her best to encourage others to do the same whether it’s by performing, sharing information about a fun new experience, creating experiences herself or simply posting adorable pictures of her cats online to brighten someone’s day.

Listen to Christine on REPOD

Christine was a guest on season 6, episode 3. In this episode you’ll learn more about her background in social media and experience with TikTok.

We continued the conversation with Christine in the Patreon Bonus Episode… and this is one of the few bonus episodes available without supporting us through Patreon. You’re in luck!

The post RECON 24 Speaker Announcement: Christine Barger of 13th Basement appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

“You never know why something will go viral, and it doesn’t matter why. They’ll still come.”

If social media was an escape room, most owners and designers would never find the key. Navigating all the different trends and social media apps is a daunting task, and it’s even harder when most escape rooms don’t allow photos or videos of their games.

That’s why we brought in an expert. In this special release of our Patreon Exclusive Bonus episode from Season 6, Episode 3, we talk to social media influencer and the owner of Exit Game OC, Christine Barger. Exit Game OC not only allows filming during their game, they actively encourage it. They also capture footage of their guests filming TikToks for their own social media.

Christine explains that all these players “want to market you. For Free.” and wonders why more escape rooms don’t take advantage of this free, viral marketing opportunity. We also discuss hiring practices and how to foster kindness towards players. This is a can’t-miss conversation. For more episodes like this, support our podcast by joining our Patreon today.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are immensely grateful to our sponsors in the off-season. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

Who Killed Ickey?

Who Killed Ickey? is a madcap treasure hunt from Galbraith Literary Publishers taking place on January 27, 2024, with prizes totaling fifty thousand dollars. This hunt is designed by John Bromels, a member of the team running this year’s MIT Mystery Hunt.

Who Killed Ickey? Details

• Grand prize of $25k to fastest team.
• Next 10 fastest teams win prizes with total value of $20k.
• There are mini puzzles every week, and solvers are entered into a drawing to win more prizes.
• Neither the book (which is set in 1977 San Francisco) nor the Hunt are related to recent global events in any way.
• The Who Killed Ickey? treasure hunt begins at 10 am pacific time on January 27, 2024 and ends at 4:30 pm pacific time.
• You can learn more at the Who Killed Ickey? website.

Morty

Morty is a free app for discovering, planning, tracking, and reviewing your escape rooms and other immersive social outings.

Morty News:

• Morty now features haunt attractions!
• Morty for Android is here and in public beta.

Special Badge for REPOD listeners:

You can learn more at MortyApp.com/REPOD to sign up and get a special badge for our listeners. (This works for existing users too!)

Topics Discussed in this Episode

• 00:03 Thank you to sponsors Who Killed Ickey? Treasure Hunt and Morty App
• 02:31 Voiceover Work and Breaking into the Industry
• 02:55 Discussing NPH and Peter Pan Gone Wrong
• 03:50 Using Actors in an Escape Room
• 04:35 The Role of Insurance in Game Design
• 06:45 The Art of Answering Questions
• 10:18 Social Media Management and Viral Content

• 14:10 Creating Engaging Content for Escape Rooms

• 21:47 Sponsor Break: Who Killed Ickey? Treasure Hunt
• 24:20 More Examples of Viral Escape Room Content
• 25:14 Respecting Privacy and Authenticity in Content Creation
• 28:15 Hiring Practices and Employee Expectations
• 29:27 Importance of Inclusivity and Open-mindedness in Employees
• 31:10 The Importance of Empathy and Accommodation in Gamemasters
• 32:52 The Role of Gamemasters in Ensuring Positive Player Experience
• 37:13 The Challenges of Gamemastering
• 43:01 Recommendations for Haunted Attractions and Escape Rooms
• 52:24 Upcoming Projects and Events

Leave us a voicemail

Got a question or thought for the podcast? You can submit a voice recording by calling the Room Escape Artist not-so-hotline that always goes straight to voicemail (551-227-7273).

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Show Notes for REPOD S6E3: Pics or It Didn’t Happen with Christine Barger, The Haunt Girl
• Peter Pan Goes Wrong
• Exit Game OC TikTok
• The Exit Game OC Website
• The Haunt Girl Website
• Christine Barger Website
• Christine Barger Youtube
• The Haunt Girl Youtube
• REA Review of 13th Basement

About Christine Barger

Social Media Handles:

• Everywhere: @TheHauntGirl
• Everywhere: @ExitGameOC
• Everywhere: @ChristineBarger
• Instagram: @ChristineBargerOfficial

Christine Barger is an entertainer, entrepreneur and animal lover. She has been in many projects as an actor in tv shows & movies, as well as performing live comedy and ventriloquism. (One of her little wooden friends also does mentalism.) She has acquired over a million followers across her social media platforms.

An obsession with haunted attractions & escape rooms led to her blog The Haunt Girl and eventually the 13th Basement at Exit Game OC which she built with her husband Jeremiah. Christine believes it’s important to enjoy life and is always doing her best to encourage others to do the same whether it’s by performing, sharing information about a fun new experience, creating experiences herself or simply posting adorable pictures of her cats online to brighten someone’s day.

Support REPOD

• Subscribe to Patreon for bonus content.
• Please rate and review our podcast!

Thanks for listening!

Support Room Escape Artist’s Mission

There are lots of ways to support Room Escape Artist, like buying from Amazon or Etsy after clicking into the links included in this post or backing us on Patreon.

The money that we make from these helps us to grow the site and continue to add more value to the community that we love so much.

The post REPOD Special Release Bonus Episode from S6E3: Going Viral with Christine Barger appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

“It’s about whether you want to be culturally relevant in 2023.”

In Season 6, Episode 3 of REPOD, we discuss the importance of social media marketing with The Haunt Girl—Christine Barger, co-owner of The Exit Game OC. Her game, 13th Basement, is a hilarious comedy-horror escape room that’s self-aware and parodies typical escape room tropes. Christine has almost a million followers on TikTok as an entertainer and haunt/ escape room influencer.

The conversation moves from haunts to being an escape room blogger. Christine tells us how she finally made the leap from influencer to escape room creator. Christine is one of the very few owners who allows players to film her entire game, and she actively encourages them to post in-game footage on social media. Hear what she has to say about why this is essential for growing your escape room business. 

It was fascinating to hear Christine’s approach to social media for her escape room business, especially when she explains her background as an influencer and social media whiz. She’s leveraged in-game footage to create viral videos with millions of views, driving new players to her escape room. This is a can’t-miss conversation for those looking to improve their marketing game.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: Morty App, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

Morty

Morty is a free app for discovering, planning, tracking, and reviewing your escape rooms and other immersive social outings.

Morty News:

• Morty now features haunt attractions!
• Morty for Android is here and in public beta.

Special Badge for REPOD listeners:

You can learn more at MortyApp.com/REPOD to sign up and get a special badge for our listeners. (This works for existing users too!)

Buzzshot

Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS.

Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:

REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.

COGS

COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when.

Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:

REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

• [3:03] Christine talks about starting her Haunt Girl blog because she was the go-to gal when it came to finding the best haunts and she was tired of responding to her friends individually. 
• [6:55] Christine tells us what she looks for in haunts, and what makes for a bad haunt experience, including crowded conga lines and people getting too grabby. She also talks about the downside of working as a scare actor in haunts, including being punched and grabbed inappropriately.
• [12:21] Peih-Gee and Christine talk about upping the scare (and the fun) factor by not hiding behind your cynical friends in scary escape rooms. Peih-Gee also shares her advice for enjoying haunts while avoiding getting mobbed by the scare actors.
• [16:40] Christine talks about how she got involved with content creation for social media apps, starting with Musical.ly. She tells us about being recruited from a party entertainer website to create videos as a ventriloquist. 
• [22:57] Christine talks about what motivated her to take the leap from escape room blogger to escape room owner and designer. She tells us that an opportunity with a location set everything into motion and explains that having the building permits already handled made a huge difference.
• [25:58] Christine talks about how creating her own escape room changed how she judges other escape rooms as an enthusiast and blogger.
• [27:04] David talks about feeling a similar way and how his desire to change the information flowing into the escape room industry prompted Room Escape Artist to create RECON.
• [29:44] Christine talks about her escape room, 13th Basement, which is a horror comedy that lovingly mocks escape rooms. She tells us some of her goals when building the game, including making sure that it was as inclusive and accessible as possible. 
• [32:25] Christine talks about paying homage to 13th Gate Escape Rooms in Baton Rouge, which was a primary inspiration for her own escape room. The name also references The Basement in Los Angeles, and 13th Hour in New Jersey.
• [36:08] Christine talks about feeling cynical about moments in escape rooms that used to really excite her, like hidden doors, and she explains that in her game, she wanted to recapture that magic for both new players and enthusiasts.
• [39:40] Christine tells us the narrative of her game, and Peih-Gee talks about enjoying escape rooms that acknowledge you’re at an escape room, but with a twist.
• [41:45] Peih-Gee talks about how Exit Games OC allows players to video and film inside their games, and what a brilliant marketing move it is. Christine talks about her reasons for allowing players to film her game and expresses her frustration with owners who don’t want to show off their beautiful sets.

• [47:53] Christine and David talk about the importance of welcoming influencers to escape rooms and staying relevant in 2023.
• [49:13] Christine tells us that the players have been very respectful of not spoiling the game even though they’re allowed to film everything.
• [52:14] Christine and David talk about originality and creativity in creating puzzles.
• [54:50] Christine talks about using her escape room and in-game videos to create viral content for social media that has brought in many new players to her game.
• [57:10] Christine talks about being a ventriloquist, and David shares his memory of acting as her dummy during a performance.
• [59:59] Christine talks about her love of GISH, The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt. This was a very competitive scavenger hunt with outlandish requests, ranging from getting a Democrat and a Republican to be in the same T-shirt at the same time, to convincing your friends to don sardine costumes on a commercial flight.
• [1:10:28] Christine tells a bonus story about the time she and her husband booked into a public escape room and were surprised with the players they ended up joining. 

Leave us a voicemail

Got a question or thought for the podcast? You can submit a voice recording by calling the Room Escape Artist not-so-hotline that always goes straight to voicemail (551-227-7273).

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• The Exit Game OC Website
• The Haunt Girl Website
• Christine Barger Website
• Christine Barger Youtube
• The Haunt Girl Youtube
• REA Review of 13th Basement

About Christine Barger

Social Media Handles:

• Everywhere: @TheHauntGirl
• Everywhere: @ExitGameOC
• Everywhere: @ChristineBarger
• Instagram: @ChristineBargerOfficial

Christine Barger is an entertainer, entrepreneur and animal lover. She has been in many projects as an actor in tv shows & movies, as well as performing live comedy and ventriloquism. (One of her little wooden friends also does mentalism.) She has acquired over a million followers across her social media platforms.

An obsession with haunted attractions & escape rooms led to her blog The Haunt Girl and eventually the 13th Basement at Exit Game OC which she built with her husband Jeremiah. Christine believes it’s important to enjoy life and is always doing her best to encourage others to do the same whether it’s by performing, sharing information about a fun new experience, creating experiences herself or simply posting adorable pictures of her cats online to brighten someone’s day.

Support REPOD

• Subscribe to Patreon for bonus content.
• Please rate and review our podcast!

Thanks for listening!

Support Room Escape Artist’s Mission

There are lots of ways to support Room Escape Artist, like buying from Amazon or Etsy after clicking into the links included in this post or backing us on Patreon.

The money that we make from these helps us to grow the site and continue to add more value to the community that we love so much.

The post REPOD S6E3: Pics or It Didn’t Happen with Christine Barger, The Haunt Girl appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

The killing joke

Location:  Anaheim, CA

Date Played: March 6, 2022

Team size: 2-8; we recommend 4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $35 per player ($105 for teams of 2 on Friday-Sunday)

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: wheelchair-friendly game

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

13th Basement marks an interesting milestone for escape rooms. It’s the second satirical escape room that we’ve encountered (following The Experiment from Get the F Out). As the name implies, it was having a bit of fun with horror escape rooms, which are abundant in Southern California.

This all begs a few questions:

• Is it good? Yes
• Is it funny? Yup
• Is it scary? A tiny bit…more goofing on horror than being horror
• How much do I have to know about escape rooms to enjoy this game? It’s enjoyable in a vacuum, but overwhelmingly more entertaining if you’ve experienced horror escape room tropes enough to roll your eyes at the common ones.

This is the first game made by longtime escape room blogger/ vlogger Christine Barger and her partner. Throughout 13th Basement their experience and awareness truly shine. This was most evident in some of the unusual structural decisions that they made to both the flow of the game (which I shall not spoil)… and the way that they treat players.

They allow players to freely take selfies and shoot video, simply asking that we don’t spoil puzzles (which would be a legitimately hard to do without really trying to):

A satirical escape room only works if enough players “get it.” I don’t know how many regions throughout the US have a density of quality escape rooms as well as a large enough repeat player audience to pull this off, but Southern California is the most logical location for satirical escape rooms to emerge. It’s a sign of maturity that anyone can even dream about pulling this off. And while The Experiment isn’t around anymore, I like 13th Basement’s chances.

Beyond the meta analysis, 13th Basement was a really strong escape game. It had a great assortment of puzzles, and its creators leaned heavily into their strengths, using video brilliantly… while using tech more sparingly. It’s a classic example of leaning into what you’re good at to create an excellent experience.

Southern California has an abundance of fantastic escape rooms, and 13th Basement comfortably joins that list. If you’re an escape room fan in the region, check it out… and take a few selfies.

Who is this for?

• Escape room fans
• Dark comedy fans
• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Best for players with at least some experience

Why play?

• Legitimately funny, especially if you get escape room humor
• Innovative gameplay and structure
• The video content is fantastic
• You’re free to take selfies in the game, and there are some great places to do so

Story

Abducted by a serial killer and hobbyist escape room designer, we had 60 minutes to solve his puzzles or die brutal deaths.

Setting

13th Basement was set in a combination murder basement/ torture chamber. Everything in this space was a hyperbolic version of classic horror escape room tropes found in US horror escape rooms (which are especially prevalent in Southern California).

There was a lot of detail put into the set, and while it was a generally low tech room, it made especially great use of video content.

Gameplay

Exit Game’s 13th Basement was a standard escape room (and also a parody of an escape room) with a lower level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, solving puzzles, and communicating.

To fully appreciate the gameplay, you need to have played handful of other horror escape rooms.

The gameplay included minor jump scares, but overall, the game was more funny than scary.

Analysis

 13th Basement was a parody of horror escape rooms, which are plentiful in the Southern California. Almost every interaction, puzzle, and prop was a joke. If you’ve played at least a handful of escape games in this style, it will be hilarious. (And if you haven’t, 13th Basement was a still good escape room in its own right.)

 Exit Game minded the details to sell the parody. The name “13th Basement” was clever. The promotional poster was a riot.

 13th Basement was exceptionally Instagram-able. The torture devices were designed for the selfie. Exit Game focused their set design where it mattered, and encouraged players to enjoy their efforts.

 13th Basement had a balanced split start. It was not overly intimidating. We enjoyed the interplay in this segment.

 We recommend caging one early prop that tall players could easily grab. This would avoid possible sequence breaking at this juncture.

 Exit Game leaned into all the tropes: waivers, blacklights, prison toilets, directional inputs, post game photos, and more. With each one, they created a puzzle that was fun and funny, and avoided the pitfalls that have made these into tropes. The gameplay was playful.

 The loud sound effects overstayed their welcome. Going a little overboard with a loud jump scare was funny. That was part of the parody. Eventually, however, it was a bit grating.

 The videos were great, in both the script and the acting. They set the tone well.

 13th Basement rewards awareness. If you want to be in on the jokes, do your homework (play horror escape rooms!) and be on your toes as you play.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Update 10/8/24: If you want to hear more about 13th Basement, back us on Patreon at the “Search Win!” level to get access to a Spoilers Club Episode about this game. Reality Escape Pod co-hosts David and Peih-Gee talk all about it with the creators, spoilers and all.

Update 10/17/23: If you enjoy 13th Basement, we hope you’ll check out our interview with creator Christine Barger on The Reality Escape Pod.

Book your hour with Exit Game’s 13th Basement, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Exit Game comped our tickets for this game.

The post Exit Game – 13th Basement [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.