ESCAPE ROOM 101: A BRIEF HISTORY

Escape Rooms 101 A Brief History

If you take a look into the history of the worlds countless societies, you will discover that humanity has always loved a challenge. Puzzles, riddles, games that test not only your body but your mind have consistently persevered. Of course, over the millennia, the form these challenges one in has changed, and escape rooms are a perfect modern example.

Although escape rooms are now an incredibly established staple, they only came into existence in the early 2000s. The first example of an escape room appeared at a convention in Indianapolis in 2003, inspired by TV game shows and live action role-playing. It was a high fantasy puzzle experience that captured the hearts of many and paved the way for the over 50,000 escape rooms now available worldwide. The idea was developed by True Adventures LLC, and took inspiration from some early Flash browser games. These video games placed players in a room and encouraged them to look for clues to earn victory and freedom. The aim was to place the player into a different world for a while, and featured immersive props and backdrops to enhance the world building experience. After this incredible success, others started to catch on. The concept truly took off in Asia first, with Japan spearheading the development of the puzzle technology and bringing the idea to the public.

When talking about the history of escape rooms, is it imperative to mention how important the horror genre has been to their popularisation. Long before escape games came into fruition, there were haunted houses. Walk-through horror experiences chalk-full of actors, fake gore, and laughs to last you at least until the end of the day. These were-and often still are- an essential part of Halloween and “spooky season” to many thrill seekers. The existence of horror escape rooms serves to fill this gap for the other 11 months out of the year, testing the players brains and nerves as they race against scares and, sometimes, terrifying actors, to solve the puzzles and escape the cold grasp of defeat.

Technology, as we know, is an ever-growing industry, and as we progress into the brave new digital world, even more magic is becoming possible in escape rooms. From motion sensor activated effects to simulated storms, you’ll never find yourself bored in an escape room.

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