An escape room is an exciting, interactive game wherein the players are challenged to solve puzzles and complete tasks in a set timeframe to “escape” a room. This excitement has made racing against the clock to solve mysteries hot for groups.
But you don’t have to always Google for a “professional escape room near me” to have fun-you can make your own at home! Designing a DIY escape game can be an excellent and unique way to make your usual gatherings memorable, fun, and enjoyable. Be it a family game night, a birthday party, or a creative challenge for your friends, everyone will love it.
You may think that building your very own escape room is a big idea, but have no fear, with some planning, it’s going to make it an easy and enjoyable process. Here we go through the steps of designing your very own escape room, complete with puzzles, themes, and clever clues:
Step 1: Choose a Theme
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The theme will set the stage for your game in its entirety and become rather instrumental in guiding your story, puzzles, and clues. Here are some popular themes for your escape room:
– Mystery Detective: Find who done did it or lost the missing person.
– Treasure Hunt: Solve and find hidden treasure or unlock the gates to a valuable prize.
– Spy Mission: Secret agents that have to stop a bad villain or retrieve stolen plans.
– Time Travel: Go through time, solve puzzles, and get back to the present.
Now, once you have your theme, everything else will follow, from puzzles to decorations to your story.
Step 2. Create a Storyline
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A good storyline of an escape room is normally clear and engaging. The storyline is the explanation of how players have ended up in the room and what they must do to get out of it before it is too late. Keep your story clear but intriguing enough. For example:
– In a Mystery Detective theme, the story can follow a famous painting that gets stolen and players will have 60 minutes to retrieve it.
– In a Treasure Hunt theme, the players become adventurers racing against time to find the treasure hidden in a cursed temple.
The story provides purpose and holds onto the engagement levels of the players throughout the whole game.
Step 3: Set up the Space
Once you have your theme and story, it’s time to transform your home into the escape room. Ideally, you want to select a room that can easily be modified; you can either opt for a living room, bedroom, or even the garage. Here are some few tips on setting up your space:
– Limit access: Where possible, block off certain areas so that players remain within the designated “escape room” area.
-Decorate: Add in accessories that fit the theme. Maybe for a detective, there are old books, magnifying glasses, and “evidence” strewn about the room. For a treasure hunt, fake maps, coins, and mysterious artifacts may be used.
-Hide clues and puzzles: All the clues and objects will be hidden in the room for the players to find. Tuck items inside books, under cushions, or behind picture frames to make it harder.
Ensure the room isn’t cluttered too much. Players might become confused by too much going on at once. So, try to keep the entire space simple yet enjoyable and fun!
Step 4: Design Puzzles and Clues
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An escape room is basically constituted by puzzles and clues. They require hard thinking and teamwork by its players in solving problems together. You can create various puzzles according to your theme and available materials. Here are a few examples of common types of puzzles that you can include:
– Lock and Key: Hide keys in different corners around the room. Those keys open the locks. The players will find which key fits which locks before proceeding
– Codes and Ciphers: Use number or letter codes. Players have to decode the same. You can create clues for combinations of different numbers and letters. For example, place numbers on objects within the room.
– Physical Puzzles: Require the player to manipulate objects to reach a goal. Examples include matching-colored objects in a certain order or arrangement, for example
– Word Games: Create riddles or crossword puzzles that, upon solution, reveal important clues.
– Hidden Objects: Conceal clues in such objects as envelopes, books, or drawers.
One of the coolest ways to create a puzzle is using blacklight ink! For this, write a hidden message on the wall or on paper with invisible ink. Then hand the players a UV flashlight that they will use to reveal the message!
Step 5: Set a Time Limit
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A professional escape room usually has a standard time limit of 60 minutes, but you can set it according to how complicated your puzzles are and the experience of the players. If your team is new to escape rooms, you might give them 75-90 minutes just so they have enough time to solve everything.
A kitchen timer, a phone alarm, or a stopwatch works wonders when it comes to tracking time. You can even build the tension with a background musical score that suits your theme-for example, the music might be suspenseful in a detective’s room or maybe adventurous in a treasure hunt room.
Step 6: Test Your Escape Room
It is crucial to test out your DIY escape room before you have players playing it. In this way, you can easily check if everything is going as per your plans. Moreover, it will help you understand if the puzzles and challenges are too tough or too easy.
Hence, testing your escape room will help you to discover any mistakes that you may have made in the process. Then, you can quickly rectify it before you have your friends or family play it!
Bonus Tips
– Apply technology: Utilize intelligent devices, like asking a player to send clues or play pre-recorded messages from a “mysterious character” in the story.
– Award rewards: Offer minute prizes for teams arriving on time, such as candies or fun trophies.
– Tailor puzzles based on players’ interests: It would be more personalized and fun since you are shaping puzzles according to the interests or talents of the players.
Conclusion
If you have always liked the idea of designing your escape room but never had the guts, now is the time to unleash your potential! With these six easy steps, you can now easily design your customized escape room experience. So, prepare to design your creative DIY escape game and once you’re done, invite your friends or family to enjoy it together!
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