escapeesanonymous-blog
Escapees Anonymous
Up and coming professional gamer, and escapee from weird places. Who am I?
16 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
d-bhc
Dave's Faves
wangwrites
› D A Y D R E A M
spacetravels
the universe continues to be in the present tense.
sierz
Sierz
Text
Extra Life 2019 Starts.......NOW, with an interesting question.
How many escape rooms can I complete in 24 hours? I’ve been participating in Extra Life for 5 years now. Last year was a big landmark for me because for the first time I raised $500. I love this charity, and am super proud to be making such an impact. This year I wanted to do something bigger. I want to hit the $1000 mark. My question was how. So here’s the challenge I’m throwing down.
At the latest, in November I will be participating in a 24 hour gaming marathon. For every $100 raised I will plan to do one escape room. The primary goal is to see if I can do 12 rooms in 24 hours. It can go bigger though. The crazy goal would be 24 rooms in less than 24 hours. I will be documenting the experience here, but this can only happen with your help. If you want to see me try the crazy then follow the link below to make a donation.
0 notes
Text
Yoga, Money, and Job Hunting Oh My
Hey Everyone,
I want to try to minimize the life talk, but at the same time I feel it is valuable. Not only for me, but in the event someone is going through the same situation it might help them feel a little less alone.
Anyway, the past couple of weeks have been challenging. At the same time good things came from them. First off I AM BROKE! At my current job we got paid early for December, and that plus a $1000 car repair lead to me living this month off of spare change. To me this just locks in my desire to get out of this job. On top of that the people I work with are literally driving me insane. fun....
I’ve been trying a few new things to help counter my depressed/anxious ways, and through HQ trivia I stumbled onto DDPY (DDP Yoga). I personally haven’t been a fan of yoga, but Diamond Dallas has changed my mind. He’s made it user friendly, fun, and it is helping my back out a lot. I have scoliosis (my back is an actual S shape), and over the past year I’ve been experiencing more chronic pain. Doing his routines for the past few days though has helped with the pain dramatically. I’m going to keep working with this, and see how far it goes.
Still waiting/working on finding a new job, and my goal still stands. By March 1st I intend to be at a new job. If I’m not I want to at least be on the way out. In the meantime! I get paid this Friday, I’m going to Myrtle Beach for a few days this weekend, and I feel like I’ve been on Escape Room Withdraw. Look forward to actual reviews starting next week.
Until Then,
Anonymous
0 notes
Text
This Weeks Battle Plans/Opportunities
Only into the second week of 2019, and opportunities are beginning to pop up left and right. This week alone....
1. Talking with one escape room business about a partnership.
2. The current franchise escape room I work at wants me to move up to running the place.
3. I’m STILL finding jobs to apply for left and right.
The point is that I will soon be able to leave my current job, and that will be a blessing in itself. I have a lot of problems right now due to my current job, and the only things standing in my way are finding a new job and paying off a special loan (which will be done by the end of February). This is the first time I’m able to think past the realm of IF I can leave. Now it’s only a matter of WHEN. Have a good week everyone, and I will see you soon.
Anonymous
0 notes
Text
How Accurate Are Escape Rooms Escape Rooms?
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is anonymous, and today I want to talk about the new movie Escape Room. With a current rating of 52% on Rotten Tomatoes I’m not here to review the movie in that light. Personally I enjoyed it! My question going into the theater was simple.
“Are the rooms shown good examples of escape rooms?”
With this movie potentially being the first example a new player is going to think about now I feel it’s important to look at it critically. What’s accurate to the game, and what’s not even close. On that note let’s start digging. Also, potential spoilers ahead!!
To start things off, let’s cover the things that are done wrong. The biggest error is that as the game goes on the movie loses it’s cooperative vibe, and becomes more “survival of the fittest.” This is especially seen in the 5th room where 2 of the players end up fighting over the one antidote. To be clear, escape rooms are co-op style games, where everyone wins or everyone loses. Even if the room has an elimination mechanic it then becomes if one person wins all win. The other part is that not all rooms end in death! The amount of stories found in escape rooms are almost limitless. And besides, the actual death is in the movies just for the action. Now let’s get to what they do right!
OH ONE MORE THING! If I see you breaking cameras in the rooms like the main character did I will HUNT YOU DOWN AND….*inhale* you know what? Just don’t do it ok?
Escape Room Basics
In order there are six rooms in the movie. Last chance for deep spoilers….
1. The waiting room seen in previews
2. The ice room, which is another popular preview clip
3. The upside down room, which is the last of the preview clips
4. The poison room where our GAME BREAKER GOES OFF THE RAILS!!
5. The antidote room which I’m going to pretty much ignore
6. The parlor room
All the rooms provided you with three of the key elements to an escape room. A timed event, based on challenges of puzzles and logic, with a consequence if you are unable to finish in time. I could do examples for each, but to save time let’s focus on one example.
In the parlor room our player had to solve riddles in order to get the proper combination to open a door. If he didn’t do it in time he would have been crushed alive by the room. To clarify for those who are in the boat of “there was no clock” know that there was. Not all timers are in plain sight, and in this case the timer was the wall sliding ever closer.
Good Starting Puzzles
It’s clear that the rooms were difficult, but one big thing to consider is that the first puzzle was easily accessible, and meant to be solved quickly. Take example our ice room. Upon arrival they had to solve a seven letter lock (yes not all locks are numbers). After a few educated guesses based on one of the clues, one of the players has a…..delightful flashback and knows that the answer. The kicker though is that even if he wasn’t there given enough time the team would have figured it out. How? Let me share with you the clues found in the room, and see if you can figure it out. Ready?
Up above the fireplace was a sign that said, “You’ll go down in history.”
The setting was a cabin, and on one was 9 sets of reindeer antlers.
On the plaques for each set of antlers was a letter. The letters were D, D, P, V, C, C, D, B, R
You figured it out? The answer was Rudolph. One common rule in escape rooms is that the entire game should be able to be solved in 60 minutes or less, by the average Joe. Where do the failures come in? When we start pulling something from nothing, and look at the wrong details. Using only the first clue the team was trying to use seven letter presidents for crying out loud! On another note, whatever you need, so that you can escape is normally already provided for you in the room. Which leads to my only negative about the ice room. If one challenge is going to be to get a key out of a block of ice, you should provide them with a tool or means to do so. Throw in one more puzzle, or task to provide them with a means of chipping ice, and it would’ve been perfect…….for an entertaining deathtrap.
Style of Game Play
The last thing I want to cover is the overall execution of the rooms. When it comes to how the rooms tic they all hit the right notes. One task leading to the next, until you successfully escape. This covers how most escape rooms are designed. It is known as a linear format. The best example of this would be the parlor room, second being the waiting room. The remaining rooms follow the opposite approach. NON linear. In this case it is clear where the finish line is, but how to get there isn’t as clear until all the pieces come together. In the upside down room it was clear that they needed to get through a door, but needed a nob. They eventually found a safe, but no code. One found a slide puzzle, but the answer wasn’t clear. You get the idea. Once all the pieces came into place the room could be successfully completed. Of course it is also safe to say that nonlinear rooms are normally some of the toughest. Mainly because it requires a little bit more knowledge about how an escape room tics in order to be successful.
In conclusion if I were to have to explain what an escape room is I would happily show someone one of these rooms , as a brief tutorial. They cover all of the important points, and are very engaging. The one that hits all the right points to me? Hands down the waiting room. Clearly a linear room, a smooth progression from idea to idea, with clues and props that fit the environment. I must go now. I need to prepare for an exciting week full of opportunities. You’ll hear from me soon though.
Sincerely,
Anonymous
#escape#escape room#escape rooms#games#gaming#game#co op games#cooperative#cooperation#co op#cooperative games#playmoregames#movie
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Time to get alive from 8-10
I got home from work, ate dinner, recovered a little, and now I’m going to work on a new way to talk to you all. Obviously this might take a week or so to get solid, but with a mic in tow I’m going to take this to the next level.
To whom it may concern....
Anonymous is coming
#escape#escape room#escape rooms#games#gaming#game#co op games#cooperative#cooperation#cooperative games#playmoregames
0 notes
Text
Thoughts About Stories In Escape Rooms
To Whom It May Interest or Concern,
My name is Anonymous, and you’ve stumbled across my place I’d like to call Escapees Anonymous. It is here that I talk about many kinds of gaming, but have a concentration in escape rooms. There are a lot of things I’ve started noticing since diving deeper into escape rooms, but one thing that has always struck me weird are stories in escape rooms. Everyone tries to do it differently, and although I would say that few are wrong not many reach the heights that they could achieve. The reason this is important is because sharing a good story sometimes saves a poor room, and transforms a good room into something truly memorable.
What Makes A Good Story
When you look into escape room stories you’ll see everything from the classic prison theme, all the way to the ridiculous like a bomb in a movie theater that just happens to have a lot of puzzles. All good escape room stories tend to have three things in common though.
1. A setting/theme we wish we could experience.
2. Something that anchors it to the real world
3. A means of telling the story through the game play.
Let’s tackle the first two briefly. The setting/ theme is important, because it hooks the players attention, and makes them want to pay up. Of course there are classics like prison, and haunted houses, but even a sports themed room is good. It just proves the idea that different themes attract different people. The less scary ideas are also good ways to invite children to come play.
The anchor to the real world is normally your plot, and further supports the players interest in your world. this could be the desire to break out of jail, or needing to steal a “cursed” spellbook from the house. Either way both of these elements help to immerse your player in your game. After all that is what brings a lot of players to your games. The desire to experience something out of the ordinary. The hard part of all this is weaving the story through out your game.
The Story IN The Game
This is where things get tricky, mostly because there isn’t really a perfect answer. What we can do though is look at other businesses, see what they do, and reflect on what is better than the other.
Let’s start with the worst method. Imagine this....
You sign up for a prison escape room, you go inside and see the setting is fairly well done, and there is plenty to do in the room. Before you begin though you are directed to a sheet of laminated paper, and a page long synopsis of your story.
THAT’S IT?!?!? To me that drops the players investment in your world dramatically. Let’s move to the next level. How about someone that does it pretty well!
You find a mad scientist theme. Something about you going to find a cure for a crazy disease he created. Upon entering though you find a man in a cage? He says that he was his assistant, and that he was moved into quarantine after being experimented on. He then freaks out because he knows that if you’re here.....in quarantine......with him.......you’re infected too! You then hear, and see some mist come from the ceiling. He assumes it’s to accelerate the disease (No witnesses). How much time do we have!?!?!
This room did a great job explaining everything. The actor helped with immersion, the effect solidified the fact that we were all infected, and the realities of disease and death make you invested in the story. GREAT! Top that off with the keys to your freedom being an actual antidote you have to make, and the story becomes VERY clear. For all the creators though I know the next question. “What if I don’t wanna have actors in my room?” Good question. That’s why I got one more example for you. Be warned it’s a little lengthy.
The general setting was that you are in the jungle trying to find a lost exploration team. Their signal came back for the first time in YEARS recently. Upon arrival at camp (entering the room) you find the camp ravaged by time, and no one is to be seen, as you start to make your way through the room you find pages to the teams adventure log. Talking about how they researched snakes, discovered some ruins, and how to get through them (all these things are parts of the room). Suddenly the logs change though. They talk about how their plane’s not working, how their memory is fading, and how one person even forgot their sons name.
Again, all the stuff engages and invests you into their world. What this one specializes in is seriously weaving the story THROUGHOUT the game. Take the father forgetting their sons name. Eventually you reach the end of the ruins to find an action figure on a pedestal. After looking at the figure some you see a name on it.......THE FATHERS SONS NAME! This is used to open a lock where you find an artifact. It’s then that the pieces come together. The team stole an artifact from the ruins, and that’s what caused all their grief/doom. The only way to have a chance to get out then?
Be honest....knowing that my first post had so many you’re probably proud I waited this long to post a picture/gif. Anyway, this room was a perfect example of forcing someone to engage in your story. To the point that if they didn’t they wouldn’t get out! Color it my opinion, but I feel like this is the magic example that if most creators used this as their exemplar then their rooms would evolve from great to extraordinary.
On that note I must be on my way. I return to work tomorrow, and must make sure those people are happy for the time being.
Sincerely,
Anonymous
PS: Although I do enjoy writing letters I would love a means to speak with you. I will arrange for this VERY soon.
#escape#escape room#escape rooms#game#games#gaming#co op games#co op#cooperative#cooperative games#play more games
2 notes
·
View notes
Photo
In the words of Gary V. “Regret is poison”
Life is hard but simple!
372 notes
·
View notes
Text
Back At My Job, But Working On My Other Job. Whoops!
Not really though. The current job has been slowly killing me on the inside (and out) for the past four years. I started working here with a healthy weight, and now am almost 300 lbs, depressed, anxious, and a whole bunch of other problems.
That’s why although I’m back at work, and I am getting my current jobs requirements done, I am also working on other matters. It’s like playing co-op with defector!....and I’m the defector he he he.
Applying for jobs, sending emails, and working on my next anonymous letter. See you soon.
Anonymous
0 notes
Text
1/1/201....9
Had to think about that for a second. I have a lot I want to accomplish this year, and thankfully none of it is in the “insanity” category.....well except for maybe the fact I’m gambling on my weight loss......ANYWAY! Normally when I have time off from my current insanity job I’m in the boat of doing absolutely nothing. Today though....not so much.
I woke up at 7:30, so I can start getting my sleep cycles back to normal for work. Then did some writing, and enjoyed family time, I just finished eating a late breakfast, and now I’m going to start making some preparations for going back to my headache job. That way I can continue towards my goals without worry. By the way, those goals are...
Leave my current job by March
Lose at least 70 lbs. The bet I made is to do this by July. Thus the insanity part.
Travel to 3 big gaming events/competitions
Move into a new place by the end of the year
I hope that you’ll join me on this crazy journey of mine this year. Until then I gotta learn how to cook (let’s hope I don’t burn the house down)!
Sincerely Anonymous
0 notes
Photo
Opening Thought Of 2019. Happy New Year Everyone
34K notes
·
View notes
Text
New Players Tips For Escape Rooms
To whom it may concern,
As someone who works as a Game Master, and is a frequent player with random strangers I notice A LOT of beginner mistakes. I understand it’s part of the learning process, but some of these are just face palm worthy. Anyway I just wanted to take a moment, in order to prepare for something bigger, to help potential guests with their first escape room experiences. My name is Anonymous, and here are three tips to help beginning players have more success.
#1 Communicate
I understand that more times than not you don’t know what you’re doing in an escape room, but that is not an excuse to not talk. Even when I see family groups it’s sometimes FIFTEEN MINUTES before I hear any valuable conversations. That’s a fourth of your time lost just bumbling around!! Start rummaging around asap, and talk to your team about what you find.
on another note to those that feel bad about messing up our rooms because we then have to clean up your mess......THAT’S OUR JOB! DO YOU NOT WANT US TO GET PAID?!?!?
Anyway, some important sentences to get out there while playing are...
Let’s start looking around to see what we can get our hands on.
What did you find? I found ____________
Why would they give us a _____________
You get the idea? Good, let’s move on..
#2 Clues Are Valuable! Use Them Well
I’ve noticed as of late that new players fall into either one of two camps. They either burn all of their clues in the first 30 minutes, or their in they like to hoard them. Just try to get a party to use their clues when they don’t want to.....it’s not pretty.
Thankfully the solution to this problem is a lot easier than people think. If you time out your clues you’ll find that you have exactly what you need. The time table I use is
45-40 minutes = Clue 1
30-25 minutes = Clue 2
12 minutes and below = Clue 3
The only real rules to this method are simple. Are you stuck? Are we in one of the clue bubbles? If you answered yes to both use a clue. If you answered no to the second one there is one more question to ask. Do you have clues to spare, so that you can fill your other clue bubbles? Yes means go for it, while no means keep trying for a little longer. Also remember some of these tips.
#3 KNOW YOUR LOCKS!!!
This one still gets me. *sigh* You are going to an escape room. If you’ve done any research (since you’ve found yourself here after all) you know that locks will be found in the room. So why? WHY DO PLAYERS GO IN NOT KNOWING HOW TO OPEN BASIC LOCKS!?!?!?
What makes it worse is a lot of business will leave some locks out in their lobbies to help you practice before you go back! I got stories for days on teams who lost due to not following this tip. So please, let me help you with a few points of clarification. On most number/letter locks they have a little dash or indent in them to tell you to line up you answer there. The code goes from left to right, or top to bottom. Another thing to look for are logos. For example if you are working with a Masterlock, and their logo is in the indentation, then know that the answer goes on that side of the lock (this error happened yesterday).
This covers 90% of the locks you will see, and if there are any other special locks in the room the Game Masters will normally inform you of them, and provide assistance. You know what? I got one more for you....We’re going Zombieland up in here.
BONUS: The Double Tap (or check)
When it came to the situation yesterday the team would have won if they literally followed this tip. If you cannot open the lock, and you are certain that you have the correct answer, pass it along to someone else so they can try. In this situation the next person would probably notice that they were putting the answer in backwards, flip it, and they would have won. When in doubt, Double Tap.
That is all the random wisdom I have to share for right now. Please keep an eye out for more letters helping you in your escape escapades. Until next time I need to figure out how to talk to you without showing my face. Hmmmmm.......
Sincerely,
Anonymous
#escape#escape room#escape rooms#game#games#gaming#co op games#cooperative#cooperation#teamwork#anonymous#playmoregames
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Escapees Anonymous
I love games. This much should be a giving, but if I had to specify a category that I love the most it has to be a tie between tabletop games and escape rooms. I stumbled onto them after playing as an at home player in a reality show (yes that actually happened). It allowed me to continue mastering skills in puzzle solving that I fostered from the show, and I’ve been hooked aver since.
Now it’s been over 2 years since I started, and although I’ve lost count I feel safe in saying that I’ve done well over 70 rooms. I know that there are others who have done in the hundreds, but for me right now I feel like there is a distinct difference between when I started and today.
The big difference is that I’m thinking more about the how and why the room is as it is. Why did they put glyphs on the tent? Was there a better use of the technology in the room? Was there a clear story from beginning to end?
It’s true that you can find individuals who specialize in reviews for the player, or reviews for the business, but there isn’t someone who seems to put it all together. So you know what? Why don’t I try to fill that void. Not going to say it’ll be perfect, but I think the growth is part of the beauty.
I’ll see you soon
Anonymous
1 note
·
View note
Text
My next two gaming competitions.
Hey Everyone,
As you can probably guess by the Tumblr handle I love gaming. I truly play a little bit of everything, but my specialty is in a category that I like to call Real World Games. In short, it means that I like to keep the time I’m staring at a screen to a minimum. You’d be surprised but I’ve actually found a lot of big events/competitions that revolve around this.
The past two years I participated in a boardgame tournament called Unrivaled Tournament Series. Too bad the second year was cancelled early.
I prepping a team to play in an escape room competition sponsored by Red Bull
And right now I’m trying to decide if I’m going to participate in a charity tournament for Extra Life.
Let me dig a little deeper into the third example, cause it’s helping me think. Every year Extra Life does fundraising for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. I personally love this program, which is why I’ve participated for the past four years. For the past few though I’ve wanted to take my fundraising/interaction with this organization to the next level. Thus how I was introduced to one of their big events in March known as Extra Life United.
What makes this one special is that it’s formatted in the style of a tournament. You choose to master one of the selected games, and if you win your tournament you win money for your charity. The only things holding me back right now are money and time. If I register now the money part isn’t that bad, but time wise we’re talking about five days I have to miss work. That’s a problem!! Truthfully if I really want to do it I guess it isn’t impossible, but it’s just going to require a lot of legwork prior to. *inhale* I think I’ve locked in. I’m going this year.....and you’re coming along for the ride.
Follow along as I get rolling on leveling up my gaming, so that I can take this more in a professional standing. Let’s go!
0 notes
Text
Morning Vibe....3/10
Right now I feel REALLY off. I’m in the middle of a depression spike, it’s raining, and for some reason my lower back hurts. I gotta get out of this funk fast though. My first class to teach is in a little over an hour. Let’s start with the simple what can I not change, so I just gotta accept it.
The rain throughout the day
That I’m in the middle of a depression spike
ok.....so what can I do to help?
properly plot out my day (when I know what’s going on I tend to feel in a little more control)
take my depression meds (duh)
stretch out my back (won’t get rid of the pain, but at least alleviate)
One of the other reasons I decided to make this blog/tumblr/whatever is to share my grind. Including the good days and the bad. I recently started listening to Gary Vaynerchuck, and one thing I like is the idea to share your growth not just your mastery. Trust me, I’m not master. Not by a long shot.
Tomorrow’s going to be a lot of fun, but I gotta get through today first. I got a date with Waterdeep....UNTIL THEN!!
0 notes
Photo
Always good to have this reminder....
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
Let’s begin....
I’m not foreign to this concept. I guess this is the first time I’m trying to be serious about it though. Right now I work in education. While working here though I’ve gained an unhealthy amount of weight, I have depression, and anxiety disorder. The worst part.....some days I feel like this is my fate forever, and that it’ll never get better. That I’m doomed to forever be stuck in this player 2 position. I don’t want that anymore though.
For the past few days I’ve been trapped at home, thanks to snow, and it’s given me time to reflect/think about it all. The learning points? First off the elements I’ve been the most successful/happy when dealing with the realms of music, fitness, and gaming. There’s also been people who’ve made successful careers/lives that revolve around crazier ideas. For goodness sake there are teenagers that are making business that revolve around slime! How come I can’t do the same?
Then there’s the $$$. At first that was where this conversation ended....then I remembered the fact that there are so many free resources out there, and the biggest prize out there is social media.
So that’s how I’ve ended up here. I have a Twitter, and Instagram already, and will be making a special Facebook and YouTube soon. I’m done being Player 2. It’s time to be Player 1.
1 note
·
View note