Greetings humans and humanoids of all kinds! Halloween has officially passed us by, leaving us feeling spooked out and monster-depleted until next year. You may be telling yourself horribly depressing things like, “I wish Halloween wasn’t the only scary time of the year” or “I won’t even see another monster until NEXT Halloween!” FEAR NOT for there is a reason to get your fear back ON!
My fellow spooky adventurers, there are monsters everywhere; hidden within each of us and buried in your local Escape Room… But I’m here to tell you I see monsters every day. In every game that I or my fellow Game Masters monitor, we see monsters within each of you players. I’m here to reveal them to you so you can figure out for yourself which Escape Room monster you are and learn which Escape Room monster you’d like to be.
I’ve compiled a list of said monsters; each of them with pros and cons. I’ve included methods of defeating some of the more dangerous ones, as well as interactions I have observed between the monsters themselves. When I refer to “Human” I am referring to anyone who has not yet showed signs of being one of these creatures, rather someone who has remained sane and unaffected by the temptations of becoming one of… them.
ZOMBIES
Special Power: Mob Mentality
Zombies are players that begin slowly moving around the room making sleepy gestures and inarticulate conversation. They tend to solve puzzles with the same slow and meticulous energy that they used when pacing the room. One Zombie on its own will often fail to do much, however if you have a horde of Z’s in your game, then you will find that they can really get things done. Zombies are much more efficient in packs!
KAIJU
Special Power: Destructive Personality
There are often no more than one Kaiju in a team of escapists. This one Kaiju, however, can do a lot of damage. They will break things accidentally (sometimes purposefully) and enjoys shutting other people’s ideas down to assume control of the game. The only way to defeat a Kaiju is by becoming one yourself to redirect the team (Pacific Rim rules apply).
Lycanthrope
Special Power: Aggressive Dominance
Lycanthropes start off just like any other human. They laugh and joke with their team mates and engage with escape rooms’ staff in a friendly manner. But the moment they find themselves in an escape room something begins to change in them. A sudden rage is released, and they begin snarling and shouting at their team mates. A Lycanthrope can come in handy, however, in a team lacking a strong leader. Lycanthropes have no problem barking orders.
WITCHES
Special Power: Prophetic Wisdom
There are 2 different kinds of witches: Optiwitches and Pessiwitches. Witches will make predictions about how they think the game will go. For example, “We are definitely not getting out, I’m not that smart.” This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy that has the power to ruin games. If you get an Optiwitch, however, there’s nothing to worry about! Unless this Optiwitch is really a Lycanthrope in disguise, then something during the game will make them flip their view to pessimistic. These are dangerous, but a Human armed with Logic and Encouragement can defeat a Were-Witch, just like an ordinary Lycanthrope.
CANNIBALS
Special Power: Super Genius
Cannibals will refuse to let anyone else solve any puzzles. They will eat up clues for themselves and are easily identified as the person taking props and clues straight from people’s hands. Cannibals are incredibly intelligent and tend to consume on their own.
ROBOTS
Special Power: Item Analysis
If you put all the clues for a puzzle in front of a Robot, they will have no problem piecing them together correctly. Although they may be good at connecting dots, COLLECTING those dots is an entirely different story. Unable to figure out where to look, Robots do not make good search and finders.
ALIENS
Special Power: Buddy System
Aliens are players who simply don’t communicate with their team. They are highly intelligent, but that only helps if they speak up. The only kind of monster that can understand an Alien is the Sketchy Government Official (see SKETCHY GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL) because they usually have a close relationship with one another.
VAMPIRES
Special Power: Keen Senses
Vampiric players will let other people solve puzzles for them but will always keep a keen eye out for those who arrive at final codes. They will be the first to bolt to a lock and suck up the glory from other players for themselves by opening the lock with a code solved by someone else. They are fantastic at getting locks open quickly, but they tend to feed off of their fellow players’ problem solving rather than doing it themselves.
TROLLS
Special Power: Attention Getter
As you may have guessed, Trolls are the players with no problem back talking their fellow teammates or their Game Master. Trolls are usually the loudest in their group, needing to maintain the most attention on them as possible to prove how smart they are. Trolls are commonly mistaken as Kaiju, but the main difference is their intention: a Troll wants attention, a Kaiju wants control.
LAKE MONSTERS
Special Power: Master Locater
Any Lake Monster remains unseen throughout the game. Lurking in the shadows, they keep a safe distance to observe their team. They will casually meander away from the group and are excellent at finding hidden objects. They are also the one person with a sign conveniently covering their face in the post-game picture.
DEMONS
Special Power: Persuasion
Demons are some of the most horrifying monsters there are. They actively hurt the progression of their teammates by suggesting outlandish ideas and insisting everyone follow through with it. Humans can defeat a Demon, but you must be able to pick out a Demon as quickly as possible. The longer you follow a Demon’s flawed logic, the further away from escape you get. There is also an alternate Demon that is a separate entity in the Escape Room from the players. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, read my previous post HERE.
GHOSTS
Special Power: Invisibility
Ghosts will hang in the back of the group. They usually don’t know most of the people they’re playing with, which is why solving puzzles for them can be a challenge: not in their ability to, rather their motivation to follow through. If a Ghost does choose to follow through, they become a Poltergeist (see POLTERGEISTS). More often than not, a group of Zombies can be seen playing with a Ghost and taking charge of the entire game. Ghosts are incredibly similar to Lake Monsters; however, Ghosts do not purposefully hide themselves from their group like Lake Monsters do.
GREMLINS
Special Power: Aggressive Motivation
Gremlins like to pile clues and props in a corner of the room, often confusing their teammates later on in the game when they are looking for something. An alternative version of a Gremlin is also similar to a Lycanthrope, but instead of turning into a stronger, more negative version of itself, it becomes much more aggressive at puzzle solving and is often the player that turns the tide toward the end of the game.
MAD SCIENTISTS
Special Power: Controls the Revenant
Mad Scientists are parents that have brought their child, who often tend to be Revenants (see REVENANTS), into the room with them. Often to their own downfall, they will refuse to listen to their Revenant because they KNOW they’re far smarter than they are. They did create them, after all.
IMPS
Special Power: Quick and Agile
Imps are small, agile players that have the tendency to climb regardless of rules. They often have something they need to prove to the rest of their group, like how their smarts make up for their height. This ends in one of two ways: either they really do prove just how smart they are and throw it in their team’s face, or they allow their “little-demon syndrome” to consume their every thought, ultimately leading to destruction.
POLTERGEISTS
Special Power: Possession
Poltergeists act just as Ghosts do, but with one main difference. A Poltergeist will often solve puzzles on their own apart from their group without informing anyone how they did it. To the rest of the group, it appears as if the puzzle had been possessed and solved itself when no one was looking. A group will be in the middle of solving a puzzle when someone notices the Poltergeist holding an open lock in their hand, offering no explanation as to how they opened it.
SKETCHY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Special Power: Buddy System
A Sketchy Government Official is usually besties with the Alien of the group, and that is why they are the only ones that can understand the Alien. More often than not, however, a Sketchy Government Official shares none of the knowledge learned from an Alien and simply messes around with the Alien the whole game, accomplishing only what they do together.
REVENANT
Special Power: Fresh Mind
The child of the Mad Scientist. They are often ignored, although they usually have the right ideas due to having very little bias about the world to cloud their logic and reasoning. Revenants are known to turn into a Frankenstein’s Monster (similar to Werewolf) if their Mad Scientist continues to ignore them.
There you have it: the monsters people turn into while in Escape Rooms. Beware the eviler ones and strive to be the good ones! Remember, a Human armed with Logic, Reason, Encouragement, and Patience can defeat any of these monsters. If none of these monsters describe you, take a look at my previous post HERE. Your group might be afflicted by much, much worse…
Which Escape Room Monster are you? Did I miss any other monsters? Let us know in the comments below!
Zach “Doc” Dahm
Asst. Manager and Game Master
Cross Roads Escape Games
