escape game

April 2 2018

Secrets of Successful Groups- Confessions Of A Game Master

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Welcome back to Confessions of a Game Master. As game masters, we have seen many groups attempt our games and have noticed some traits that the most successful groups have in common. In this month’s edition of Confessions, our game masters explain some of the things that can help make your team more successful (as well as some examples of what not to do.)

Support each other.

Under the pressure of a ticking clock, many people can fall victim to the stress. This can lead to harsh words, hurt feelings, and not escaping. The easiest way to alleviate some of the stress is to support the rest of your team. Offering help to friends who are stuck, re-explaining a puzzle, or just offering words of encouragement can make all the difference. Keeping morale high will keep everyone engaged and having fun.

Successful groups are willing to listen to everyone in their team.

In escape rooms, you cannot do everything on your own. Even the most brilliant puzzle-solvers will occasionally over-think a puzzle or find themselves stumped on something. The most successful groups are the ones that will listen to an idea from anyone in their group and give it a try. From first-timers to seasoned veterans, everyone has input on the game, which leads to more ideas, which leads to the right idea.

Successful groups pay attention.

From the very beginning to the very end of the game, it pays to pay attention. If someone mentions that they’ve noticed something that could be important, then the group will remember when it becomes important later on in the game. Listening to the instructions before the game can often times be the difference between escape and certain death.

Successful groups will accept help.

Even though it feels great to solve a room on your own, sometimes the group just cannot make heads-or-tails of a certain puzzle. The most successful groups will know when it’s time to accept that help is needed so they can move on to the next puzzle. Whether it’s asking another player for help, or using the game’s hint system, sometimes all you need is a little push to get right back on track. This is a great thing to keep in mind for The Hex Room, where players are separated into different rooms. It’s not always easy to know when someone is stuck when you are physically separated. If a player is stuck on a puzzle in their room, I find they often get to the solution after they ask other players for help. If everyone on your team is stumped, there’s no shame in asking for a hint. At Cross Roads Escape Games, we have integrated hint systems that provide a seamless and immersive way to receive help within the games.

What are some things that make a successful escape room team? Let us know your tips in the comments, or tell us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Make sure you stay up to date on our Confessions Of A Game Master by subscribing on YouTube!

Geoff Durham
Manager, Game Master
Cross Roads Escape Games

March 26 2018

Spice Up Your Escape Room Photos

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Want to make your escape room photos EPIC? Most groups, when it comes to picture time, tend to stand in a line shoulder to shoulder. Make your pictures instantly better by creating layers and having some people couched in the front and others standing in the back. Or create some action and interesting composition by using some of these great poses below!

2 Person Group

Escape Rooms are great date night ideas! Spice up your picture with this lovely heart pose to show your Instagram followers how hip and in love you are. Or maybe try this Xtreme pose to show how in sync the two of you are.

3 Person Group

Out with the girls and decided to add a little excitement to the night with an escape room? The Charlie’s Angeles pose is perfect to show the world just how dangerous the 3 of you are together. Or maybe you and the guys went out for a night of laughs, what better pose then the classic 3 stooges!

4 Person Group

Got the core four squad together for a night out? Add some sass to your photo with these great 4 person poses.

5 Person Group

Escape with flying colors? Show the world that your team is a STAR with these great group poses! Or maybe you feel like you just saved the world? We have a few perfect super hero poses for that too!

6 Person Group

Is your team ready for some ’Morphin Time’? This iconic Power Ranger pose is perfect for your group of 6!

4 Or More…

Keep the train going and see how long you can make this link of squats go!

Was one of your players truly the star of the show? Show them your appreciation with this Lucky Cat pose!

Continue the spiral with this classic pose!

Use your bodies to create giant numbers and pose as the amazing time you escaped with!

If you are an acrobat, you might find these number poisons helpful…. we found them mostly impossible.

Last, but not least, don’t forget the classic midair jump pose! Just make sure you communicate beforehand what the ‘go’ word is.

We hope this helps inspire some great after game photos! If you need help creating a great pose with your friends, please to ask one of our game masters because they would love to help. We will be collecting some of our favorite poses our players come up with, and we will share them all with you in a later blog post. Check back soon to see if your photo makes the list and make sure to share this post with your friends to inspire some great team photos!

Madison Rhoades
CEO and Co- Owner
Cross Roads Escape Games

March 19 2018

Confessions of a Game Master- Return Trip Tips!

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If you’ve played The Hex Room before, you’re probably aware that it was designed to be replay-able. Due to its unique design, we are able to cast return players as a new horror movie character and place them in a different horror film to try and escape. Because each character is separated into individual rooms in the game, a player will not experience everything The Hex Room has to offer in one game.

In this episode of Confessions of a Game Master, our Game Masters offer tips on how to best approach a return trip to The Hex Room.

We have seen many return players attempt the Hex Room and, in this video, we will address a few ways to ensure your team gets the best experience.

Don’t reveal too much to your teammates. Part of the fun of a horror film is when something unexpected happens. If you tell your group what’s going to happen before it happens, you ruin some of the excitement. Let your friends have the same experience you did when you first played. If you tell people what is going to happen in their room it can feel like spoiling the end of a good horror movie. Nobody likes that person, don’t be that person.

Keep in mind that we are constantly working on The Hex Room and puzzles will change often. Assuming that everything will be the same is one of the most common mistakes return players make. This can be particularly hard for your teammates if you start telling other people how to solve puzzles in their room without actually being in their room. You may start leading your team towards a solution that no longer exists! We’ve seen many instances where return players are so insistent that they know the answer to a puzzle that they end up wasting their team mates’ valuable time! To avoid this, it is always best to approach each puzzle as if it is the first time you’ve seen it.

Don’t skip ahead. Skipping ahead to a part you remember may bypass puzzles and confuse your team. This is something I saw one time when a player came to replay The Fun House. They entered the code for a lock they remembered and skipped a handful of puzzles. They utterly confused the rest of their team and affected the experience. In the Hex Room, I’ve seen a player convince the rest of their team they needed to find something specific and waste time searching for items that were no longer in the game.

To put it simply, treat your return game as a new game. Having played before will help because you have experience with the mechanics and flow of the game but relying on what you remember about the puzzles will only hamper your game.

Don’t forget about your Hex Box! If you were unable to survive during your first play, the second time may be the best time to try for your Survivor Medallion! The Hex Box is an extra puzzle put into the game to further challenge yourself and is not necessary in order to escape. Just be sure you can escape, because the medallion only counts if you have it by the time your team opens the final door.

Have you replayed The Hex Room? Comment with some tips of your own here, on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Be sure to watch the rest of our Confessions videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Geoff Durham
Manager and Game Master
Cross Roads Escape Games

March 12 2018

ZEDTOWN GIVEAWAY: Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

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Ever wondered what it would be like surviving a zombie apocalypse? Here is your chance to experience one! Zedtown is a giant game of real world zombie-themed tag and we’ve got your free tickets! We are giving away 10 passes for you and your friends to join the Zedtown fun at the Orange County Fairgrounds on Saturday, 3/31/18.

Zombies have been a staple of the horror genre for quite some time, most notably gaining in popularity thanks to George A. Romero’s 1968 film Night Of The Living Dead. With the popularity of movies like 28 Days Later and TV Shows like The Walking Dead, nearly everyone has at least wondered if they’d be able to survive a zombie apocalypse. Now, thanks to Zedtown, you can put your zombie-hunting skills to the test.

Zedtown is a four-hour immersive game similar to tag with quests, tips, and achievements along the way. Players begin as Survivors in one of three factions, Security, Medical, or Logistics, and your goal is to make it to the final stand of a post-apocalypse adventure. If tagged by a zombie, you become one of the hungry horde searching for brains. Oh, and did I mention you use a foam blaster to fight off zombies? (You provide your own blaster and can even decorate it or paint it with bright colors). Players are encouraged to dress up in the style of their factions with awards going to best costume before and after the game. You can find out more about Zedtown on their website.

Cross Roads Escape Games is excited to offer a giveaway for two sets of five tickets to Zedtown at the Orange County Fairgrounds on 3/31/18. To enter, head to our Facebook or Instagram, tag the 4 friends you would want by your side in a Zombie apocalypse AND tell us the best tip you learned from watching a zombie film (make sure to include the movie’s name!). Winners will be announced on 3/26 and given to the two best answers! Make sure to enter on both Instagram and Facebook for multiple entries!

If you’ve escaped The Hex Room, you already know you have what it takes to survive a horror film. Do you have what it takes to survive a zombie movie?

Geoff Durham
Game Master, Manager, Part-Time Zombie Wrangler
Cross Roads Escape Games

March 5 2018

Who Are Escape Rooms For?

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So, you’ve been thinking about doing an escape room for a while now and you’ve looked around at all the different themes they have to offer. They look like fun, but you’re not sure if you and your group will like them or not, right? After all, how can you really know unless you jump right in and do one. Well, in this blog I will do my best to explain the different things that escape rooms have to offer and the kinds of people that enjoy them!

1. Puzzle People

The largest group of people drawn to escape rooms are the puzzle enthusiasts. These people enjoy exercising their mind and love solving riddles, puzzles, or brain teasers. If you fit into this category, you will love escape rooms. Escape rooms are centered around searching for clues and solving puzzles in order to advance. So, for all you Nancy Drew enthusiasts, Myst lovers, and Shivers maniacs we say, “Welcome to the wonderful world of escape rooms… what took you so long!”

2. Friend Squads

Then next most common type of person we see is the event organizer, aka the hangout enthusiast. These people are constantly on the lookout for new and exciting things to do with their group of friends. Escape rooms are perfect for people looking new things to try. Each escape room that you play is unique, with tons of themes to choose from and many different difficulty levels. You could play 10 different escape rooms and have 10 completely different experiences. And if you find a company that makes a room that you really like, or you find one that is conveniently located, perfect! Most companies have multiple rooms already open with more to come; so, you and your team can play several rooms before needing to look for a new company to try!

3. Co-workers

Another amazing thing about escape rooms is that they are incredible for team building! Be it sports teams, sales teams, or just for corporate events, escape rooms provide the perfect environment for team building and bonding! In most escape rooms the puzzles are designed to emphasize creative brainstorming, effective communication, and of course teamwork! So, whether you are trying to figure out how your sales team reacts under pressure or are looking for which of your team members might have what it takes to be a leader, escape rooms are a fun and innovative way to challenge your team.

4. Thrill Seekers

Of course, no list of escape room enthusiasts would be complete without mentioning the thrill seekers! If you and your friends are always on the prowl for new thrills, then escape rooms are a dream come true. Escape rooms are fully immersive experiences. Many games tend to increase their level of immersion by putting their players in an exciting, tense, or thrilling environment. Horror themed escape rooms are a great way to get both a steady fix of adrenaline throughout the game and the rush of escaping the room!

5. Cool Parents

And last but certainly not least, are the cool parents. Have you been trying to find ways to be the cool mom or dad? Are you trying to find a fun way to get your kids to disconnect from their phones for a while? Let me tell you, escape rooms are the way to go for both! Escape rooms are exciting and trendy, both challenging kids and giving them a memorable experience that they will want to tell all their friends about. Many escape room companies are now designing rooms for players of all ages making room accessibility for young enthusiasts better now than ever before! So, grab the kids, lock up their iPad, and plan your escape soon!

As you can see, there are many different aspects of an escape room that people connect with. Whether it’s the puzzle-solving, the immersion, or the connecting as a family away from phones and video screens, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. If you were on the fence about whether or not to do an escape room, hopefully this post has helped you get the confidence to dive in feet-first and book your escape room experience now!

Jason Sakal
Game Master, Manager
Cross Roads Escape Games

February 20 2018

What It Takes To Be A Great Detective

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The Hex Room at Cross Roads Escape Games is a unique escape room where you can star in your very own horror film. Before the game begins, each player takes a personality quiz to determine which character they best fit within the game. From there, they are placed into their own room where the goal is to work together through the physical barriers to escape each individual room and, finally, the game.

Being separated into individual rooms really tests each player’s ability to discover, describe, solve, and face fears. And even though The Hex Room requires every player to participate in order for the group to escape, the most weight is placed on one character in particular: The Detective.

When players come in and begin filling out their questionnaires, they often ask who their leader is. My shortest reply is; pick someone who is great at communicating and multi-tasking.

The best Detectives are actively social within the game. They are the ones who can go room to room asking their teammates what they’re working on and what they need help with. This means they also have to be adept at collecting a massive amount of information and processing it to determine what is important, what might be important, and what is just set dressing.

Detectives are often great puzzle-solvers. They can take fragments of a puzzle, visualize how the puzzle will be solved, and figure out what pieces are still missing to complete the puzzle. They don’t necessarily solve the puzzle, but they can figure out if the puzzle is matching, referencing, or physical.

On top of this, great Detectives are also great multi-taskers. Not only will they be communicating with every player in the game and passing information back and forth, they will also need to solve their own set of puzzles at the same time.

Detectives are not afraid to ask for help. Good leaders know that you can’t always solve everything on your own. Recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses and asking for help is what can propel you from an okay Detective to a great one.

The greatest downfall of a Detective that I have noticed is that they don’t communicate well. Sometimes another player will tell them they are missing something, and though the Detective hears, they don’t pass along that information to the other players in the game. Detectives must act as a telephone line between the rooms.

Another great downfall is when a Detective is too focused on their own puzzles to offer assistance to the rest of the players. Too often I have seen a player locked in a room asking for help with a puzzle, only to have the Detective tell them to wait while they work on their own puzzle (often which can’t be solved without first helping the other player.) Sometimes they must take a step back to help others before their own puzzles start to make sense.

Though the Detective’s role is a demanding one, there is nothing quite like the satisfaction of knowing you helped your team to the best of your ability. There is nothing quite like seeing the pride and accomplishment on Detectives’ faces after they successfully helped their team escape.

The skills of a Detective extend beyond the walls of an escape room. Detectives will share many similar traits to effective leaders and managers. Teambuilding in an escape room can help identify the strengths and shortcomings of your employees while providing a fun, exciting, and new way to bring your team closer. That’s why Cross Roads Escape Games offers teambuilding experiences for company outings, celebrations, and workshops. To learn more about teambuilding at Cross Roads Escape Games, check out this blog, or our team building page.

What do you think makes a great Detective in The Hex Room? Leave us a comment on our blog, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram to let us know what leadership means to you.

Geoff Durham
Game Master, Manager
Cross Roads Escape Games

February 14 2018

Advice for an Escape Room Date Night

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It’s February, Valentine’s Day is approaching, and if you’re in a relationship, you’re probably looking for some way to show your significant other just how special they are. One of the more interesting and memorable dates you can plan is an escape room.

In this special edition of Confessions of a Game Master, our Game Masters have taken on the roles of Relationship Experts with suggestions on how to best approach an escape room date night. Practicing patience, planning ahead, and learning to communicate are just a few of the tips our game masters have to make your date one to remember.

The Fun House is a great game for a double date. Filled with enough puzzles for both couples to divide-and-conquer if they so choose, the game is also filled with enough whimsy to make a magical night you will remember. Plus, Zoltar doesn’t mind being a third- or fifth- wheel. At least, he’s never told us he minded.

If you are looking for a more thrilling date night, The Hex Room is sure to get your pulse racing. After all, everyone knows horror movies are best when there’s a romantic subplot involved. Great for three adventurous couples, the feeling of being thrown into a horror movie will excite every player while the unique design of being separated into individual rooms will fuel the drive to rejoin your loved one and escape the game.

And of course, after the game you can head over to Top Class Pizza or Stereo Brewing with a coupon in hand for the perfect end to a date you won’t soon forget.

Make sure you’ve caught up on all of our Confessions of a Game Master videos by checking out our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe for future confessions videos! Do you have a question for our game masters? Leave a comment on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Tumblr and you may see your question answered in a future video.

Geoff Durham
Manager, Game Master, Relationship Guru
Cross Roads Escape Games

February 5 2018

Why Escape Rooms Are Great for First Dates

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With Valentine’s day right around the corner it is a good idea to start thinking about good date night ideas. The only problem is… you’ve already been on all the classic dates. You’ve done the fancy dinners before, you’ve taken your date to the movie, you’ve even gone on long walks and romantic picnics. So now what?

Are you the kind of person who wants your dates to be memorable and out-of-the-ordinary? Do you and your date like adventure and puzzle-solving? Have you been on too many bland dates and want something that you will truly enjoy? With Valentine’s day right around the corner it is a good idea to start thinking about good date night ideas. The only problem is… you’ve already been on all the classic dates. You’ve done the fancy dinners before, you’ve taken your date to the movie, you’ve even gone on long walks and romantic picnics. So now what?

Have you ever taken your date to an escape room?

Escape rooms are immersive experiences that take you on thrilling adventures that require cunning, team work, and communication. You will rely on each other to find clues and solve challenging puzzles in an attempt to escape the room in time. There are so many different themes that you are bound to find a room nearby that offers the experience you are looking for. Whether silly or scary, whacky or intense, you will undoubtedly have an amazing and unforgettable experience.

You might be asking yourself, “what makes escape rooms so ideal for dates?” Well, just sit back and let me explain.

The main focus of any escape room is team work and togetherness. Escape rooms are a bonding experience that forces people to leverage their strengths in order to assist each other in escaping the room. The challenge of the rooms often brings people closer together, uniting them under a common goal… ESCAPE!

If you have done an escape room before, you already know how memorable they are. The entire experience is so thrilling and unique that you and your date will be talking about it for months to come.

One might wonder, but why do escape rooms make memorable dates? Well, that is simple. It is because everyone that participates in an escape room is having an active experience, rather than a passive one such as going to the movies.

Lastly, when you manage to escape an escape room it leaves you with a feeling of accomplishment. You didn’t just sit through your date and enjoy yourself, you worked with your date to solve puzzles and figure out a way to get out of the game!

Any date that emphasizes working together and gives you both a common goal to work towards while simultaneously making you feel thrilled and accomplished will be a date to remember. And if this hasn’t convinced you yet, then just remember this: Any date that leaves you all wondering “when are we going to do another,” surely has to have been a good date.

Jason Sakal
Manager, Game Master
Cross Roads Escape Games

January 29 2018

What You Win If You Escape

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Prizes! Everyone loves prizes! Did you know that Cross Roads Escape Games is one of the very few escape rooms that gives out prizes? Even if you don’t escape, every group leaves with something.

We are escape room enthusiasts too, and our favorite thing to do after an escape room is to sit down with our team and talk about it over some food and drinks. Next time you visit us, make sure to head to Top Class Pizza or Stereo Brewing afterwards!

Top Class Pizza, located at 1026 N Tustin Ave in Anaheim, is less than a mile away from Cross Roads and serves fresh gourmet pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and pasta. Their pizza crust is to die for and their Chicken Alfredo pizza is a Cross Road’s favorite! Just for playing a game at Cross Roads Escape Games, Top Class Pizza offers a 10% off coupon to all players OR a buy-one-get-one-free coupon to the few who manage to successfully escape!

Stereo Brewing, located at 950 S Via Rodeo in Placentia, is .7 miles away from Cross Roads and is the new hip brewery in town. Stereo Brewing has a great selection of beer on tap, fun music, and sometimes food trucks for when you want a bite to eat with your drink. Just for playing, guests receive a 15% off coupon for any beer on tap, OR if they escape they win a 25% off coupon for any beer on tap! Our current favorite is the ‘Wall of Sound’ Oatmeal Stout.

As you probably know, our escape rates are fairly low. On average, 40% of players escape The Fun House and 20% escape The Hex Room. The Hex Room also has an additional challenge to “survive” that only 5% are able to complete and escape. If you are a part of this 5% of survivors, then you also win a free “I survived” sticker! Wear it proud because you are one of the few!

I survived The Hex room prize

If you play The Fun House KIDS, our alternative kid version of The Fun House for children under the age of 13, there is a bonus challenge inside the game to collect 8 gold coins. If all 8 coins are found, kids get to pick a prize from our treasure chest! Our treasure chest is full of an assortment of toys that change all the time!

Now, this trophy is not free like the other prizes we have, but it is worth bragging about. If you manage to escape either of our games, you are qualified to purchase an “I escaped” t-shirt! We are very strict on our t-shirt sales and will only sell our “I escaped” shirts to those who actually escape. Yes, we have turned down many offers. T-shirts can be purchased in store for $20. We have both men’s crew neck and woman’s V-neck styles in sizes S-XXL.

I Escaped! t-shirts

We know our games are not easy, so that is why we believe everyone deserves a prize! Book your game with us and see what one you will leave with!

Madison Rhoades
Co-Owner and Creative Director
Cross Roads Escape Games

January 8 2018

Zoltar’s Premonitions: Mr. Literal

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Greetings and salutations dearest reader! I am Zoltar the Great, Seer of secrets, and your guide to the funniest thing I have ever seen in the Fun House!

Many people have asked me, “Zoltar, do you enjoy hanging around and laughing with your players all day?” My answer to this question is simple. Yes. Yes, I most certainly do. It would be apt to say that I revel in the shenanigans that my players come up with while under the big top. Oh, I could go on and on about the many laughs shared between myself and my players. But of all the different types of people that have visited me here in the Fun House, there was one that tickles my funny bone to this day. I call him Mr. Literal!

Yes! We all know someone like Mr. Literal. This person takes your word for everything. This person often finds simple instructions to be unintuitive and frustrating. This is the person that when you say, “give me a second”, will count to one out loud and then ask if you are ready yet. Yes, you know exactly who I am talking about, don’t you? One of my fondest memories was created by someone who took everything I said too seriously.

This all started when Mr. Literal asked for a clue to a puzzle that one of his team mates was in the process of solving. My response to Mr. Literal was “If you put your heads together I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out.” Mr. Literal stared at me with slowly widening eyes as the dawn of realization passed over him. He then turned to his team and demanded a huddle.

“Zoltar says that we need to put our heads together!” He shouted as his team huddled around him. He then stuck his head towards the center of his huddle circle. The other team mates exchanged looks of skepticism as they slowly leaned in and touched their heads together.

Now… I could have said something and put a stop to it right there, but honestly, I was curious to see how far this would go… So, I asked if they had figured it out yet. Of course, there was nothing to figure out, but Mr. Literal immediately replied that they were still working on it.

“Are you sure you are standing in the right spot?” I asked. The words popped out of my mouth unbidden and drenched in sarcasm. Most people would have realized in that moment that literally putting their heads together couldn’t possibly solve a puzzle… But this wasn’t most people; This was Mr. Literal!

And do you know what he did next? He told everyone to move to the center of the room and everyone in the group began to move their feet together shuffling towards the center of the room with their heads pressed together.

I… was… breathless. They stood together with their heads pressed together for what had to be a full minute before someone in the group finally spoke. “What exactly did Zoltar say to you?”

“He said that if we put our heads together we should be able to figure out our puzzle.” In that moment, his entire team groaned audibly and pushed away from the huddle. Mr. Literal stood there with a confused look on his face as his team walked away to go back to solving puzzles and I laughed harder than I have ever laughed in my life.

This was indeed one of the funniest moments I have ever experienced in all my time in The Fun House. Perhaps, dear readers, I shall reveal more of my favorite stories from the big top in the future. Make sure to keep an eye out for more of Zoltar’s Premonitions! Of course, not literally.

Jason Sakal
Manager, Game Master
Cross Roads Escape Games