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How We Got Started

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Escape Rooms created by game enthusiasts for game enthusiasts. Owners Luke and Madison Rhoades come from a theatre and haunt background and found escape rooms to be the perfect backbone for their #1 rated company- Cross Roads Escape Games. Celebrating their 6th year in business, here is the story of the creators and designers of Cross Roads and how it all came to be.

ABOUT US

Luke and I are high school sweethearts, and we got married shortly after finishing college. I graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Fine Art and a minor in Theatrical Set Design. I designed and painted sets around Los Angeles and was the lead scenic painter for The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor for three incredible years. Luke graduated from the Vanguard University of Southern California with a B.A. in Theatre Performance and Scenic Construction. He worked as the Master Carpenter at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood.  I would often get set design jobs and hire Luke as my technical director and carpenter for almost all of my shows. We were a great tag team duo. I would design it, he would build it, and then I would paint it.

THE FIRST ESCAPE ROOM

On Oct. 31st, 2014, we played our first escape room. We had no idea what we were getting into. I thought I bought tickets for a haunted house, so we were completely shocked when we found out that they would put us in a room with eight other strangers and lock the door. Our group did terrible. It was chaos trying to get ten people on the same page, but that was part of the fun. I remember the time being about halfway up when I realized we had not opened a single key lock. I yelled at the group, “How have we not found a single key?!?!” The girl next to me goes, “Oh! I found a few keys!” and starts to remove about 5-10 keys from her pocket that she decided to put there for safekeeping (and not use?).

Afterward, our game master comes in with a look of disappointment and tells us that we only made it about 60% of the way through. It didn’t matter to us if we won or lost or how far we got, the experience was unlike anything we had ever done, and we were hooked. The idea for The Hex Room came later that same night.

THE BEGINNING

We decided to take a chance. We quit our jobs and used our ten years’ worth of savings that we were keeping for a future house. It was one of those scenarios where we would always live a life of ‘what if’ if we didn’t give it a shot. And what better time to try and fail than when you are young? So we did. We found a location in Anaheim, California, battled the city for permits (that’s a whole story I won’t get into today), and put ourselves in a hole of loans and credit card debt (our savings was drained very quickly). With the help of some amazing family and friends, Cross Roads Escape Games opened one year later.

Cross Roads… get it? Luke and Madison Rhoades… ok, good.

THE GOAL

We wanted to create something that felt so real, you forgot it was a game. Imagine being transported to a new world where you can go anywhere and touch anything you want? To desperately try to find clues to help unlock the secrets to your escape? All our games are designed by us and built from the ground up. Not only is the production value outstanding, but even the game design is different.  

We love games. Board games, card games, video games, and now escape games. Once we were hooked on escape games, we played every one that was available to us. Playing escape rooms was a great learning experience. We saw what we liked, and what we didn’t like. Our biggest issue was that no matter where we went, no matter what the mission was, the game was the same. We knew we had to change that up with ours.

CREATING THE HEX ROOM

As huge horror fans, we would always watch movies and say something along the lines of, “If that was me, I would have never run up the stairs!” or, “If I was in that situation, I would have done this…” Now with this new immersive theatre at our fingertips, we decided to create just that: a real-life horror movie scenario where people can find out if they would actually live or die in a horror film.

The Hex Room opened on January 15th, 2016. Unlike traditional escape rooms, The Hex Room takes immersion to the next step and makes players live out a real-life horror movie. Before your game begins, each player takes a quiz to determine which stereotypical horror movie victim they are. You can be cast as the Jock, Rebel, Prom Queen, Virgin, Nerd, or Detective. Once in costume, players are placed in a room by themselves. Their goal is to overcome their individual challenges and still work together as a team, although physically divided. If they are successful, they can rejoin their friends and escape. If not, they can be left behind to die.

CREATING THE FUN HOUSE

The Hex Room became a revolutionary game, but maybe a bit too advanced for its time. When we opened, Escape Rooms were still such a new concept; only a handful of people knew what they were, even fewer played one before. People loved The Hex Room, but we knew that it was a bit overwhelming to a new player, so we also created The Fun House.

The Fun House is the necessary introductory that people needed to escape rooms. People were together for the experience instead of being divided at the start. If someone felt uncomfortable doing something “scary,” we had The Fun House to offer instead. Although the gameplay is more of a traditional escape room, we still had a lot of new ideas to offer. The game became self-aware with lots of fun tricks and jokes along the way, not to mention the amazing Zoltar. Have you met him yet?

The Fun House also allowed us to introduce kids to the world of Escape Rooms. When Fun House opened in April of 2016, it was the only game that allowed players of any age to attend. The following year, we modified the game to change out challenging puzzles to a “KIDS” version, allowing groups of kids to play and succeed on their own. 

CREATING THE PSYCH WARD

We are determined to always bring the next level of interactive entertainment, and we went all-in on The Psych Ward, which opened in December of 2018. Being inspired by immersive theatre experiences like Delusion and getting hooked on social deduction games like Werewolf and Secret Hitler, we decided to combine immersive theatre, competitive board games, and escape rooms into one fully automated game. 

Because of its complexity, The Psych Ward took about 18 months to complete. We worked with the amazing technical team, Diablo Sound, which helped us program all the puzzles, scoring, and theatrical effects.  The game took a few revisions, but we are very proud of the new elements we added and challenging ourselves with the unique design and automation. The Psych Ward is a game-changer that you must play!

WHAT’S NEXT

We revisited our theatre roots and wrote, directed, designed, and produced The Séance, which had a limited run in 2019. This show was an immersive theatre piece with some escape room elements. We had plans to bring back the show to a new location, which sadly got canceled due to the pandemic. There is still a chance it might happen; we are just waiting for the right venue and the right time. 

We also announced a revamped Hex Room for 2020, which got postponed. We had everything ordered, contractors scheduled, and then the world shut down. Orders were pushed back, contractors had to cancel, and the whole project was put on hold. I am glad that it did though, these past years, we have been able to use the money we would have spent on the revamp towards keeping our doors open and our employees paid. It has also given me more time to think of even better puzzles and effects! The revamp will still happen as soon as the funds are restored. I am so excited to show you what we have planned!

We have also used all of 2021 to work on a new project that is bigger and totally different from anything we have done before! If all goes according to plan, we will have a big announcement for you in a few months. Stay tuned!

THANK YOU for being amazing and supportive fans. I read every single review that comes our way on google and yelp, and hearing about your fun experience is why we do what we do. I know it has been a long time since we have brought you something new, but big things are in the works. Thank you for being patient and understanding. It will be worth the wait!

Madison Rhoades
CEO and Co-owner
Cross Roads Escape Games

Characters of The Hex Room

What Your Hex Room Character Says About You

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Good! So, you’ve taken our online personality test! But do you know what it means to be a Jock, Nerd, Virgin, Rebel, Prom Queen, or a Detective? In case you haven’t watched as many horror movies as we have, here is some information on what your horror movie stereotype says about you and how you can best live up to your role within your very own horror movie. It’s basically a mood ring, but instead of colors, it’s made of archetypes!

Detective

The Detective is the person who has enough rapport with everyone to actually get them to listen to what they say. They are great listeners and when people talk, they pay close attention. However, the Detective usually spends most of their time trying to keep the other characters alive instead of actually solving the mystery.

  • Has the highest chance of being killed while helping another character.
  • PROS: Great communicator, great multitasker, good puzzle solver.
  • CONS: High responsibility, so much paperwork, dresses like they’re in the 70s.
  • EXAMPLES: Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) in The Wicker Man (1973); Dewey Riley (David Arquette) in Scream (1996).

 

Rebel

The rebel is known for doing rebellious things (who would have guessed it). This leads many of the other characters into thinking that they are more prepared for the horror movie than they actually are. I mean, if they are already used to doing crazy things, how much harder can it be to try and fight for your life against an insane serial killer… right? They are independent and don’t ask for other characters help, usually to their own dismay.

  • Has the highest chance of being killed after separating from the group.
  • PROS: Thinks outside the box, focused, outside observer.
  • CONS: Not really a team player, probably has a tragic backstory.
  • EXAMPLES: Marty (Fran Kranz) in Cabin in the Woods (2012); Taryn White (Jennifer Rubin) in Nightmare on Elm Street III (1987).

 

Jock

Probably the only person in the group that voted against the rest of their team’s decision of leader of the group. Most likely, they voted for themselves. Plays enough sports to think that they are good at everything.

  • Highest chance of suggesting the group split up to search for clues. Probably dies shortly after.
  • PROS: Brave, protective, loyal.
  • CONS: Can’t easily change their mind, relies on strength over brains, has to ask Coach for permission.
  • EXAMPLES: Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp) in Nightmare on Elm Street (1984); Curt (Chris Hemsworth) in Cabin in the Woods (2012).

 

Nerd

Has watched the most movies, horror or otherwise, of any of the other players in the group. They remember small bits of information from each movie, quotes and factoids mostly, and they are happy to tell people this information

  • Highest chance to be killed right as he figures out some piece of vital information.
  • PROS: Observant, good memory, planner, book smart.
  • CONS: Nobody listens to them until it’s too late, loses their glasses like way too much. Seriously, get contacts.
  • EXAMPLES: Randy (Jamie Kennedy) in Scream (1996).

 

Prom Queen

Probably showed up to the escape room late or right on time. Also, is most likely to have read the question “how many people have you kissed?” and asked if they have to answer that question.

  • Highest chance of dying after saying the words “Hello? Is anyone there?”
  • PROS: Driven, confident, has small group of close friends.
  • CONS: Can get caught up on appearances, trust issues, can’t run in heels.
  • EXAMPLES: Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).

 

Virgin

The person that was brought along because everyone actually likes them. This being said, the virgin is most likely to be the one that is too afraid to fill out the questionnaire fully. They will leave answers blank in hopes that if they don’t admit to having fears, that they won’t have to deal with anything scary. Most likely to have not realized that the Hex Room is a horror themed escape room when they were invited/when they booked the room.

  • Highest chance of surviving the ordeal only to drag a new group of friends into the sequels!
  • PROS: Sweet, friendly, avid reader.
  • CONS: Too trusting, prone to being sacrificed, is going to suffer.
  • EXAMPLES: Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in Halloween (1978); Sally (Marilyn Burns) in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).

Keep in mind, being the Virgin doesn’t guarantee you are the “Final Girl,” a common horror movie trope pertaining to the last remaining victim of a horror movie. After all, remember Sigourney Weaver’s wise words from Cabin in the Woods: “It doesn’t matter if the virgin lives or dies, as long as she suffers.”

After taking this personality quiz, we are sure you will better know yourself and be better prepared for surviving a horror film. Want to put your new understanding of self to the test? Get your most trusted group of friends together and enter The Hex Room.

Jason Sakal
Game Master and Manager
Cross Roads Escape Games

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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

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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

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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

Detective in The Hex Room

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

Zoltar

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

Tips on how to escape

What Is An Escape Room? – A Game Master’s Guide

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Happy New Year, everybody! It’s that time again; Time for resolutions, new outlooks, new plans, and of course new adventures. If you are looking for something new to shake up your everyday routine, perhaps you should join the hundreds of thousands of people who are turning to escape rooms as their number one choice for interactive fun.

If you’ve never played before, you probably have some questions about what an escape room is. If you have played before, then you already know how difficult it is to explain an escape room without giving away any spoilers. Well don’t worry, I’m here to help. In this blog, I will be explaining what an escape room is as well as providing hints to help beginners approach their first escape game.

So… what is an escape room? An escape room is an interactive adventure where you must find clues and solve puzzles to escape a room within a set time limit.

Of course, this is a very broad description of an escape room. As all enthusiasts discover, each escape room is a little different; with different themes, puzzles, requirements, or strategies. For example, here at Cross Roads we currently have two different games with two very different themes. The Fun House is a kooky, zany circus-themed non-linear room, while The Hex Room is an intense horror-themed room where you are separated into individual rooms and must work together to escape. No matter the theme, each escape room is designed around the same ideas: the players are going to need to find clues, connect them (sometimes physically, sometimes not), and use them to solve a series of puzzles.

Why would I choose to play an escape room? An escape room is a way to get out of the house and have fun with your family and friends of all ages.

Instead of being stuck in a movie theatre for a few hours, unable to interact with the rest of your group, escape rooms provide the opportunity to talk, joke, interact, and socialize with your team mates. If you have kids with you, no problem! Some rooms, like Fun House for KIDS, are designed to provide fun for the whole family! If you want to read a more in-depth post on how to choose the best escape room for your family, check our earlier blog post.

And finally, in a special edition of Confessions of a Game Master, our game masters provide some tips on how to optimize your game while playing an escape room. These tips come directly from watching many players struggle in our rooms and make the same mistakes over and over.

I hope this blog has helped you to understand escape rooms a little better. If you’ve been thinking about trying an escape room, want help convincing someone to join you on your next escape room adventure, or are looking for tips on how to improve your games, I hope this has been a good start.

And of course, if you like our Confessions of a Game Master video, you can find them all on our YouTube Page. Have a question for our Game Master? Leave a comment on our blog below or on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube pages and you may see the answer in a future video.

Wishing you all a great and exciting New Year. Have fun escaping!

Geoff Durham
Manager, Game Master
Cross Roads Escape Games

Game Master at Cross Roads Escape Games

Confessions of a Game Master: Escape Rooms with Family

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Welcome back to Confessions of a Game Master, your inside look at the minds of the men and women running your games. This month, we ask our game masters to tell us about a time they played an escape room with their family.

If you are looking for something out of the ordinary to do with your family, taking them to an escape room is a great idea! It’s a way to get people of all ages to have fun, interact, and use their minds. It is an interactive experience that will keep the group active, but at the same time not be physically demanding (depending on the game, of course) and nobody will spend the whole time with their eyes glued to a cellphone screen. It’s a time to be present, together. To read a little more and for tips on how to choose the best escape room for your family, check out my previous blog here.

My family loves to play games and put together puzzles when we get together for the holidays, so it was only natural that we should graduate to playing escape rooms as well. I know that we’ve all made lasting memories while getting to be active and use our minds. This holiday season, I hope you get to do something memorable and extraordinary with your family.

Tell us about a time you’ve played an escape room with your family! Why do you think playing an escape room is great idea for a night out? We’d love to hear from you here or on Facebook!

Do you have a question for our Game Masters? Leave us a comment below or on our Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr! If you haven’t seen our other Confessions of a Game Master blogs, you can check them out here, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Geoff Durham
Manager, Game Master
Cross Roads Escape Games

Escaped The Hex Room

The 6 Types of People Every Great Escape Room Team Needs

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Every escape room has a varying skill set that is needed to complete each mission. When gathering your team, make sure to get a diversity of creative thinkers so you have all your bases covered. Here is our list of the 6 types of people every great escape room team needs! Which one are you?

Detective in The Hex Room

The Leader

O’ Captain my captain! Every good group needs a fearless leader! Someone to help settle time wasting disputes and support their team mates when they need an extra set of hands. The Leader is usually elected into the role, either consciously or by habit, and others react and respond to the Leaders suggestions with little to no argument. The Leader doesn’t stick to any one puzzle though and can often be seen running about the room checking in with the rest of the team.

 

Prom Queen in The Hex Room

The Finder

This is the person you call when you lose the T.V. remote and need help finding it. This person is the one that pops up every three seconds while in the room and shouts “I found something!” The Finder is usually the one who finds most of the clues and puzzles and helps to figure out what things goes with what. They are also normally the keeper of keys and the knower of clues. They will sometimes also act as a courier running their new clues back and forth between team mates to trying to figure out if it can help solve any active clues.

 

The Nerd in The Hex Room

The Thinker

The brains of the group. Usually this player is a natural puzzler. Often, they are referred to as the smart one and they derive the most enjoyment from being the one to crack the puzzle’s code! However, Thinkers do tend to have a really bad habit; The Thinker likes to focus on one puzzle until it is solved and hates it when they need to leave a puzzle half solved to try and solve a different puzzle. In extreme cases, this can lead to the Thinker being that one player who spends half the game in a corner by themselves working on a single puzzle.

 

Jock in The Hex Room

The Worker

Do you have to look through several volumes of an encyclopedia? No problem! Bag full of puzzle pieces? No problem! Other process of elimination puzzles? No problem! This tireless worker doesn’t get frustrated by meticulous tasks and can finish up the busy work on puzzles that have already been “solved” while their team mates move on to other tasks!

 

Rebel in The Hex Room

The Leaper

Oh Leaper… What can we say about the Leaper other than this: every group has one and every group needs one. The Leaper is that one person on the team that chooses to ignore clues and make huge leaps in logic when trying to find a solution to a problem. The Leaper embodies the age old saying that “there is no such thing as a dumb idea.” They will leap to strange and confusing conclusions that often end up being wrong. However, whenever the thinker gets stumped, it becomes the leapers job to attempt to find new out-of-the-box ideas for the Challenger to work with. When the clock is ticking down and everyone else starts panicking, the leaper is always there with another solution.

 

Virgin in Hex Room

The Challenger

The Challenger works in tandem with the Thinker and the Leaper and acts as a grounding force for their brainstorming. Simply put, the challenger challenges the solutions put forth by the Thinker and the Leaper to help them come up with solutions that actually makes sense. The Challenger’s role is not to shoot down ideas, but rather to prioritize ideas with highest chance of success. They are the ones saying things like “We can try that, but first let’s see if this works instead…” They also help the Leaper turn their crazy idea into a plausible one by working through the Leapers thought process and forcing them to think about certain ideas in greater depth. If the team is a factory that produces ideas, then the Challenger’s role is quality control.

You also may have some team mates that can take on multiple roles, but it is fun to figure out which habits fit your team mates and friends. Let us know what roles each of your team mates fill in the comment section below! Also, make sure to play The Hex Room and put your teamwork to the test!

Jason Sakal
Game Master and Manager
Cross Roads Escape Games

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