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Summer Escape Rooms

Keeping Your Cool- Confessions of a Game Master

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With the summer heating up, escape rooms will be a popular outing for families, friends, coworkers, and teammates. They provide a getaway from the sun and heat in an adventurous and fun environment. Sometimes though, putting groups of people in rooms and telling them to find a way out can lead to some heated discussions and emotions. Not to worry, though: Our game masters have a few tips that will help your team work more smoothly and keep the tension between players as low as possible. Check out the latest Confessions of a Game Master!

Escape rooms are fun but potentially stressful situations. You’re locked in a room, given handfuls of puzzles, bombarded with information and rules, and placed under a time constraint. All of that can add up to a pretty intense experience, and that’s to say nothing of the theme of the room. Though part of the fun of escape rooms is the rush of racing against time, our game masters have a few tips to help you keep your cool in an escape room.

One of the best ways to beat the heat of an escape room is to remember that you are here to have fun. Of course everyone likes to win, and it’s very exciting to hold the record for “best time,” but remember that your first and foremost goal should be to enjoy the game you are playing. Quite often when groups arrive determined to break the record, they get so caught up with being number one that they don’t take the time to enjoy themselves. This also adds pressure to the less experienced players since there is a huge burden on them to perform better than most players.

If it sounds like I’m not a fan of fastest time records, it’s because I’m not. Or really, I don’t think they should be as important as people make them out to be. “Fastest Time” can tell you how quickly a game was solved, but it won’t tell you how much fun the group had or how many memories they created. I encourage each group to enter every game with the goal to do their best, not the best. Your escape room experience will be instantly less stressful when your goal is to fully experience the room. And if you happen to make the best time while you’re at it? That’s the cherry on top.

What are your tips on staying cool under pressure in an escape room? Let us know in a comment below! Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss a Confessions video and for other escape room goodies.

Geoff Durham
Manager, Game Master, King of Cool
Cross Roads Escape Games

Fun House KIDS

A Magical Birthday: Escape Room Birthday Parties at Cross Roads

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Is your child’s birthday quickly approaching? Are you looking for a way to make their party extra special? Well, come on down and test your wits in our FUN HOUSE!

An escape room is a great birthday party idea because they are an interactive group experience that emphasize and strengthen many skills including teamwork, communication, and problem solving, while still being an entertaining and immersive game.

The Fun House is a topsy-turvy experience filled to the brim with laughs, mystery, magic, and excitement! You and your team must work together to find clues and solve puzzles before time runs out. The light-hearted nature of the game makes it an ideal party destination, full of puzzles that allow groups to work together or break into smaller teams.

If your team consists of young children with dreams of being magicians, have no fear! The Fun House KIDS provides the same whimsical fun and puzzle solving experience but is an alternate version designed for younger players between the ages of 8 and 13-years old. However, it is never too early to send your children off to the circus and children of all ages can play the game! We’ve added some hands-on puzzles to this version of the game so that everyone, no matter what age or height, will have something to do.

What could be better than running off to prove yourself at the circus? Why, how about a party afterwards! Cross Roads Escape Games offers a beautiful lounge that is a comfortable, private space where your group can unwind, talk about their experience, eat some cake and ice cream, and open presents. Along with the lounge rental, we can provide cups, plates, napkins, utensils, balloons, and even take care of clean-up.

Speaking of food, what could possibly go better with a birthday party than pizza? If you need catering for your party, we offer a special escape room package from Top Class Pizza that includes three Large 1-Topping Pizzas, two 10” cheesy bread sticks, two 10” cinnamon sticks, and two 2-liters of soda.

Parents love having their child’s birthday party at Cross Roads Escape Games because they know the kids will have a great time interacting and using their brains and not being distracted by phone screens. Kids love escape room birthday parties because they can be clever, solve puzzles, and win prizes in a unique experience. If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary for your child’s next birthday, try the Fun House for a truly memorable party.

The Fun House and Fun House KIDS is for 4-8 players and is one-hour long. If players are 13 years or younger, they must be accompanied by an adult in the game. Both of our games are private games, meaning your group will not be paired with strangers. Our lounge is available to rent for an extra fee and comfortably fits up to 13 adults. We also do bachelor parties, proposals, baby announcements, and other celebrations! If you have any questions about parties at Cross Roads Escape Games or you would like to book your party, give us a call at (714) 572-1004.

Geoff Durham
Manager, Game Master, Party Animal
Cross Roads Escape Games

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Expecting the Unexpected- Confessions of a Game Master

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The world of escape rooms can be pretty unexpected. Try as we might, sometimes there is just no predicting the strange things people do. Since these games are interactive experiences where the players control how and when the narrative moves, it takes a special kind of guidance to ensure the train stays on its tracks even through bizarre and sudden turns. That’s where a game master comes in: A Game Master’s job is to gently guide players along the path while still allowing the players to dictate the pace.

Here at Cross Roads Escape Games, our Game Masters go through some pretty intensive training to ensure they are ready for anything that is thrown their way over the course of a game. In just a short amount of time, they are required to memorize not only codes, but the placement of props, hints, decorations, and locks, as well as detailed rules and safety. And once they have that memorized, they learn a completely new set-up, a new set of rules, and a new series of codes for our second game.

That sure is a lot to remember. One thing we can’t always predict, however, is the human element. We can have our Game-Masters-In-Training run a game over and over until even Zoltar is tired of talking (which is a feat all on its own; He loves to talk) but that human element can often throw a curveball nobody saw coming. That is why our Game Masters are skilled in improv; Being able to think on your feet is essential to making sure an escape room runs smoothly. We make sure our game masters know how to deal with and work around the unexpected, even if we can’t predict exactly what that will be.

Of course, there are other traits besides improv that make a game master great. In this episode of Confessions of a Game Master, our game masters explain some of their unexpected encounters as well as some traits that make for an effective game master.

Are you caught up with all of our Confessions videos? Catch any you may have missed (or rewatch your favorites) on our YouTube Channel. Do you have a question for our Game Masters? Leave us a comment on our blog and we may answer it in a future episode.

Happy escaping!
Geoff Durham
Game Master, Manager
Cross Roads Escape Games

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FAQ: In Depth Answers

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If you are reading this, then you have probably already looked over our FAQ and have a few more questions that you might want some clarification on. Here are some of the questions that we get asked on a day to day basis.

Player Limits?

The two rooms have different maximum player capacities based on the size of the rooms. For the Fun House we can accommodate 4 – 8 players at once. For the Hex Room we can accommodate up to 5 – 10 players at once. Both rooms were designed for approximately six players, but we can have up to 8 in the Fun House and 10 in the Hex.

This last statement is important to note. When people see that the maximum is 8 or 10, and the minimums are 4 and 5, they always seem to ask one of two questions. Can we have more than the maximum or can we have less than the minimum?

Can we play with more?

No, the maximum player limit is very strict. We get asked a lot if we could fit “just one more” person into the game, and the maximum listed is our cut off point. With more than the maximum number of players, the game becomes cramped and chaotic. It’s a perfect example of “too many cooks in the kitchen.”

We are dedicated to bringing you the best escape room experience and our maximums are in place to make sure you get the best experience possible.

Can we play with less?

For the Hex Room, no. Five players are needed in order for the game to be playable. Because each person is split into their own separate room in the beginning, you MUST have at least 5 players; as there are clues in each room that will be important to solving puzzles and escaping.

As for the Fun House, yes! You can play with less than four players. However, since the Fun House is a private game, you must pay for the minimum number of tickets, which is 4, in order to reserve the room. In the Fun House, everyone starts in the same room and there is A LOT of puzzles to solve, which is why we suggest you bring at least 4 people to tackle this room.

How do you accommodate groups larger than 18?

Since the maximum for the Hex Room is 10 and the maximum for the Fun House is 8… what can we do to accommodate large groups of more than 18 people? Since we cannot have more than the maximum number of players in either room we can run multiple games back to back.

For large groups up to 36 players we recommend renting out our private lounge for 18 people to wait in while the other 18 people are inside the game, and switch when the first games are over.

Do you have actors in either room?

Neither of our rooms have actors in them. You will have a game master watching you the entire time, but they will not be in the room with you.

What is the difference between Fun House and Fun House for Kids?

The difficulty levels. In the Kids version, we take out some of the more complicated puzzles and replace them with a few puzzles that are a bit more straight forward and hands on. It is a great room for children that are looking to become young escape enthusiasts!

Which room is better?

I get this question at least twice a day. My answer is always this. It is a matter of taste. Both rooms are fun and immersive experiences, but they have different themes. The Hex Room is a dark and sinister experience that is intense and thrilling. Whereas the Fun House is a very light-hearted experience that is humorous and whimsical. Do you want to try and escape a crazed killer that is obsessed with horror movies or do you want to put up with the AMAZING Zoltar and all of his silly antics as you try to prove yourselves worthy magicians? The choice is yours and, honestly, as far as I’m concerned you can’t go wrong with either one!

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

replay the hex room

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

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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

Escape Room Date Night

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

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