Room Escape Artist: No, you aren’t truly trapped in an escape room.
Every modern escape room should always allow players to free themselves in the event of an emergency.
If you visit an escape room company and they insist on locking you in without an emergency exit, you should demand a refund and leave.
11 comments:
I feel like the knowledge that escape rooms can and have to be unlocked is a dumb simple thing that has just completed passed over me every time I have done an escape room. My anxiety kicks in and I truly think I am locked in - even though, as the article mentions - if they do this you should demand a refund. I really liked how the article mentioned that escape room designers found much more success when players were given much more complex goals and scenarios rather than just (get through this locked door). The escape rooms that I have been to before have all been like - beat the Illuminati, escape the prison, stuff like that. Escape rooms are super fun, but by reading this article it’s nice to know that someone is thinking about the possible emergency exits for the game. The key option made the least amount of sense to me because I feel like people would automatically assume it was the ultimate clue and then the game would be ended prematurely.
I am a big fan of escape rooms. My high school used escape rooms to help us learn and practice material and further problem solving and strategy thinking skills. Escape rooms are such a fun way to learn. These teach and strengthen teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, and many other important life skills. They are also universal; anyone from any age can participate in an escape room situation. I had no clue that some locations actually locked in the participants. I really like how this article mentioned that there was one case of a disaster occuring and action and change swept the community. I wish this same thinking process could be applied to other disasters in our world, particularly mass shootings. Not to turn an article about locking escape rooms into a discussion about gun laws, but I’m just trying to say that if people actually care, changes are made.
I have been to an escape room once in my life and even though it was for small chunk of the time, the anxiety of not being to leave this room did kick in and almost made me want to never do an escape room again, which I know is a stupid thing because I have always known that escape rooms have people watching over them all the time so the chances of them not seeing you being locked in are almost nil.
And this point was further strengthened with this article because it does mention how escape room employees are to guarantee one's safety and comfort as they try to escape the room. Because at the end of the day, everyone is there to enjoy the experience, not be traumatized with it afterwards, which would not be desirable at all, forget about being memorable to any degree what so ever.
Of course they aren't actually locked. I'm sure that's...illegal. There are so many bad things that can occur or just go wrong. As the article states, having them locked seems like a big insurance ordeal. Though, there's a part of me that wishes that they were locked. Or at least wishes that I was ignorant enough to think that they were locked. I have never taken part in the game, but I'm sure it would be so much more of an experience if I was actually trapped. Know that I have an easy way out takes away the risk factor. It takes away the anxiety and the tension. The stakes aren't high anymore. It just turns into a problem solving game that you want to win just because. I may be wrong here, but that's how it seems, and I probably wouldn't bother doing it.
I really enjoyed this article. I have never been to an escape room, and part of the reason why not is because of the anxiety that the idea of being trapped in a room like that gives me. I love solving puzzles and working with friends to do so, but the anxiety of being unable to unlock the doors always stopped me from going out and purchasing a ticket for such an escape but this information does soothe me a bit. Escape rooms are a really interesting form of immersive theatre that is being marketed right now. I love hearing about all the traditionally theatre-based artists that are being commissioned for this kind of work and design right now. I love hearing about the skills that we are learning being able to be applied to such a tangent career, it is a good reminder that theatre artists are not limited to only pursuing theatre.
While this article may not have been too long, it definitely contained a lot of information. While this was not new to me in any sense of the word, I still found it interesting. I have done dozens of escape rooms, and never once did I feel like I couldn't get out if I needed to. I am not sure if this is because of my knowledge of fire code or just something I picked up in always being told to keep fire and ADA compliance in the back of your head in theater, but I never thought the doors were truly locked. It was interesting to read about how different escape rooms companies allow for an emergency exit and also to read about how original escape rooms were truly locked. On top of that, I find it great that this is just one article in a series called, "Are Escape Rooms?" I am for sure doing to read a few more articles in the series.
I can honestly say I have never thought about this until now, and even the title of this article has conjured dozens of worst-case scenario, horrible situations involving escape rooms into my mind. I would certainly hope the main door is not locked! Allowing the game operator on the ‘other side’ to control main door access seems WAY too Black Mirror for my taste, so I am glad that they have a few solutions to opening the door from the inside. The Mag Lock method seems especially handy because it can work until it is disabled from inside. The emergency key does not sound the smartest because in the event of an emergency, say a fire, it would take very precious time to open that door. And if someone steals the key from the inside, either people are trapped or you eventually have to replace the lock or get a new key made.
I saw the headline and immediately thought that I certainly hope they don’t actually lock escape rooms. Logistically and legally, that seems like it would be a nightmare. I would assume these places are designed to have fail-safes in mind, just in case of an unforeseen event or someone is not responding well to the escape room. I was also fascinated by the existence of this website. I was not aware that there was such a large community surrounding escape rooms. They do sound fun, but I have not yet tried one. I think with the right group of people, it could be a very fun experience. I thought the history of locking people in escape rooms seemed very disconcerting, but I am glad to know that it is no longer the mainstream and I hope that the practice has been discontinued. It is also good that they have emergency exits, just in case of an emergency.
I think that every time I have ever gone to an escape room, I have known inside that it was obviously unlocked for safety reasons, but as soon as that timer starts ticking, the game has begun and the only way out is to solve the puzzle. I understand that actually locking the room would add to the atmosphere of having to find the key or code to open the door, but I agree with the fact that there is a big risk being taken by escape room companies that do lock people inside. In case of an emergency, there should always be a clear and quick way to get out. Also, I think that if people are paying to play the game of an escape room, they would also respect the idea that they are "locked" in the room. I'm not sure that keeping the rooms unlocked would really affect how real the game feels.
I am a huge fan of escape rooms; almost every time I go home and meet up with my friends, we end up doing one. At the one place we frequent, they are always sure to make sure that we know that we are not truly locked in the escape room; there are “press to exit” buttons at every door (in and out of the room, not the doors that are a part of the experience), they never actually lock the door (there you can’t hear the lock engage after the employee walks out of the room), and there is constant monitoring so that the “guide” may aid in the experience but also to make sure that nothing bad is happening to the players. I am sure that locking an escape room would open up all sorts of legal issues as well as issues regarding fire code compliance.
I’ve never done an escape room, so my experience in this field is limited, but it makes sense for safety reasons why the door wouldn’t actually be locked or would have an emergency switch that immediately unlocks it. With how much time we spend learning about fire safety regulations and the number and accessibility of doors, it seems like an escape room where participants are actually locked in and unable to escape would definitely be a hazard. Some people might think that it ruins the point of the experience to be able to leave whenever you want, but I think that with the doors marketed as an emergency exit and it being clear that using it is not a victory, people understand their necessity, and that safety comes before entertainment value. I also really liked the point about how most escape rooms have moved beyond “you’re locked in a room, get out” to something with more of a plot and objective, so the actual door becomes less important.
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