First, someone has an idea. Most often, it's the theme or a specific puzzle that one would like to include in an escape room. And of course, there must also be a suitable room or rooms to be designed.

By now, there are statistics on the most popular genres for escape rooms. Adventure themes in the present day are not as popular as magic school or pirate settings. Generally, the more appealing the theme, the more people want to visit the escape room. Therefore, the choice of theme should be very well thought out. In the past, laboratory settings like „The Crazy Laboratory“ by Top Secret Wuppertal very popular, nowadays other themes are more likely to be chosen that try to appeal to the masses. Especially exclusive themes that also fit the location are naturally the trailblazers here.

So, with the premises and a theme in place, it's time for the planning. Some escape room providers plan this in great detail, spending many hours on 3D models, drawings, and circuit diagrams. Others, however, tend to build as they go, developing the escape room during construction. Of course, fully furnished escape rooms can also be purchased. There are several service providers on the German market who support the construction of an escape room in various ways.

The Escape Room Starters They specialise in holistic consulting and build individual escape rooms. With over 35 different escape rooms, they have extensive experience in this field. The Game Architects have primarily set themselves the goal of game design, but also support or facilitate the building itself.

Whatever the decision, whether it's custom-made, off-the-shelf, or a mix of both – in the end, every escape room must contain three things for the player experience to work and be enjoyable.

A good story

A good and understandable story is the be-all and end-all for an escape room. Without a story, immersion, the feeling of being drawn into the game, doesn't work, and players simply end up solving a series of unlinked puzzles. A good escape room story is often quickly told and provides a motivation for why the players are there, as well as the internal logic for why puzzles now need to be solved. Poor escape rooms are recognisable because there is no reason at all for solving puzzles, or the story is simply limited to a one-liner like „You have to find the key to the exit!“.

2. A good backdrop

Opinions already diverge here: While there are escape room enthusiasts who primarily choose escape rooms based on the setting, this is less important for others. We believe that the setting should be realistic. For example, we prefer to work with real materials rather than making things look as if they were real. We'd rather use wood and stone instead of polystyrene, tile adhesive is for sticking tiles and not for structural work, and a spartan prison cell looks just that – spartan. For those who don't trust themselves to do all this work, there are also service providers who can help, such as Semicolon fall back on.

3. The matching puzzles

As a rule of thumb, a good escape room has around 12 puzzles, each taking approximately five minutes to solve. Of course, there are slower and faster groups, but the puzzles should be adjusted so that an average group that has already played a handful of escape rooms can solve the puzzle room within 55 to 60 minutes with a few hints. If the test groups require too many hints or finish the room too quickly, the puzzle density should be adjusted. When selecting puzzles, it must, of course, always be considered whether they fit the setting, story, and scenery.

And then it's tested!

Naturally, it's impossible to avoid putting the escape room through its paces. Are the processes suitable for the game masters, or does a game master have to tidy up for far too long at the end? Are hints always needed in the same places? Are sound effects at the right volume? Does the hint system work everywhere? Do things break quickly and need frequent replacement? These are all questions that should be asked during test runs and with the first groups. Therefore, among escape room aficionados, the theory is widespread that it's better to play a new escape room only after one or two months, so that the „teething troubles“ are ironed out by then.

So, if you've now been inspired to develop an Escape Room yourself, then we have another good tip for you: first play as many Escape Rooms as possible to get a picture of the market and the possibilities, because only by doing so can you best realise your dream afterwards.