Escape rooms, a new form of entertainment inspired by simple video games, are taking the live-action entertainment world by storm. These puzzle-based entertainment companies challenge participants to escape a locked room, usually themed in some way, and are gaining attention with a wide variety of people.
Humble Beginnings To Trending Activity
Escape rooms first started overseas in Asian and European countries before starting to take hold in the Americas. Now, most major cities within the United States have at least one escape room, showing just how quickly this trendy entertainment is rising in popularity. Instagram reports that there’s been a 13% increase globally in posts with #escaperoom and #weescaped hashtags this year, compared with last year.
The rooms are inspired by early adventure and puzzle video games, popular in nerd culture in the 2000s. As nerd culture gained more following within the mainstream, escape room companies started appearing, offering a similar experience to the video games with the added element of being live-action. While originally geared towards young adults, escape rooms have evolved into a more family-oriented experience to appeal to a wider audience.
Gaining Traction With Families
Some escape room games exist as adults-only attractions still, with many focusing on the horror or thriller genre for their themes. However, many escape rooms have started focusing on keeping their spaces family-friendly, allowing them to appeal to a greater audience. These escape rooms often feature fantasy, science-fiction, and humor themes to keep them appealing to a family audience, rather than the thrill-seekers that sometimes look for escape rooms as entertainment.
It makes sense that parents would look to videogame-inspired activities for their children, with how large a role videogames have started to play in childhood entertainment. Many kids these days have too much screen time and not enough physical activity, and escape rooms often offer both some degree of physical activity and intellectually challenging puzzles. Studies have shown that it’s very important for children to have regular opportunities for a variety of gross motor activities, and children that don’t get this interaction in their first six years will face a lifetime of limited brain power.
Whether drawn to escape rooms for the adrenaline rush of the escape or for a family-friendly puzzling challenge, there’s no denying that people everywhere are rushing to escape rooms to try them out. Are escape rooms just a flash in the pan, or will they continue to grow in popularity as an entertainment option for adventure-loving people of all ages? It’s difficult to say, but one thing’s for sure; people seem to be enjoying their experiences breaking out of these interesting puzzles.
