Tag Archives: leeds

Instant reaction from the Unconference in Leeds today

Photo by James Curtis

Photo posted to Twitter by James Curtis

I very much enjoyed my time at the latest “The Great Escape UK” Unconference in Leeds today. There were about 27 attendees by the end of the day; I enjoyed catching up with some from previous events and just as much enjoyed meeting others for the first time, some of whom had been on my “it’d be nice to meet some day” list for quite a while. The venue was Dock 29 in the Leeds Dock area, which looks very smart; while there is a water taxi giving free rides from (very near) the train station, there isn’t a good system for letting people know when the water taxi isn’t running, and sadly this contributed towards me only being able to attend the last four and a bit hours or so. (Unconferences are a little stranger when you can’t attend the planning-on-the-day stage at the beginning… though I probably could have stuck a session note onto the board if there was something burning that I had wanted to discuss.) Jason Stroud of Thinking Outside The Box was the only known person to travel from the UK to Chicago for the Room Escape Conference last month and I was disappointed to miss him presenting his findings; the rest of us will have to settle for this review video.

I believe that organiser Liz Cable will be putting together a more formal description of the sessions at some point, as well as co-ordinating the collation of the notes that people took. After a buffet spread that looked as good as it tasted, Liz took eight or nine of us around her Code-X pop-up game, a few doors down, that sadly has to close on Sunday 18th and clear out shortly after. The aesthetic is distinctive and likely very effective, and there are as many surprises as you’d hope for. A tour can never match up to playing the game for real, but this did look like a treat.

In the afternoon, there was a session on potential for interaction between escape rooms and academia; without wanting to get too “one weird trick” about it, there do seem to be revenue streams that might be able to be tapped by escape room creators who can reframe the advantages of what they offer in ways that universities will want to hear, far aside from the obvious one of having students coming and playing your regular open-to-the-public game. There was also a fascinating session comparing academic models proposed over the years for game players’ motivations, discussing the extent to which they may or may not apply, and giving practical applications of the most promising-looking of these models to the escape room context. Escape game web sites often tend to promote their offerings in fairly similar fashions, which may be relatively generic when something more tailored to differently motivated groups of players may speak more directly to them.

Past unconferences have often generated a spirit of “sure, it would be great to work together!” which has not generated practical activity. The end of the day had some attempts to be slightly more concrete about initiatives which seem to have common purpose: a smarter approach to insurance (are some people paying too much? Do companies’ insurance policies really cover you?) as well as potential to investigate group buying where it makes sense, and places where the industry as a whole might promote itself more usefully than individual brands doing so.

Exciting times! Lots to think about; many thanks to Liz and the attendees for putting the day together. The next unconference will be on Tuesday 10th January 2017 at The Steam Room, part of “Drink, Shop and Do” near King’s Cross Station in London; it too should be a treat and booking is already open. Being the second Tuesday of the month, of course, that will be a Puzzled Pint night, so don’t forget about one really good, relevant opportunity to socialise afterwards!

Unconferences past and future

unconferenceJust quickly:

The second “The Great Escape UK” unconference took place in London on April 25th. People took notes from many of the sessions at the time. A few sessions remain unscribed and attempts to chase the sessions’ scribes have proved fruitless. However, as something is much better than nothing, please enjoy the notes that have survived from most of the sessions; if you are in a position to add to them, please do so.

The third “The Great Escape UK” conference will take place in Leeds on September 6th, also known as next Tuesday; specifically, it will take place at Dock 29 between 11am and 7pm. Take a look at previous unconference coverage on this site to see whether it sounds like your cup of tea; if so, book your ticket now. You’ll need to pay for your ticket at the time of booking because (a) booking includes lunch and (b) there were many people who booked free tickets and didn’t turn up last time, so there were plenty of other people on the waiting list who wanted to go but couldn’t.

This third meet-up for the UK Escape Room Industry welcomes anyone involved in running, designing, or creating Escape Room Games in the UK, or associated industries. We also welcome keen players, as long as they promise not to rip out the fixtures and fittings in search of clues. We also allow suppliers to attend in the spirit of sharing not selling. ((…))

Our quarterly Unconference returns to Leeds. Everyone can propose a session on the day, on anything they like, people signup for whatever tickles their fancy, then the agenda is decided as we go along. ((…))

Some offerings include a report back from the first Chicago Escape Room Conference, and an offering (from me) on Curiosity and Player Motivation and how it impacts Room Design – a summary of a week-long symposium on Game Design at Utrecht University (actually more fun than it sounds).

Unrelatedly, but still excitingly, on the day after the London unconference, 32 escape room owners, staff and players visited the The Crystal Maze attraction in London. Yesterday The Sun suggested (and, today, reports have reached as far as the BBC) that there will be a one-off revival of the show on Channel 4 for their Stand Up To Cancer night on October 21st. There won’t be a full-scale maze made for a single show; Buzzfeed report that the event will be filmed at the attraction in London. This is an extremely spectacular setting for an event you’ve paid tens of pounds to play in person and a somewhat unspectacular setting for a TV show featuring a team of celebrities. We shall see, and hope that it proves a prelude to a full-scale, big-budget soup-to-nuts revival of the series at a later date.

The great day of The Great Escape UK

The Great Escape UK topic boardOn Thursday, I attended the first unconference in the UK dedicated to exit games and related topics, The Great Escape UK. Being an unconference, the attendees were invited to pitch discussions they wanted to lead, or to have. The board above shows the sessions that were pitched; it’s difficult to read them, so they were as follows:

Using Excel to write a budget forecast Social Media marketing “beyond the victory selfie” Back room equipment (cameras, systems) What other puzzle adventures exist?
  What is the future of escape rooms?   Mobile escape games
Ideas for “upselling” Outdoor escape rooms = geocaching Where does digital fit in escape rooms? Timetabling (illegible bullet point list)
What does a great employee look like? What is missing from the EG community? “Pimp my game” – high-tech and other ideas  

Slightly over 40 attendees booked places at The Cross Keys in Leeds; not everyone turned up, but there were walk-ins as well, so the final number of attendees is not yet known, but there were representatives from over twenty sites. Particular thanks to those who had come from afar to attend: not just London or Scotland, but all the way from Germany or the Netherlands. We had the private area upstairs, which was very good and an easily adequate size for us; the staff were attentive and extremely polite. (The fish and chips were excellent, coming with a particularly good home-made tartare sauce.)

The day started with an introduction to the unconference format; as an ice-breaker, we were split into five teams, each of which had to solve puzzles to crack a four-digit code to unlock a box. The main meat of the day was the four sessions of discussion; the end of the day was my presentation of the “state of the nation in 2015” and discussion on what might happen next to the community.

In the end, there wasn’t the demand to make every proposed session happen. Generally people would congregate around two or three tables and the discussions might have fifteen or twenty people each, though there were some smaller ones and happily some people found more use from talking to each other, perhaps in continuation of previous discussions rather than attending the sessions at all. The best news is that everybody was constructive, generous with their input and came across really favourably as far as I am concerned. If you were there, you’re straight on my strictly metaphorical “plays well with others” list – not to say that if you weren’t there then you’re on my “doesn’t play well with others” list!

Scribes took notes from each of the talks that took place and notes will surely be collated and published shortly, quite possibly in the same Google Documents format as used at the Ontario unconference so that other recollections will be shared. Certainly I’m interested in seeing what was said at the other sessions I missed, and there were usually two tracks that I wanted to attend in every session. Possibly the most exciting one concerns what is missing from the community; more on that before too long.

My presentation of the state of the nation and the 2015 survey results didn’t get too big a response while I was giving it, so I may need to rethink how I present the data. (People were kindly polite to me about the talk afterwards, but it didn’t feel like I had hit the mark at the time.) I shall publish the data in full within, hopefully, a week or so for you to perform your own analyses.

Lots more arising from the event to come over the weeks and months. A spectacular day; when the book on exit games in the UK is written, today will go down in lore!

Looking forward to the Unconference in Leeds next Wednesday

unconference

(Posted by Dr. Scott Nicholson from the Ontario Escape Room Unconference 2015.)

This site has mentioned the “The Great Escape UK” unconference next Wednesday a few times; tickets are still available with registration open until at least Sunday. That ticketing page confirms the venue (a mile from the coach station, half a mile from the railway station) and sets the tone and suggests what might be in store. Definitely room for more owners, would-be owners, enthusiasts and those who just want to learn a lot more, myself firmly included.

Conversations I would be interested in having next Wednesday include:

  • What does the future of exit games look like? (I think there is no one future, but many different parts of the future…)
  • What does the UK market really look like at the moment – what is the survey (discussed yesterday) not properly capturing?
  • What other sorts of puzzle adventures are there to enjoy? I talk about quite a few on this site, but there must be others that I know very little about and would love to know much more about.
  • What are the characteristics of an excellent exit game employee, how might they be recognised and rewarded?
  • …and doubtless many, many more that I look forward to being pleasantly surprised by.

Hope to see you there!

Unconferences and other fun conferences, then onwards to an International Escape Game challenge

Abstract conference graphicAfter the Escape Games Convention in Stuttgart last month, yesterday saw the Ontario Escape Room Unconference 2015 in Toronto. Hopefully the Facebook group will get better-populated; Exit Games UK very much looks forward to reports of the event from those members of the extremely popular local exit game blogging scene who could attend, and the #oeru15 Twitter hashtag has exciting-looking titbits.

So if meetings can happen in Germany and Canada, why can’t they happen here? That was part of the thinking behind the industry-wide meetup at the forthcoming The Crystal Maze attraction, though the attraction’s delay in opening until 2016 is putting that on hold. Before then, an unconference in Leeds between 2pm and 7pm on Wednesday 13th January has been announced on Facebook, or at the very least, suggested. Hurrah! Exciting times; hopefully the Canadian model (and reports of how much its attendees got from being there) will drive lots of people to such a UK event, for its effectiveness will strongly depend on how many people turn up to take part.

The suggestion was made by Liz Cable of Time Games, a university lecturer in social media and digital narratives. Time Games have fine form, having organised pop-up exit games at speculative fiction conventions in the UK and in the Netherlands and combination exit game / scavenger hunts for universities as well – and who have such a varied background in other types of games that they can bring plenty of other experiences to the table as well. Most excitingly, as Essa at Intervirals pointed out, they’re responsible for this very exciting tweet: “We’re planning an International #EscapeGame Challenge for 2016“. Definitely one to follow!

Liz has a number of other provocative thoughts as well, for instanceThis lunchtime I am mostly thinking about how to combine laser-tagging and escape games“. A small part of the solution could be the rather cool-sounding Survive The Night large-scale outdoor archery tag (which uses proper bows and heavily foam-tipped boffer arrows) game recently discussed at Escape Rooms in Toronto; a bigger part might go along the lines of “who knows, but it certainly sounds amazing“!

Now open in Leeds: House of Enigma

House of EnigmaThis brand new exit game popped up through Ken’s algorithm a few weeks ago and has remained on this site’s radar for a while; there’s finally convincing evidence to suggest that it opened yesterday, as well as confirmation by e-mail from the site proprietor, so it’s a pleasure to be able to welcome the location to business.

The location is based on a wide terraced road, very close to the fast A64 route from Leeds to York. For now, it hosts one 60-minute game for two, three or four players, priced at £40, £45 or £56 respectively. The first game is entitled The Lost City of Atlantis and tells a tale of adventure. Unusually, your goal is to protect secrets that need not to be revealed.

Professor Christopher Nansen is a world-famous explorer, archaeologist and oceanographer known for his fascination with the City of Atlantis, a legend to which he has dedicated his entire career. He has recently been kidnapped due to rumours of his success in finding the long lost, technologically advanced civilization. Aware of such a possibility, he’s left clues in his office that only a genius of his own callibre could understand.

As an organization uniting the world’s brightest minds, the House of Enigma has a mission to solve and protect mankind’s greatest mystery. The enemy is already on its way. Report to Headquarters immediately, there’s no time to lose…

A second game is under construction and may well spring from the neat overarching plot device of the House of Enigma being an almost International Rescue-like organisation. The location’s web site looks upbeat, smart and classy; Exit Games UK looks forward to seeing reviews of the game before long!

Coming soon to Glasgow: Tick Tock Unlock

Tick Tock Unlock's new Leeds locationThe famous Tick Tock Unlock recently announced on their Facebook that they will be expanding to a third location, this one in Glasgow. It’s a huge metropolis; although it’s long been served by Escape and the brand new The Room, surely it’s big enough to support three different sites. (It does remain to be seen whether four different competitors can all thrive in a city outside London, though.) The Facebook message suggests that it’ll be opening in about a week’s time. (Tick Tock Unlock had a tease where they were inviting people to guess their new location, but you could look at a jobs site and see them recruiting for quite a convincing clue…)

If you’re very observant, you might be aware that the graphic above isn’t actually of the new Glasgow location. Instead, it’s of the Kings House office building in Leeds to which the original Tick Tock Unlock location has originally moved. Inside Media suggest that the location has taken 1,719 ft2 of space, which is a very decent size and promises much for the future. Tick Tock Unlock have already hinted at a “new game coming soon”; for now, they have already opened a second room of their original Blueprint game, enabling always-popular head-to-head competition. This site has long suspected that the original Tick Tock Unlock in Leeds was one of the busiest single-room locations in the country, so opening a second room should help people get to experience the game that has gained such high ratings on TripAdvisor at the time they want to play it. Exciting times!

Unrelatedly, this site has a very strong suspicion that the vast majority of locations up and down the UK and Ireland are doing excellent business this Easter; it’s still cold enough that people are attracted to indoor activities, and the Easter weekend is a traditional time to get together for fun with family and friends. Considering that locations tend to be busier on Saturdays than on any other day of the week, and considering how quickly the market is continuing to grow, this site would bet fairly good money at short odds that more people are playing an exit game in the UK and Ireland today than on any other single day previously. That said, if it is indeed a record, it’s probably one that’s going to get broken again before much longer!

Coming soon to Leeds: Locked In Games

"Locked In Games" logoAnother pleasant surprise reached this site earlier today as Locked In Games got in touch, discussing the site that they are opening in Leeds. It looks like they’ve got a long way through the process.

Their site details the two hour-long games with which they will open, and they both frankly look a little creepy. (Not necessarily outright scary.) The teacher overseeing the Classroom of Doom game has a smile so wide she could eat you in two bites, if her hairdo were not unsettling enough, and the little girl sat on a tuffet, or at least a chair, looks like she is taking the name of the Nursery Nightmares game rather literally. The photos of what else might be found in the room hint at things being ever so slightly awry.

In e-mail, the site suggest that they are hoping to open for Hallowe’en, appropriately enough, and indeed their booking system is set up to take bookings from the 31st onwards. The pricing is a very reasonable £15/player for 3-player teams, £14/player for 4-player teams and £13/player for 5-player teams; it’s not yet clear whether that’s an introductory price, or whether there might be further promotional opening offers as well. (Rest assured that if news arrives, there will be a post with great delight.)

The game is set on the first floor of an old mill, which sounds like a very atmospheric location, though this may make the game inaccessible for the less mobile. If you can take advantage, though, this may well be an unsettling treat!

Opening in Leeds on Monday: Tick Tock Unlock

"Tick Tock Unlock" logoThis site has previously featured a preview of Tick Tock Unlock, an exit game coming to Leeds very soon. Their Facebook site suggests that a booking has already been made for May 19th, and the opening date has been confirmed on Twitter, which is sufficiently convincing to merit a place on The Timeline and the exit game details page. However, the web site suggests that bookings are currently available from Wednesday 21st May onwards, so it may well be that they have plans for the rest of Monday and Tuesday.

There have been some gorgeous photos added to their Facebook site recently; it’s well worth clicking through to see the rest of the album. The details within the room look atmospheric and delightful. The photos say that “You can step into the professor’s office but the leaving will not be so easy…” Private e-mail reveals a little more that can be exclusively revealed. The game is entitled Blueprint and here’s its background:

“Conspiracy theorist and history professor, James Watson, has vanished under mysterious circumstances. He was once considered the bright star of academia before he uncovered the web of criminal reality lurking in plain sight. What started as a drive to unmask the criminals very quickly took over his life. His obsession, which led many to call him delusional, consumed him; some even questioned his sanity. That is, until he vanished without a trace. If you are reading this, you already know too much and they are coming after you next.

You are the last remaining hope to uncover the truth from his delusions. Solve the mystery, escape in sixty minutes – Tick Tock Unlock.”

Extremely promising and tantalisingly close!

Coming soon to Leeds: Tick Tock Unlock

"Tick Tock Unlock" logoThis site has been focusing more on puzzle hunts than on exit games recently, but that’s where the excitement has been. At least, until now! Exit games are coming ever closer to this neck of the woods (the north-east of England!) with a long-awaited first site to open in Yorkshire. Tick Tock Unlock (and I love the name!) have annouced a location very near the central library in Leeds.

The proprietors have not yet announced an official opening date, though the “Book Now” button points to bookings being available from Monday 28th April. I wouldn’t necessarily take that as definitive, though; the site has set up Facebook and Twitter feeds, which they very wisely seem to be keen to use, so I would expect formal announcement of an opening date there before too long. (I commend them for their heavy use of social media before the site opens; getting as much of a buzz going in advance as they have done should help them to hit the ground running – as well as meaning that we know about the site before it opens.)

So what is known? Not much yet; even the theme is being kept covert. “Tick Tock Unlock is a simple and exciting real life escape game designed for small groups of 3-5 people. You only have one goal: escape from the room in 60 minutes by solving a series of puzzles, unravelling clues, and working together as a team to reveal the darkest secrets that have never been shared.” We do know that promotional ticket pricing will see £48 charged for a team of three, £60 for a team of four or £70 for a team of five; no word, yet, as to how long the promotional prices will last or what prices afterwards will be. The booking engine points to there only being a single room, at least to start with.

This should be popular, I reckon. I get a good feeling from the professionalism of the web site and from the initial use of social media. Additionally, Yorkshire is too big a region not to have an exit game for too long. This looks promising to me; I look forward to following the site’s progress, and to not having too far to go in order to do so!