Escape Room Board Games

You may think it’s harder to design an escape room on paper than it is to design one on…well, paper (where the latter is a blueprint for a physical room and the former is for a board game). Well, they’re both pretty hard but designing a board game limits what you can because you don’t exactly have technology available. Online games and rooms somewhat solve that technical limitation, but we’re not talking about that, are we?!? (Actually, you can find that here.) Anyway, below is our scoring system for play-at-home (or anywhere you have floorspace) escape games.

There are several rating blocks here that mimic physical escape room ratings (click here for those). That’s by design since there should be some things that are pulled from physical rooms if you’re expecting to play an escape room game.

Each of your ERG have 50 points again to divvy up into the following sections, for a 100-point total.

SCORING:
(Each of the following sections is broken down into the sub-categories shown below, with each being assigned a specific point value to come up with noted number of points per section.)

  • Setup – 4 points
    • Description – How much space do you really need to play this game?
    • Physical setup – How long does it take to go from opening the box to playing the game? Less than 2 minutes? More than 5? Pshaw!
    • Reading – How much actual reading must be done? Is there a book to read before starting? Maybe just a couple pages? Does everyone need to read separate parts or can one person read aloud for all?
  • STORY – 6 points
    • Level of detail – Was there enough detail to make the story compelling and make you actually WANT to complete the room, or were there gaps that required you to do some “suspension of disbelief?”
    • Originality (vs other ER board games) – How original is the story/theme from others we’ve done before or does it put a totally different spin on a more common theme?
    • Immersion – Can you get an accurate mental picture of where you are and what you’re doing?
  • MISSION – 5 points
    • Objectives – How many things do you have to do to complete/win the game? (Just “escape” or do you have to find out who’s brother it was that did the deed before leaving the “building” with your life and wits intact?)
    • Instructions – Are there any instructions that tell you specifically how to use the box’s contents? Are there specific instructions to explain certain game mechanics?
    • How do I win?? – Will it be easy to know if we’ve won the game?
  • PUZZLE/SOLUTION DIVERSITY – 5 points
    • Puzzle Types -Were all the puzzles in the game of a similar format (i.e. look at the pictures and find things that stand out, plug-n-chug, repeat) or were the puzzles a mix of mental (see above) and “physical” (maybe you had to tear some cards up or fold along lines and make a shape) challenges?
    • Solution Types – Did you have to plug-n-chug everything into a secret decoder or did some puzzles lead you straight to other ones?
  • PUZZLE/SOLUTION COMPLEXITY – 5 points
    • Complexity – How complex/difficult were the overall puzzles, did they require multiple pieces that you had to put together to get the ultimate solution, and did they fit the difficulty rating of the room (if one was provided by the company)?
    • Mixture of Difficulty Levels – Did the puzzles have a mixture of difficulty that allowed for some quick wins and but also some stumpers, and was the complexity level appropriate for rated number of players?
  • GAMEPLAY – 25 points
    • Difficulty Accuracy – The box is rated one way (X of 3 locks, Y of 5 stars), but was it accurate??
    • Multiplayer – Were the puzzles designed in such a way as to be multi-player friendly? Could 3 people work on one while 2 worked on another or is that too cumbersome to facilitate?
    • Production Value – Does it look good at least?
    • Fun/Amusement – Was this game at least enjoyable or was it just too disproportionately hard that someone threw up their hands in a “F*** it, I’m out!” fashion?
    • Time – Is the listed playtime accurate/appropriate?

SUMMARIES
(Each of the following sections garner no actual score, but we give our thoughts on the items below.)

  • Clue Structure
    • How were the clues delivered in the game? Is there a booklet? Are there separate clue cards?
    • How are they paced throughout the game and is it appropriate?
  • Mobile App Integration
    • Is the mobile app (if one’s available) required to play?
    • What does it do for you? (Keep time, play ambient music, etc.)
  • Replayability
    • Were we able to play the game without destroying anything? Could we get around said destruction somehow?
  • Success Rating
    • Did we think the number of stars at the end (or whatever reward is given) was accurate for the difficulty/time, etc.?

Last, we also thought it pertinent to have one or two items specific to each of the Escape Room Guys to grade the room on.

Jason’s Schema:

  • NAME: How angry and/or frustrated did Jason get with any of the puzzles or clues or just an overall feeling of inferiority or insecurity? Scoring is based on the number of 👊 Fists in a 5-point scale. Scale is further broken down as follows (but not necessarily adhered to):
    • 1 – Miffed
    • 2 – Annoyed
    • 3 – Angry
    • 4 – Pissed
    • 5 – Enraged

Mike’s Schema:

  • NAME: Essentially, were there any points where Mike felt like something was obvious that the group didn’t figure out quickly enough… what was the stupidity factor. Scoring based on the number of ?‍♂️ FacePalms in a 5-point scale. Scale is further broken down as follows:
    • 1 – oops
    • 2 – aw, that sucks
    • 3 – How the HELL did I miss that?
    • 4 – dammit, I’m better than this
    • 5 – WTF – I’m a blithering idiot and deserve to smack myself repeatedly in the face

FINAL SCORE/GRADE
This is the total of each ERG’s score of each of the rated sections (both Jason and Mike can award 50 points for a 100-point total). Below is how the final rating translates (loosely) into a recommendation.

  • Less than 5 – Don’t waste your time.
  • 5 – 5.9 – We had some major problems with this game (be it the difficulty rating is way off, something was missing, etc.), so you can take our review with a grain of salt. You can also take your chances.
  • 6 – 6.9 – Maybe we just weren’t feeling this one but it was well thought out (though maybe not well designed, or vice versa). Possibly worth checking out if you have $15 (or $20 or such) burning a hole in your pocket.
  • 7 – 7.9 – Now we’re getting somewhere… This was easier to grade because everything worked well. There may still have been a few swings and misses, but the thought was there while the execution was less than excellent.
  • 8 – 8.9 – Great game and experience. Hit all the main points and really enjoyable or challenging to play.
  • 9+ – YOU HAVE TO BUY THIS GAME! Top of the line and practically flawless.