Online Escape Rooms and Games

The online room/game was the last realm we needed to investigate. We’re purists in a sense, and were holding off on doing an online “escape room” (and still haven’t done one of those rooms with a GM you direct) because we just weren’t sure how it would work. We’ve had the good fortune of meeting some great groups of owners that allowed us to give them a try thus far (Thanks!). That said, at the time of this writing, there have not been *many* but we have a few more geared up for play and review.

Naturally, there are some ratings 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 online 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 the 10 points per section.)

  • STORY – 10 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 – 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 – Did the story transport you into the experience and was it threaded through the experience as you progressed through the room(s)? Or maybe it seemed more like an afterthought.
  • MISSION – 5 points
    • Clarity – What are you supposed to do and how are you supposed to do it? (Are you just looking for a key to unlock a door or do you have to find something and radio out for an evac?) Were you 100% crystal clear on what you were supposed to be doing to complete/solve the room?
    • Challenge – Was the mission challenge appropriate for the theme and the rated number of players?
    • Originality – For a common theme, was there something different about this mission, or was your challenge to simply “escape the room?”
    • Conclusion – Is it clear that the game is over (win or lose)?
  • PLAYABILITY – 20 points
    • Technology – How does the game work? What technology is used throughout the game?
    • Ebb and Flow – How does the game/room design fit the story and shape the overall experience?
    • Interaction
      • With your team – How are you supposed to work together with your team and/or the GM?
      • With the game/room – How do you interact with the game/room itself? Do you tell the GM what to do and ask him/her questions?
    • 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?
    • Find and Use – How exactly do you “use” items you “find”? (This is closely related to the Interaction sub above.)
  • PUZZLES and SOLUTIONS – 15 points
    • Type – How many different puzzle types were there? Was anything repeated?
    • Solutions – Did you have to plug-n-chug everything into a secret decoder or did some puzzles lead you straight to other ones?
    • 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?
    • Uniqueness – What are the chances any (or all) puzzle(s) were unique to this environment? How many have we seen before, not seen ever, or put a new spin on something “old”?

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

  • Overall Expectation
    • What were our thoughts going into the room, or why did we choose to do that room?
    • Was this a new location (no expectations?) or was this a 2nd/3rd/4th room at a place we’ve already been?
  • Synopsis – What is the game/room about? How did we find it? Was this a playtest or did we purchase it at the behest of a recommendation?
  • Setup – Is your team expected to be seated at a table together or can you play over Teams/Meet/Zoom/etc.? Is there anything you need in your hands to play the game (pen/paper, documents emailed by the provider, etc.)? How does one log into the room (is there a link emailed just prior to game time or do they email the purchaser a code to disseminate to the team when it’s go time)?
  • Tools Needed – What is recommended for use to play (web browser, pen/paper, multiple computers or browsers, mobile app, etc.)? Was there an actual GM on the call with you or is there a built in too or an app available?
  • Fun/Amusement
    • Was the room fun? DID WE HAVE A GOOD TIME?!?!?!
    • More importantly, do we think we would go back?
  • Game Master
    • Was the briefing they provided relevant?
    • Were they of any use? (If we needed help, of course.)
    • Were the given clues useful or confusing?
    • How did they communicate? (Walkie-talkie, in-room phone, camera/intercom, TV screen)
    • Were they quick to respond to your questions? (Does anyone even know how to use this walkie talkie??)
    • Were they engaging… did they psych up our engagement?
  • Clue Helpfulness/Delivery
    • Were the clues helpful in guiding us past a roadblock?
    • Did the GM provide clues that we didn’t ask for? (Yes, this has happened at least twice.)
    • Did we feel stupid for asking or for the way they were given?
  • Difficulty Accuracy – How would we say the game compares to it’s noted difficulty rating (if one was provided)?
  • Production Value – How does the game/room look?

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 PLAY THIS GAME! Top of the line and practically flawless.