Can’t be together with your friends and family over the holidays? On opposite sides of the country? Still want to find a way to get together that isn’t just a boring old Zoom call? Try Remote Adventures. We’re an escape room with locations all across the country–but you don’t need to come to us anymore, because all you need is a computer. It’s a virtual escape room, but it’s just as interactive and exciting as being there in person.
What Is A Digital Escape Room?
By now we assume you know what an escape room is: it’s a puzzle game where you and your group of friends get together in a room filled with clues, red herrings, tricks, traps, and–most important–a timer. You’ve got a ticking clock and you’ve got to accomplish your goal or beat your mission before that clock gets to zero. Sometimes that goal is escaping from the room, and sometimes it’s finding a prize. Sometimes it’s evading the bad guys–and sometimes you are the bad guys.
A digital escape room is all of that brought into your home on your computer screen. You and your friends (and your friends can be in the next room, or across the country) all log into Zoom (which we all know how to use by now) and you’re immediately immersed into an escape room adventure of your choosing. The rules are the same: escape or accomplish your goal. But the circumstances are different. Let’s dive into how this works.
How Does A Digital Escape Room Work?
The first step may sound pretty mundane: you’re given a time and you all log into Zoom. But this is no ordinary Zoom call. Instead, you and your party are joined by two people: a guide and an avatar. The guide is there to give you clues, answer questions, and help you out when you need them. You’ve got the guide all to yourself. They’re going through the escape room with you in real time from their hidden location.
You also have your avatar. This person wears a special virtual reality helmet and is actually in the escape room: the real escape room, where all of the action takes place. Through the cameras mounted on their VR helmet, you can see everything they can see. And you can give them commands: turn left or turn right. Move forward. Look at that sign. Enter this code. You get the idea. The avatar is your stand-in for the game and they’re going to do whatever you need them to do.
But that’s not all. You also have a 3D model of the room on your screen that you can inspect and move around. This will let you all explore the room while someone is also controlling your avatar to get a closer inspection.
Finally, you have your inventory, which is where you store your clues and items. If you read a sign – That text goes into your inventory so that you can reference it whenever you need it. Pick up a key? It’s added into your game inventory. You get how this goes.
So, that’s all you need to get going in a virtual escape room: a guide, an avatar, a 3D model of the room, and your inventory. The rest of the screen is filled up with screenshots of you and your friends so you can interact with each other while interacting with the room. Imagine a boring Zoom call with your coworkers, and then imagine that instead of talking about budgets and accounting, you’re all talking about how to get past the evil relic on the wall that has cursed your path, or avoiding the trapdoor on the stairs that won’t let you reach your destination. It’s a Zoom call where the stakes are higher than any work meeting and you’re laughing instead of dozing. (And yes, you can still play in your pajamas!)
How Many People Can Play?
This is the beauty of virtual escape rooms: while only eight people can play any given scenario (which is usually enough for a family or a friend group or a work team) you can also have the whole company join the fun. We can accommodate large groups of even 500 people at any one time, split into individual groups of 8. So if you want to have a Christmas Eve party with all your extended family–aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents–you can all do it through a digital escape room, remotely, from wherever you live. And if you want to invite your entire company to experience a digital escape room, there’s nothing stopping you from doing that too. Take your holiday party online this year and get all the fun out of a corporate shindig without having to dress up. (Although if you want to dress up to fit the theme of your specific scenario, we absolutely encourage that, too.)
What Digital Escape Rooms Are Available?
This is where things get fun, because we’re not limited to just a single escape room. And, because this is all digital, these rooms will be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced in an in-person escape room. We’re able to do so much more: more detail, more clues, more over-the-top sets and decorations. These digital escape rooms are fully immersive, meant to make you feel like you’re right there, be it a jail cell or an ancient temple or an art museum.
Here are our current offerings. (But check back, because we’re always adding more!)
Prison Break
The year is 1955. You’ve been wrongfully accused of a crime, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Your new “home” is a cell that once belonged to an inmate who disappeared without a trace…or did he? Some claim he escaped. Others swear he was murdered by the infamously cruel warden. No one actually knows… Can you escape before you suffer the same fate?
This scenario brings in everything you could want out of an escape room: you’re in a prison (and not just any prison, but a dank and dirty prison) and you need to get out. You’ve got no resources–you’re a prisoner, after all–but there’s the hint that someone may actually have found a way out. But you’ve got a ticking clock: will the cruel warden kill you before you plan your getaway?
This is an escape room for anyone who loves a good prison break story, be it The Great Escape (will you be Steve McQueen or Charles Bronson?) or The Shawshank Redemption (do you have time to tunnel your way out?) or the Prison Break TV series (have you tattooed the secret plans for escaping all over your body?) The possibilities are endless, and each of you will play a role as you explore your filthy prison and its gritty interior. Will you be the jailhouse snitch? Will you be Freddy the Forger who can trick his way out? The Birdman of Alcatraz?
You and your friends will be able to bond (or stab each other in the back) as you scramble to find the secret exit to the prison… if that secret exit actually exists.
Ruins: Forbidden Treasure
You’re on a relaxing aerial tour of a remote jungle when everything suddenly falls apart. You’re stranded at the foot of ancient and mysterious temple ruins – home of a massive fabled treasure. Adventure has come knocking and the treasure could be yours for the taking! Fortune favors the bold. Will it favor you?
For anyone who loves pulp serials, with daring heroes and heroines who risk life and limb in search of treasure beyond their wildest imagination, this is the virtual escape room for you. Will you be able to search for secret clues, avoid booby traps, escape from venomous snakes and poisonous spiders?
Imagine yourself as Indiana Jones on one of his many adventures: will you get the golden idol? Will you find the Holy Grail? Or is this a Jumanji adventure where you and your plucky gang of specialized sidekicks can beat every puzzle, escape every villain, and find the treasure?
That’s the fun of this virtual escape room: there’s so much that you can do, that you couldn’t do in person. We can pack more adventure into a tighter space because only your avatar has to maneuver, so you can go down more passages, explore more tight spaces, squeeze through narrow cracks in the wall. And, if you’re lucky, you can find the treasure before the curse of the ancient temple falls on you.
Gold Rush
For nearly two centuries, the hope of gold has lured people to the hills of Northern California. No one was captivated more than Clyde Hamilton, a greedy gold prospector who loved to gamble. Clyde made too many bets with the wrong crowd and now he’s missing. You’ve been tipped off to where he stashed his gold.. but so has the mob. Find it first!
Explore the mountain paths, the miner’s cabin, and, of course, the mine itself, as you delve into the secrets that are hidden in this 49er’s worst nightmare. Yes, there’s gold to be found, but what else lurks in the dark? Who else is on the trail to find the prize? You’ve got to be quick, and you’ve got to be smart: smarter than the tricky miner who made sure that no one would ever find the king’s ransom he’s got stowed away.
Ever heard of the Treasure of the Sierra Madre? Gold can make a man (or woman) go mad. Will the endless caverns of the mine make you lose your way, or lose your mind? Perfect for anyone who’s ever wanted to live in a western, bringing to mind Tombstone and Deadwood. Heck, this is a digital escape room: is this Westworld come to life?
You and your friends are bound to find thrills and adventure, even if you never find the hidden gold. But imagine if you just catch a glimpse of that precious metal and get a bit of gold fever?
The Heist
Your world-class espionage outfit has landed you inside a prestigious art museum. A recently stolen masterpiece is presumed hidden within the office of the museum’s egotistical curator, Vincent Hahn. With the help of your intelligence agent on the outside, you have one hour to find your way into Hahn’s office, recover the painting, and slip away before Hahn returns.
There’s so much to explore, so many nooks and crannies for clues, from the paintings and sculptures to the below-ground records rooms, to the corners of the curator’s office, you’ll be in a race to pull off one of the greatest art heists of all time.
Heists bring out the best in each of the individuals on the team, with everyone playing their role. Who in your team will be Danny Ocean? Who will be Thomas Crowne? Whether you’re looking to reprise the roles from The Italian Job or from Baby Driver, when there’s a caper on the table, you’re going to need every shady crook, pickpocket, lookout, and safecracker to get the job done.
Heists are particularly fun for the motley crew of miscreants that is you and your friends, and with the ticking time clock you’re going to need all the help you can get in this digital escape room.
The Depths
Mysterious videos from a rumored undersea laboratory surface, detailing some strange and troubling experiments. Led by the excitable Dr. Leah, you embark into the depths of the ocean to uncover what really happened down there. But be warned, dark turns await! You may not be alone in these waters…
Playground
Summer is here! Well, almost… If you and your friends are going to leave for summer vacation, you’ll need your final report card. Here’s the problem, you haven’t finished your work and these assignments are unlike anything you’ve encountered in a classroom before. Luckily, you’ve got a great squad and everyone brings something different to the table. Band together to ace the ultimate group project. Pass or fail, you’re in this together!
Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys
Angelica has tricked the babies and hidden all of their bestest toys. But, oh, no! She unwittingly misplaced her beloved Cynthia doll, too! Join Tommy and the gang to track down their most favoritest toys and save playtime! Oh, and you better hurry because it’s a race against the snore. If Grandpa Lou wakes up from his nap and catches you outside the playpen, you’ll be scooped up and toyless – maybe forever!
How Can I Make A Digital Escape Room Into A Holiday Adventure?
Digital escape rooms are the perfect way to get together when distance and circumstances don’t allow it, and the holidays are a time when we need each other more than ever. We’re looking for something fun, more fun than moping around our house and maybe streaming your friends for a chat. This lets you laugh and bond and work together, finding strengths and learning new things about your friends. It certainly beats a night of playing cards with the family–why not get all of them on board and try an hour in an escape room?
And this is by far the best team building exercise that you can get, especially if you’re working remotely. It won’t matter if your team is stretched across three states, a digital escape room will bring you all together with a united purpose. Show your manager who’s really the boss when you beat him at the puzzles, and laugh all evening as you succeed against all odds (or get murdered by the bad guys when the time runs out).
With a digital escape room, you don’t need a stodgy company party where no one really wants to get dressed up but goes out of obligation. You don’t have to worry about that one guy who always has too much to drink and makes a scene. You are in the comfort of your home, enjoying your own treats, and you can enjoy your friends both up close and at a distance. It’s the best of both worlds.
Plus, the prices are affordable. For the same cost of going out to dinner with your friends (if you were all together) you can get together and have a fun experience that’s better than any dinner party.
It’s the laughs that make it worth it. Because, between all the problem solving and ticking clocks and searching for clues, you’ll be laughing it up with old friends and new, enjoying new experiences that bring a whole new kind of tradition to the holidays.
