Escape rooms – the escape from everyday life and online existence
In the last ten years, escape rooms, often referred to as puzzle rooms, are at the top of the entertainment business. They are visited by companies of young people, colleagues from various professions, middle-aged and older people. There are also escape rooms that are suitable for the family.
In many countries, fan clubs have already been established, members of which make city rides to play puzzles in the offered rooms and then make the rankings. Why these rooms are so popular?
The game in the escape rooms includes teams of two to six people
They are locked in a room for an hour and must gradually solve a puzzle of riddles and overcome various obstacles to find a way to escape. They are like heroes in a movie, but they do not know what the scenario is, for them everything is different from everyday reality, it is new, interesting, filled with surprises.
The scenarios can be detective, adventure, criminal, fantastic, fairytale, and so on. In fact, escape rooms are not just an escape from a room, they are an escape from everyday life, burdened with responsibilities and problems, and an escape from online life to which people are already accustomed to and bored. Instead of just looking at the screen, players are doing something real, engaging in intellectual or physical activity, with real communication between them, real traces to unravel, real joint efforts. Here, it must be made clear that no physical strength or specific knowledge is needed. The necessary skills include observation, orientation, in time and space, logical thinking, and rapid response to a surprising situation.
The popularity of escape rooms is largely due to human curiosity - to discover and solve mysteries. In addition, it is the striving for achievement and victory that has always been inherent in people. When playing in the puzzle rooms, a person feels as a part of a team where there is mutual trust, and at the same time that he is important. Thus escape rooms are suitable for all regardless of gender, age or occupation.
What makes the escape rooms interesting and useful for the family
Nowadays, children are obsessed with a variety of computer games and devices, and passive entertainment watching movies and commercials for popular services. Only the visual and hearing organs are involved in receiving information, and the information itself is complete without having to be processed and analyzed.
Thus the children become increasingly passive and less inclined to communicate effectively with each other and their loved ones, to make new friendships or keep a topic of conversation, or to learn something new from others. The general responsibilities of the parents are more and more limited to duties - family budget and a number of household problems. This actually keeps them away from the world of their child.
Considering this situation, the different escape rooms for the family are a great opportunity for parents to find common interests and goals with their children through fun, which distance them from the passive "communication" with computer or TV screens, teaches them to think, seek live communication and to share. Searching for solutions requires constant communication in a playful situation that not only develops the skills for live communication but also for teamwork. This of course also applies to adult participants in the team.
The real collaborative efforts in the puzzles rooms teach the children of empathy and mutual help, allow them to test their abilities that they are not aware of and to believe in themselves. Overcoming individual stages and the "mini-victories" by solving another riddle of the common puzzle raises the child's self-esteem and gives him positive emotions. This stimulates him to continue by teaching him that there are no hopeless situations, but with patience and perseverance, every obstacle can be removed. These lessons are useful for the later stages of life.
Of course, parents, based on their experience gained in life, must be the "silent leaders" – they should seek the child's help to solve the puzzles in the room, provide him with tasks, engage him in the team game; and the whole family shoul embark on new interesting experiences, and have a lively discussion of the escaped rooms and exciting memories. Thus escape rooms become a wonderful modern option for the leisure time, which can be interesting, informative and useful.
Method of selection of the plots for the rooms suitable for families with children
The scenarios for the escape rooms are endless, but that does not mean that there is some chaos in the choice of topics.
On the contrary, the organizers consider very well the theme of each room according to what audience will be targeted. This is possible with the help of psychologists, designers, technical equipment specialists, and so on. There are, for example, puzzle rooms for teambuilding - for company team play; for children accompanied by an animator during the game, for teenagers, etc.
The escape rooms designed for families are intended for both adults and children. This determines a certain thematicness of the rooms, the equipment and the style of the mysteries. There are no frightening moments in these rooms, but they rather focus on the adventure and discovery, and an educational element.
The effects are impressive, the complexity of puzzles of riddles are adapted to be fun for children and interesting for parents: with interactive tasks for each stage. The intriguing game often makes the small kids want to re-enter the room to pay more attention to some intriguing task.
Such a game, for example, is the escape room "Egypt" in Bansko, which is adapted for families with children over 6 years, and the game is suitable for a team of two to six people. This room realistically carries the adventurers in the pharaohs' time and the mysteries of the pyramids that the family has to unravel for an hour, following the clues and the hints in order to be able to exit the room.
Apart from adventures in the unknown world of antiquity, the puzzle rooms for families include numerous other scenarious. For example, in the "Hacker"room in Bansko, which is suitable for families with children over 8 years of age, and a team of up to 6 players, they have to unravel the plans of the Hacker and fail them. Of course, it is not necessary for the team to have computer specialists - everything is a matter of observation and logic.
There are fantasy scenarios along with the other plots, for example, a mission in space where the spacecraft is damaged and the damage has to be removed so that the team can "return to the Earth." The listing may continue, but in general these three examples outline the style of the escape rooms designed for families with children.
