Ramblings of an Escape Room GM

20s | he/him | Updated daily (kind of)!

[a-squirrel-wizard]

A powerful curse

[diaryofagamesmaster]

Day 1!

Dear Diary,

A LOT HAS HAPPENED IN THOSE 6 SHORT HOURS WOW

SO! Started off simple enough, got to work for 10:50 (wanted to be a bit early), and it was nice enough. Spoke to the Regional Manager (same guy who interviewed me, was pleasant to see him again), sat down with a guy and waited for the rest to arrive.

Now, importantly, our workplace (situated inside of a larger complex) isn't open to the public yet, which means it's a bit barren and liminal. But, that's okay, and is especially important for a bit later in this entry.

They're testing the fire alarms you see, to ensure the place is fully safe and all, so we have to stand outside (in the cold rain, by the way) and wait for the evac to be over. The rest of the people arrived luckily so although I was early, we didn't miss anything (and that's good!). Got to know the people there, and we've got a nice mix of people.

However, there is 1 person who is, shall we say, "interesting". I'll refer to them as "That Individual", for narrative convenience. You'll see why shortly.

That Individual doesn't seem to quite get professionalism, or really social interaction in more public spaces. And whilst I understand wanting to crack a crude joke or two, you're starting to reach certain limits when you bring up repeated sexual stuff

(including NECROPHILIA)

and certain jokes about ethnicities in front of the team leader. And unfortunately throughout the day, this happens a lot. Here's hoping tomorrow it's less intense, though I'll give you an example of That Individual's wonderful usage of the English language.

As the site's being built still, some facilities are partially complete. This includes the toilets, where there's plumbing but no toilet paper (or soap for that matter). For guys, that's fine, but for women naturally there's an issue present; luckily our site is close to a fast food place, so our female coworkers have to use the toilet there for a few days. Sounds normal so far, right?

Well, one of them comes back from her break a little late and out of breath, and we ask if she's alright. She gives the brief explanation we'd naturally forgotten, and accepted it as-is. Except for That Individual. Oho, no, That Individual needed to craft a response to this matter. So, rather than live and let live, That Individual pries a bit more, and says to her, in response to her plight with toilet paper;

"Why not just use a sock?"

Clearly, the pinnacle of human interaction.

And from now on, we're all a little bit concerned with what That Individual is doing with their socks in the lonely hours of the night.

There was ALSO, in unrelated news (after the first day at work), a funny anecdote of mine. I needed to get myself a taxi (as the place I was headed next was on the other side of the city), so I was trying to book it with my phone. Simple enough, just open the app and-

It just shuts off. I had the charge, but no, not for this app. This is the one that keeps killing it at 10%~. I try multiple times to book the taxi but no, it can't cope. So I head over to this restaurant, and ask the manager there if there happened to be anywhere I could charge my phone. She says "No; there!" in a comical exaggerated way, pointing to the table next to us that happened to perfectly have those plug sockets needed to charge my phone.

When things got rough, they got better immediately, and it was just wonderful. Furthermore, she came over later after I'd booked it and saw me beaming happy, so she offered to get me a free drink whilst I waited for the taxi. And so, I requested (with great appreciation) something I rarely get if ever anymore: a small plastic bottle of milk. And she was so amused, she had a good laugh and brought out that bottle back to me on a tray.

All in all, a really good first day. Here's hoping day 2 is just as good!

[diaryofagamesmaster]

Day 0

Dear Diary,

I got my hours for my first day today! 6 hour shift, and most of that's going to be training I can bet. Definitely looking forward to it!

A cool thing about the training is that we'll be spending some of it doing the escape rooms ourselves, so we'll get a better insight on how customers will think when they're doing the rooms themselves. That improved insight will help us know what clues to give, how much of a clue to give, etc.

Since tomorrow's the big day, I'll actually have stuff about being a (very rookie, very noobie) Games Master to say. I've also got a session of D&D in the evening, so expect a late post!

[diaryofagamesmaster]

Day -1

Dear Diary,

Not much happened today, to be honest!

Mostly just cleaned up a bit. Made dinner, too; roast chicken drumsticks, homemade chips, green beans and carrots. Granted, filled the kitchen with smoke (the alarms DIDN'T go off, arguably a good thing!), but I didn't burn anything (other than the chips).

Hope you guys are having a nice day!

[cannibalchicken]

[gradschoolcryptid]

[catchymemes]

[onewhoturns]

we have a puzzle typewriter in one of our escape rooms, and this find after a game was so good that it’s permanently displayed in the office now

*to clarify; none of the keys are labeled with the correct letters, so this person either memorized the new letters or did it all touch-typing on incorrectly labeled keys*

[diaryofagamesmaster]

Day -2

Dear Diary,

I know what you're thinking.

Why start at -2? Why not start at 0 or 1?

Well it's simple, really. I made this blog 3 days before my first day at work, so 'Day 1' is the beginning of actually working there. When you think of diaries you don't normally think of negatives but hey-ho, that's the way I've done it and it's sticking.

Anyways! Since you've come this far (or you've spotted it early, lucky you), I'll use it as an opportunity to talk about what's led up to me getting a job, and a bit about me.

I've grown up in an unusual and rural way, living mostly on farms. And granted it's been nice, after all growing up around animals is a genuinely pleasant way of life and helps you understand a surprising a lot about the world quickly. But, you do have to sacrifice some amenities that seem standard, like privacy beyond your house during the day (with farm 1) and toilet plumbing (with farm 2), but it's whatevs.

Few years ago I started the journey to University. Had to make an application for it as part of college's scheme to get students into universities, so I picked one close and went through the courses alphabetically til I found one interesting. Stopped at Archaeology, never made it to B.

And during that first year, things were tough but I ended up making some of the best friends of my life there. Through it, I felt alright in the end, though admittedly I didn't really care much about the education side.

Then second year came about, and I won't lie it began a bit rocky. I moved in with my housemates (the friends I made last year) and turns out, people who live in normal conditions and people who live on farms clash a little over ways of life (that and over the summer I got an OCD diagnosis, yay). But, after a bit, things slowly stabilised; there were arguments and the like but in the end we made it through.

I was also struggling a lot with assignments. Couldn't focus, couldn't deliver assignments to any personally-decent quality, all in all just became a struggle after another. Wasn't really feeling it for University, but I also didn't want to leave my friends, so I was stuck in a bit of a dilemma.

TW: Animal Death

Then, near the very start of 2024, my Border Collie Alfie passed away. I'd grown up with him, literally, for the past 18~ years. Saw him from rescue pup when we got him to his sundown years, and I'm glad he lived a long and happy life. But when he did pass, it hit me like a truck. I'd never had a close death before, and I didn't know how to cope. So much had changed, and I felt it was the right time to really change things, so I began the process of withdrawing from university.

Initially, I didn't want to do anything at all and just wanted to stop one difficulty. For about a month, I was idly looking for jobs, but nothing serious. Then I partially reignited a desire to go back to University, this time in a different part of the country, but that's fizzled out. However during that reignition, I put in more effort to get a job, and...

...Well, I ended up here. Ended up getting 2 job offers in 1 day, and I took them both! One's seasonal (aka not this one), and the other's hopefully one that'll evolve into something full time (after all this is entry -2, I haven't been to work yet!). Stuff like D&D's a huge hobby of mine, so having the opportunity to put that Dungeon Master knowledge of suspense, tension, and dealing with people figuring out puzzles was perfect for me.

So, with that bit of backstory out of the way, thanks for giving this a read! Hopefully you'll join me on my journey moving forward, and you enjoy the silly stuff I share with you all!