#escape tech

[s-capegoats]

TotW #15 - P/T - Reaching for keys

This is the 15th Tip of the Week on real-life escape gaming (and our rating rubric). In this one, I'll be looking at how to reach for items (mostly keys) in sometimes seemingly hard-to-reach places, which contributes to physicality and tech (occasionally).

In quite a few of the rooms I've visited, we had to reach for keys using a variety of tools (mostly poles/sticks). Once or twice, the items to reach for were not keys but other things like torches. Furthermore, it often happens when there's bars and a locked gate, the keys to which are just out of reach on the other side.

In cases like those, you'll want to look for a stick that could potentially drag the keys toward you. If there's a key ring and the keys are hung, it makes things easier since you can simply hook the keys to you. Remember to slant the pole towards you at all times so that you don't accidentally lose the keys by dropping it over the other end. Sometimes, there are magnets-on-a-stick that can be used to pick up the keys, so look around for them. If you have a magnet and the item you have to pick up doesn't seem to be metallic, remember to examine (as closely as is possible) the object to check if any parts may be magnetic, and maneuver the magnet to those parts.

Occasionally, you may find a stick that is slightly short. In this case, there may be more parts of the stick that can be attached on to the piece you've found. Screw threads will be a good indication of this. Otherwise, other lengthy objects deemed suitable can be used to jury-rig a longer pole. Blu-tack or other adhesives found lying around could be useful for this purpose.

Besides a rigid stick, sometimes items on string can be used as well. By swinging the item like a pendulum and landing it on the floor behind the key at the right time, you could potentially drag the key towards you and into your reach..

In cases where the key has been accidentally knocked out of reach even with the aid of the stick/pole, a call to the staff will usually suffice and they may replace item to its original position or pass it to you.

That's all for today. Stay tuned for more!

-xTheBHox

See a list of the past TotWs here.

[s-capegoats]

TotW #14 - T/D - Colour Puzzles

This is the 14th Tip of the Week on real-life escape gaming (and our rating rubric). This short one is about colours and colour puzzles.

One particular type of puzzle that seems to be popular with certain escape room providers is the colour mixing puzzle. In most cases, it involves mixing some primary colours with each other and with white/blank to obtain secondary colours or remain unchanged, thereby indicating a colour code as the clue.

More often than not, the colours come on transparent sheets, conveniently allowing you to mix colours by superimposing two sheets. As such, if you do find one transparent sheet with colours, expect another sheet, and look really hard for it. Even when they don't appear on transparent sheets, do check for pairs of matching colour sets if you only have one set, because chances are that you'll have to mix them.

The resulting set may give you numbers or letters corresponding to various colours. When this colour code is found, there are several possible things to try. Firstly, check the locks - some locks have coloured wheels, and some might have colours on them, but elsewhere. Also, you could try the first letters of the colours as the code on the lock. It's a long shot, but the number of letters in the colour words might also work.

It may also work the other way around: a four-colour code may be found first, and you may have many transparent colour sheets with other markings on them. As such, these can be superimposed according to the colour that you require, and more often than not, the other markings will add up to something meaningful.

That's it for today. Stay tuned for more, and do check out the Straits Times today (2 Jan) Life! section as there is a two page feature on escape games.

-xTheBHox

See a list of the past TotWs here.

[s-capegoats]

TotW #9 - Technology - Access Cards

We're renaming the Friday series to "Tip of the Week". So, this is the 9th Tip of the Week on real-life escape gaming (and our rating rubric). This one is on a piece of escape technology - access 'cards', which may not always be cards.

The access card is a very neat tool in any escape room. Some access card readers have a keypad as well, leading the team inside to waste a large amount of time trying to find the combination when all they need is the "card". Indeed, it is a brilliant red herring. Experienced players would have found out about this sometime along the way. (Maybe I should just call it an access token.)

Access tokens can come in all shapes and sizes. Anything from bricks, to microphones, to rings, to cards. But before you begin swiping everything you find on the keypad, here are two general guidelines:

The token usually has some importance or uniqueness. If you find a lot of leaves on the floor, don't bother; they probably don't have a chip embedded in them. But, for instance, if you see a hole in a painting with an access card reader in the hole, obviously the missing shard of painting you find is going to be the access card.

The token must be substantial. Usually, the chip takes up quite a bit of space, so expect the object to be quite substantial. Furthermore, the game-master will probably be smart enough to enclose it in a sturdy shell to prevent accidental damage to the card.

You should also keep in mind that it may be the reader that is hidden, not the card. If you find an access card with no obvious reader around the room, the reader may be hidden. Clues as to where it is may be found around the room, maybe on the wallpaper right in front of it, or otherwise in instruction sheets or stories. Alternatively, the card may be for the next room/a hidden room.

Well designed access tokens and shells, or well hidden access token readers, are powerful tools that can be used to generate some 'wow' factor, and memorability. At this point, I can hardly remember which rooms used access cards, whereas I clearly recall those that used creative shells for their cards. Access cards contribute moderately to technology in our rating (~1pt or less).

Stay tuned for more!

-xTheBHox

See a list of the past TotWs here.

[s-capegoats]

Technology - The UV Light

As the first post in what we hope will be a long series on different aspects of real-life escape gaming (and our rating rubric), I will be writing about the UV light.

The UV light is definitely one of the most common things you might find in a RLEG. Naturally, the UV light will be used to find something written in UV ink. It’s an excellent way of making players return to the beginning of their puzzle if the UV light only becomes available halfway, thereby allowing the re-use of prior clues.

The UV light also forces teams to look around the entire room in hope of finding a gleam of UV ink. This opens up the possibility of scare traps placed in strategic locations based on where players are likely to shine the UV light. Also, red herrings will be incredibly difficult to detect and differentiate as the team may not look further once they find the red herring, or otherwise they cannot be very sure which is the real clue. Finally, the UV light sometimes requires batteries, which are not provided in the light itself.

When you do find a UV light, prepare to go through every nook and cranny of the room. Even after you've found what you think is the required clue, keep looking for more. Don't rule out any locations for UV ink. Also, be on the lookout for faded ink. It does happen. If you need batteries, try transferring them from another electrical appliance, or find them. If you have writing materials it's probably best to copy down whatever is written in UV ink, so the light can move on to elsewhere to search.

Being very common, UV lights contribute about 0.5-1 point in the tech aspect when scoring rooms. Some rooms I rate purely gain tech points based on this UV light (resulting in a very low score). That's it for today.

Stay tuned for more!

-xTheBHox