57 - Immersive Escape Rooms with Strange Bird Immersive

The Divas join Haley and Cameron Cooper, professional actors who run Strange Bird Immersive, to discuss Immersive Theatre, Escape Rooms, and combining them to create a whole new experience. This is a topic dear to our heart, so we were very excited to do this interview! But because Errol has been busy developing the Cryptex Hunt, there is no song again. The interview is fantastic though!

Haley also has a wonderful blog called Immersology. There, she chronicles their journey developing their escape room, as well as articles on Immersive Theatre and Escape Rooms.

One day, we will be able to get to this Escape Room.

56 - 2017 Year in Review

Another escape year come and gone! In this episode, the Divas look back at the year, and hint at things to come.

And there's no song. Sorry. Errol is busy with so many things again.

55 - Mobile Room Escape with Jason Garvett

Manda and Errol have a great time talking to Jason Garvett, the owner and game creator for  Mobile Room Escape in Chicago!

Interested in the mobile world of escape rooms? This is the podcast for you!

(And apologies ahead of time for the parody. There was a last minute substitution which will be updated at a later date!)

We should have posed with one! We need to get better at this picture taking thing.

"Jason Garvett is the Owner and Game Creator of Mobile Room Escape which is headquartered out of Chicago, IL with operations in Atlanta, GA. Mobile Room Escape is both an operator of escape rooms along with a creator of mobile escape rooms for other business. Whether it is building escape room trailers, consulting other business's in their operations, or designing high quality escape games Mobile Room Escape is dedicated to delivering quality products for their customers. The partners of Mobile Room Escape have over 30 years experience in automotive design, theatrical production, and DOT Regulations to help escape rooms hit the roads with success."

54 - Room Escape Artist and the Escape Room Industry

David and Lisa Spira of Room Escape Artist are back and wow, did they have an awesome year! Listen in as we discuss their latest projects and also reflect on the escape room industry and where we see it going!

We need a picture with these people.

53 - Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment

The first escape room board game on kickstarter was wildly successful, and we got to interview the creators Juliana Patel & Ariel Rubin! 

Not only that, their game was picked up by Mattel and is no available on Amazon to purchase, and will be available in stores early next year!

Tune in to hear all about how Juliana and Ariel brought Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment, to the world!

If we were smart, we would have taken a picture of us posing with the box!

The parody was written by Manda Whitney, and a huge thanks to our returning guest singer, Noelle Sorrell, who has been singing since she came out of the womb. She works as the Ops Manager at Hidden Trail in Windsor, Ontario.

52 - Cryptex Creator Justin Nevins

Allo, all you fans and soon-to-be fans of the cryptex! We were fortunate to get Justin Nevins on skype for an interview about the history and development of the cryptex, first conceived in Dan Brown's novel, "The Da Vinci Code".

Even better? Justin and his wife, Julie, wrote and performed the parody song today! Huzzah! Errol is so happy.

And Justin sent us one of these! Look how awesome it is!

51 - Elan Lee and Game Design

Elan Lee, the co-creator of Exploding Kittens, is a game designer and an escape room enthusiast! In this episode, he talks about game design, crowdfunding, ARGs, and how awesome escape rooms are!

And because we're close to Halloween, Manda and Errol wrote an escape room parody from the Nightmare before Christmas!

Huzzah! We got games!

50 - The Worst Escape Room Ever

The worst room anyone has ever played is closed, and so we can finally talk about it! They may decide on opening it again, so be aware that there will be spoilers.

Feel free to listen along and if you know of a room that is worse than this one, by all means, please tell us.

And finally, the song was written by Errol's sister. It pokes fun at people like us! Huzzah!

Edit: For those that are interested, here is Mike's official review of this game.

49 - Interview with Escape this Pocast!

We got the chance to be guests on Escape This Podcast! They take escape rooms to a pen and paper route, and then play them on a podcast and it's pretty awesome. The best part? You can download the game and have your friends go through the same one!

In this podcast, we interview the creators, Dani Siller and Bill Sunderland, about their podcast, how they got started, and the challenges of creating a new game to be produced on a bi-weekly basis!

Manpans notes as we played the game!

48 - Escape Rooms in Libraries and Schools with Donald Dennis

The divas have Donald Dennis back again, and this times he talks about creating escape rooms in schools and libraries. As one of the host for Games in Schools and Libraries, he knows of many resources to utilize to get such a program running up in your location!

And the parody today was written and sung by Manda Whitney! Huzzah!

47 - Escape Room Design: Intro to Story and Narrative

In our 47th episode, Manda gives us a talk on Story and Narrative within escape rooms! And the rest of the divas? Ruby is playing with a bunny. Errol is working on a LEGO Totoro. And we don't know what Mike was doing.

This week's parody song was written and performed by Sen-Foong Lim! He is one half of the versatile tabletop design team, the Bamboozle Brothers. Since 2011, they have created Euro-styled strategy game, party games, and are even sought after to develop other designers’ games. Sen also hosts the weekly design-centric webcasts, the Meeple Syrup Show and its offshoot, The Game Dojo. Errol thinks they should do a parody song for each of their episodes too!

46 - Historical Escapes with Escape Maze and Scott Nicholson

The Divas do a public podcast at Escape Maze during their enthusiast play day! Jake Walling and Fred Preddy, owners of Escape Maze, are joined with Scott Nicholson to talk about Historical Escapes and upcoming projects!

Seven of us on the podcast!

45 - Not Exactly Escape Rooms

Escape events, scavenger escapes, escape room board games, there are a number of ways to get your escape room fix if you have done all the escape rooms. 

In this episode, we discuss some of our local events that don't fit the standard definition of an escape room, and we also talk about some of the board games listed in "A Guide To Escape Room Board Games."

44 - Terminus Debrief: Escape Room on a Train

As you may know, the Divas and Panic Factory joined up to create a three hour escape room event on a moving train!

This podcast is a post-mortem as we discuss the insanity involved in running a large scale escape event! We talk for TWO HOURS! Good grief.

And the parody was performed and written by James Cobalt! Huzzah! Errol is so happy.

A pivotal scene in Terminus!

43 - Escape Room Puzzle Design Part 1 - The Experience

We're doing something a bit different for the summer, we're giving an in-depth discussion on Escape Room Puzzle Design based on Errol's slides he presented at the 2017 Escape Room Unconference.

This will be a multi-part podcast, and in this episode, Manpans and Errol spend an hour talking about the elements that contribute to a great player experience in an escape room!

The song is a parody of The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World" and was performed by Amy Duggan who runs the blog Brit of an Escape Habit. When she's not reviewing escape rooms, she's rehearsing for her next concert! So many talented people in the escape room community.

42 - Halfway Through Terminus

It's been a while! The divas have been working on Terminus, which is an escape event on a moving train. At the time of this recording, they had finished two events and have a lot of stories to tell. They also discuss some experiences with other escape rooms they have done.

In the future, when the event is over, they will join up with Panic Factory, to do a full rundown on how the event went!

And the parody was written by Errol and performed by his daughter, Zoe.

Tammy McLeod on the Escape Room World Championships

Huzzah! Today we are joined with Tammy McLeod who was on the US Team for Redbull's Mind Gamers World Championship, the first Escape Room World Championship which was held in Budapest!

And we also got her to sing the parody song! Hah! I need to get all the guests to sing the parody song. :D

40 - Live Recording at Transworld's Room Escape Show

It's our 40th episode, and we did it in front of a live audience as a seminar for Transworld's Room Escape Conference!

We had so much fun meeting up with people from the slack, doing escape rooms, and showing off our cool our tshirts and posters!

LVESpirit.com created some awesome T-Shirts for us, and we couldn't be happier. And Ray of Number 9 Signs (and Panic Factory) got us some stickers and a banner for our table during our seminar!

And we did a live performance of a new parody song! Hah! I'm shocked we got the timing correct, for the most part. Thanks to everyone that talked to us, and for those that attended, I really hope you enjoyed our seminar!

Look! People came!

39 - Room Escape Divas Anniversary Episode!

Huzzah! It's been a year since we've been doing this podcast, and so today's episode is our anniversary!

We talk about upcoming events we're involved in, and also request more questions for our live podcast recording at Transworld's Room Escape Show!

And for our parody, Errol is a huge fan of Disney's Aladdin!

Escape With Me
Well we have role-played as honest thieves
and also locked within a thousand jails
We've mastered all these locks, you won't believe
All the rooms that we have won and failed
About an hour is the time allowed
Some very spacious and others cramped
We'll do a bunch, just ask! There is no doubt
It's a game that you'll describe as grand! So please say:
"What is this hobby, sir? You talk obsessively!
Is there one to check out in our town?"
well you've gotta come escape with me

Try one and come along, it's fun I guarantee!
You can pick a theme, what do you want?
well you've gotta come escape with me

But if you find that you are nervous
Or you're lost! Or scared! Withdrawn!
I do insist, you shouldn't miss!
This chance to be engulfed in awe!
When would you like to play? Your first one is my treat
I hear this room is well reviewed!
Well you've gotta come escape with me

Can we go solve this?
Can we go solve that?
Can you say there is
no better time had?
And-then you'll go "WHOAA!!"
Well look here! Ha ha!
And then you'll go crazy bananas, as you whip
through every room escape you get near!

So don't just sit there, shoeless, let's decide
on a room escape, be prepared!
You've got a friend who's gonna be your guide
It's quite addictive so be aware
You'll get a powerful urge for a quick break out
So don't worry, I get it, I know
If you're still confused what they're about
Well all you've gotta do is book and go, and oh---
What is this hobby sir, try one or two or three!
And you won't stop, when you get locked

Well you've gotta come escape, gotta come escape
Well you've gotta come escape, gotta come escape
Well you've gotta come escape with me!

38 - Interview with Room Designer Rob Leveille

As you know, we are pretty picky when it comes to puzzle design. Errol especially. So when we find a game with challenging puzzles that make sense, we want to talk about.

In our 38th episode, we get the opportunity to talk to Rob Leveille, who designed the rooms at The Crux Niagara. And the parody song was written and performed by Rob himself! Huzzah!

And if you are interested in asking us questions for Transworld, please, use our Questions Spreadsheet!