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So, you've been tasked with hosting a virtual escape room for the purposes of team building. But how do you know what the best type of escape room is for your particular group? There are a huge number of questions you’ll need to ask in order to match your goals with the objectives of the game. So let's break this article down into digestible chunks. We’ll start with the technology required to take part in a virtual escape room.
How will my team “meet” to play the game?
The chances are that if you've been working in a home office, then you already have a video conference platform like Zoom. You'll find many of these are actually specific and run on different platforms. For example you might be using Microsoft Teams, Webex or Google Meet. You might find that not all escape room providers are linked to this particular conference platform. It’s important to do a little digging first to ensure that any of the players don't have restrictions on what they can access over video conferencing, due to different platforms.
How will my team access the virtual game or experience?
App Based Games
With this type of game, the players will need to download a free app. Ideally you want to find one that's not intrusive. One that will not keep asking for permissions as to what it’s allowed to access. For example, an app that’s constantly asked for permissions to access the player’s list of contacts will probably make most participants hesitate to download it.
Web Based Games
This is where you simply visit the website, play the game and complete the challenges within your web browser. If it's for company purposes then we suggest that you ask the provider to give you a link before you actually play the game, as you want to ensure that it is not blocked by your company's firewall. More especially as you'll be playing on your company provided laptops.
Game Facilitators
Inserting a games facilitator who will join the rooms in order to demonstrate the clues and puzzles to the players
What is the difficulty level?
A lot will depend on who the game is designed for originally. A game that's designed for families is going to play relatively more easily than one designed solely for adults. You may well find that a family game lacks challenges. Likewise, if you have a number of young people playing, it’s quite possible that an adult based game may be too hard. We suggest that you play through a few rounds to gauge the level of the game before introducing the game to the players.
How long is the game?
On the whole, most escape room games will follow a pattern and offer 30, 60, or 90 minutes for the playing experience. Keep in mind that for some people, in terms of concentration, they are going to run out of steam playing a 90-minute game.
Can the Virtual Escape Room be customized?
Absolutely! You can imagine how surprised all the players would be if, during the gameplay, they are faced with information about the company where they actually work. Many games providers are able to program custom challenges into their games. This is a great way of tying a game to the workplace. For a greater immersive and fun experience, we suggest that you only look for games that can be customised. For example, if you have a James Bond style spy game, then maybe one of the challenges could be just steal some company secrets from a familiar office.
What is the final outcome?
Most games end with the players managing to escape from the room in question before their allotted time runs out. Some games, particularly those that are solely internet based, will add points depending on the number of puzzles solved. These types of games often award a prize to the winning team who has gained the most points. What's important is to ensure that there's no rushing through the whole experience, as you want the teams to benefit from being able to communicate with each other. Which means speaking and listening. It is, after all, a team building exercise.
How much work will I have to do?
