We've escaped 2024! A round up of the escape room news in early 2025 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ‌  ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ‌:  ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

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We've escaped 2024! 🎆✨

And into the perfect square year (45x45, if you're interested) of 2025.

Looking back on December, we saw the TERPECA winners being announced (including a quick cameo from yours truly!), plenty of regionally specific lists celebrating the best escape rooms around the world, which you can read about below.

Here at the Escape Industry Newsletter, we're in our fourth year. Here's what was happening in the escape room world in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Whilst January is typically a quieter month for the Escape Industry Newsletter, seeing all the new rooms opening, podcast episodes releasing, and exciting stories from around the world - we're excited about looking forward to what the new year will bring.

Until then 👋

Mairi Nolan
Editor of Escape Industry News

P.S. If a friend has forwarded you this email, please consider subscribing!

 

🕹️ Sponsored By

Game On

The escape room market is navigating new challenges as the immersive entertainment landscape evolves. Game On 2025, taking place this April, is dedicated to addressing these challenges through expert-led talks and interactive workshops designed to equip you with actionable insights and strategies. Game On tickets include:

  • 2 days of talks and interactive workshops
  • Two immersive experiences
  • Networking nights
  • Food and drinks
  • Goodie bag

Explore the speaker lineup, and secure your early bird ticket now to save £70!

Learn More

🧩 Trending Now

TERPECA Winners for 2024 announced

Last month was the livestream of the most anticipated escape room award show, the TERPECAs. This year's biggest winners in the top 5 positions were:

#1 Top Room: Magnifico's Circus by Escaparium (Canada)

#2 Top Room: A Legendary Adventure by Mayto Kington (Spain)

#3 Top Room: The Forgotten Cathedral by Escaparium (Canada)

#4 Top Room: Molly's Game by Down the Hatch (Netherlands)

#5 Top Room: The Tavern by The City Escape Room (Spain)

Learn More

Room Escape Artist have published their Escape Room Industry Report

Based on 10 years of data, this year's report looks back on the escape room industry with particular attention to the US market. It covers openings, closings, and general trends. As always, well worth a read!

Learn More

Escape the Review publishes the top 100 escape rooms in the UK in 2024

Escape the Review is a reviews site that calculates rankings from players across the UK by algorithm, and as is tradition at the end of the year they crunch the numbers to figure out which are the top 100. Some new entries, and old favourites.

Read More

🧾 In Other News

• The 7th Korea Escape Room Awards Live is now published online.
• The EGA
recruitment and rules update has been published for 2024-2025 in China. Note, this page is in Chinese.
• The
Play More Games new project is a new project to help North American escape room staff experience inspirational and influential escape games.
• As pointed out by one of our readers,
UK Prime Minister recently mentioned attending an escape room... But it doesn't say which one.
• James Bloodworth recently posted an article on Emerge From the Room which includes an in-depth analysis on the UK industry.
It's a great read, and you can check it out here.
• NYC is getting a
Deal or No Deal Island Escape Room Pop-Up - sadly for just one day only!
• The officially licensed Doctor Who escape room was recently
updated to include the fifteenth Doctor.

Not quite an escape room but we think you'll be interested in...

• No Proscenium has posted a round-up of it's best shows and experiences of 2024.
• One of the co-founders of KMS Games
discusses the process of making their newest play-at-home Jubensha game, Secret Tribe.
•
The Challenge Arcades site recently celebrated its 1 year anniversary. Congratulations!
• The Black Immersive Creators Grant is once again accepting applications. You can
read more in REA's coverage here.
• The Hollywood Reporter recently covered Box Two, Neil Patrick Harris' new escape room board game.
• The
MIT Mystery Hunt 2025 starts soon, January 17 - 20th.
• An
interesting article from Polygon on the puzzles in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

 

📆 Upcoming Dates for your Diary

January 17th - 19th
The Next Stage Immersive Summit
Los Angeles, CA

March 1st - 31st
Enigmarch
Online

April 29th - 30th
Game On '25
Canterbury, UK

April 2025
Escape Room Awards
Madrid, Spain

August 17th - 18th
RECON Remote 25
Online

 

🔑 Recent Doors Unlocked

In the last issue I mentioned we'd try grouping the new rooms open by geographic location. If you have any thoughts or feedback, feel free to reach out!

🇺🇸

CA

Bay Mystery Scavenger Hunts has opened 2 outdoor experiences in Mountain View.
Diablo Escapes has opened a new VR game, Alien Abduction, in Walnut Creek.
Immersive Gamebox has a new VR escape room, Escape AI, in San Jose.

MD

Escape This Frederick have teased a new room, The Subway, opening soon in Frederick.

NC

Masterpiece Escapes has opened a new room, Ghastly Escapes, in Indian Trail.

NY

Lock & Key have opened a new room, Legends of the Hidden Temple, in Buffalo.

TX

Dimensions Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Espionage, in Denton.

VA

Immersive Gamebox have opened a new escape room, Escape AI, in Arlington.
Unlocked History has opened a new room, Da Vinci's Discovery, in Charlottesville.

🇨🇦

Room Escape Ottawa has opened a new room, Ink Quest, in Ottawa.
Trapped Edmonton has opened a new room, Midnight Arcade, in Edmonton, AB.

🇬🇧/🇮🇪

East England

Escape Basildon have opened a new room, Lollipop Lane, in Basildon.
Hourglass Escapes has opened a new room, Part Two: The Morgue in Downham Market.

Midlands

Courtyard Escapes has opened a new room, Lockdown, in Stourbridge.
Escape Leicester have opened two new rooms in Leicester.
Gamesaints Lincoln have opened a new room, Dead Centre, in Lincoln.
The Paint Shop have opened a new room, The Attic, in Scunthorpe.

North England

Escape the Fort have opened a new room, The Dambusters, in Wallasey.
Lucardo are opening a new room, Red-Handed, in Manchester.
The Escapologist have opened a new room, The Big Top: The Curious Case of the Missing Clown, in Gateshead.

South England

ClueCapers has opened a new room, Treehouse 2: Going Wild! in Winchester.
Escape Hunt has opened a new room, Eye of the Sun God, in Reading.
Escape Hunt has opened a new room, Journey to Atlantis in Bournemouth.
Escape Hunt has opened a new room, Excalibur, in Cheltenham.
Escape Kent has opened a new room, The Mummy, in Faversham.
Escape Rooms Cheltenham has opened a new room, Show Me the Honey! in Cheltenham.

Scotland

Ayrshire Mobile Escape Rooms have opened a new room, DaVinci Code, in Ayrshire.
Escape the Past have opened a new room, The Deacon's Cabinet, in Edinburgh.
In Time Escape Rooms have opened a new room, Trapped in Time, in Ayr.

Wales

Rhondda Escape Rooms has opened a new room, Andy's Room in Rhondda.

🇦🇺/🇳🇿

Rocky Bay Cove has opened a new room, Escape Nowhere, in Tutukaka, Northland, NZ.


A shout out to the resources & individuals who were a huge help this month: Escape the Review (UK), Rich Bragg (USA), Morty App (Global)

 

🔊 Listen

Last month in Podcasts, Radio & Live Shows

Cager Express: Escape Break

"Escape Break featuring Beth Divel and Tatiyana Abarro: Southern California's premier escape room podcast show. We recap fun rooms, interviews and bizarre topics!"

• Escape Break: Gatlinburg Games Dec 2

Escape This Podcast
"A show that’s a mix of escape room puzzles and tabletop role-playing."

• Oceananigans pt. 4 - The Gulf of Captain-teria Dec 4
•
Podcast This Escape - The Gulf of Captain-teria Dec 11
•
Bonus - An Escape Room Movie Dec 18
•
Bonus - A Cryptic Crossword of Clocks and Pirates Dec 25

Escapuzzled Podcast
"Your one stop shop for all things escape rooms, immersive experiences, puzzles, virtual and tabletop escapes. In this podcast we'll be delving into all things escape rooms and talking to industry leading owners, creatives and designers to unlock the secrets behind these experiences."

• Chris Waters (The Architect) - Constructed Adventures Dec 4
•
Mia Leary - Cloak and Dagger Games Dec 18

Reality Escape Podcast
"Your hosts David Spira & Peih-Gee Law explore immersive gaming from all angles. Our guests have made awesome stuff: ARGs, puzzle hunts, tabletop games, and of course, escape rooms. Our aim is to bring together different segments of the gaming world and share ideas between them."

• Elegance in Puzzles: Sandy Weisz, The Mystery League Dec 6
•
Life Lessons from 3,000 Escape Rooms: Sera Dodd Dec 9
•
The Wonder Factory: Francine Boon & Victor van Doorn of Sherlocked Dec 16
•
Mechanical Puzzles: Oskar van Deventer Nov 25

The Infinite Escape Room
"The puzzling podcast where a gaggle of geographically diverse chums come together, have a drink - and work together to solve a home made escape room of the ears.​"

• A Very Criminal Christmas: Yorkshire Nanageddon Dec 1
•
A Very Criminal Christmas: The Cymraeg Collective Dec 8
•
A peaceful pint at The Legless Elf (Pubisode) Dec 15
•
Ronald's Revenge: Great Scott! Dec 22
•
Ronald's Revenge: Yippee Ki-Yay Mr Falcon Dec 29

Side note - The latest few episodes of The Infinite Escape Room have had some fantastic artwork, as illustracted by regular host Dom Jordan. I highly recommend checking them out.

 

🔎 January's Puzzle

A nice and simple one to ease you into the new year:

What is a new years gift whose days are numbered?


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