Shows
PG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery20: Frank Lloyd Wright's Nuclear Powered Elevator (ft. Sandy Weisz)" It might be an affront to the laws of physics."
In this episode of PG's Playhouse, we're going vertical! Today's topic is Frank Lloyd Wright's Nuclear Powered Elevator. Why would you need nuclear power for an elevator? Well, because it was designed to service a skyscraper stretching a mile upwards. David breaks down this totally bonkers skyscraper design that never ended up being built.
Guest Sandy Weisz joins us again to talk about his totally bonkers new game Raddle. Raddle has instantly became a fan favorite amongst daily puzzle lovers. He's ta...2025-06-2627 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery19: Recycling Correctly (ft. Sandy Weisz)"Recycling or Wish Cycling?"
The next time you go to toss that plastic container in the recycling bin, you might actually be doing more harm than good. In this episode, David gives us some cold hard facts about recycling correctly. As it turns out, the majority of objects we're chucking in the recycling bin require more consideration than you'd think. More often than not, we're just sending items on a trip to the dumpster, the long way.
Renowned puzzle creator Sandy Weisz joins us to chat about The Mystery League, which...2025-06-1230 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery18: Defenestration (ft. Aurelius Whitlock's Murder Museum)"A very popular way to assassinate your rivals."
What's a peasant to do when you're in the midst of an uprising and faced with armored knights and lords? Throw them out the windows! Apparently, this was such a popular way to assassinate your rivals that a term was coined to describe such an act: defenestration. David gives us a short lesson on the history of defenestration and why it was such a favored method in political uprisings.
In this episode, we're joined by special guests Marcus Richardson and Nathan Hicken, co-hosts...2025-05-2935 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery17: Hive The Race To Save Time Puzzle Hunt (ft. John Bromels)
In this sponsored episode, we're joined by puzzle writer John Bromels, who created the Hive: The Race to Save Time puzzle hunt, inspired by the new sci-fi novel Hive, book 1 of the Madders of Time series by best-selling author DL Orton. Check out the details below for dates and how to play.
John shares all the details of how he crafted this puzzle hunt to accommodate puzzlers of all skill levels, and how he leveled the playing field when it comes to winning the puzzle hunt cash prizes. Making it a sweepstakes instead...2025-05-1536 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery16: Assassination by Umbrella (ft. Aurelius Whitlock's Murder Museum)
" Is there a whole lot of murdering going on?"
This week, we're talking Assassination by Umbrella, a slightly morbid topic inspired by our guests, Marcus Richardson and Nathan Hicken, co-hosts of the Aurelius Whitlock's Murder Museum podcast. Researching the game takes a dark and surprising turn when Peih-Gee, acting upon David's suggestion, finds herself in a shadowy corner of the internet. David gives us a fascinating historical recount of the assassination of Bulgarian activist Georgi Markov using a poison-tipped umbrella. Today's game is called Morbid Mottos, which centers around some dark phrases.
...2025-05-0126 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery15: Everything Bagels (ft. Brent Pope)" The missing ingredient here is love."
This episode we're talking everything bagels! These chewy, crunchy, carbalicious treats are one of my favorite foods. Brent Pope, host of the popular Brentfast podcast, joins us again to dive into the culinary delight that is the bagel. David gives us a short history of the bagel, including its origins and what makes New York bagels so darn delicious. Also, did you know that you're actually NOT supposed to toast your bagels if they're freshly hand-made? Today's game is called In Other Words, a quiz about the linguistic origins of various fo...2025-04-1726 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery14: April Fools (ft. Brent Pope)" It's important for us to all know and celebrate Sir James Arthur Fool, who created the holiday in 1872."
Joke’s on you, April Fools’ Day... I can be fooled any day of the year. Actor, comedian, and podcaster Brent Pope joins us to explore the mysterious origins of April Fool's Day. We talk about some favorite pranks, and David almost pulls a fast one on me. We also talk about the difficulties of breaking into Hollywood, and how Asian representation in the media has changed over the last couple of decades.
Our ga...2025-04-0329 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery13: Neotropolis (ft. Jared Butler)
Every year, thousands of people (including me) gather in the Mojave Desert to live out their wildest cyberpunk fantasies. Jared Butler, owner and creator of the immersive festivals Wasteland Weekend and Neotropolis joins us this week to chat about Neotropolis, including the ever-evolving larp and missions aspect. We also talk about the variety of experiences available, including the interactive modules called "factions" and the distinct daytime and nighttime vibes.
Today's game is called New City, where every answer is a movie title with either the word "new" or "city" in it, but with...2025-03-1826 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery12: Cyberpunk (ft. Jared Butler)"Technology will not save us."
In the shadow of neon-lit streets, kids are jacked in and tuned out. This is the world of cyberpunk, a genre with a view on what the future can look like when technology goes awry. Jared Butler joins us to explore “cyberpunk” as a genre and what it means. Jared Butler is a voice actor who has also created two incredibly immersive desert festivals—the Mad Max-inspired Wasteland Weekend and the cyberpunk themed Neotropolis. We dive into the evolution of cyberpunk, its themes and aesthetics. Jared also shares the origin story and developme...2025-03-1127 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery11: Salad Towers of Pizza Hut China (ft. Lisa Spira)" If we're only going to get one trip to the salad bar, we're really going to make that one trip count."
Only one trip to the salad bar? Lettuce really make it count.
David's wife Lisa Spira, co-founder of Room Escape Artist, joins us again for a trip to the salad bars of Pizza Hut China. Pizza Hut has developed many innovative market strategies, including stuffed crust pizza and PizzaNet, but when opening locations in China, their innovation may have backfired. Peih-Gee tells the story of how Pizza Hut limited patrons of...2025-03-0428 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery10: Gladiatrix (ft. Lisa Spira)“High Risk, High Reward.”
Fighting for fame, fortune, and glory? As it turns out, women also fought as gladiators. Just as with sports today, women in the ancient Roman empire had to battle stereotypes, societal norms, and adverse conditions to win a bit of freedom for themselves. Lisa Spira, David’s wife and co-founder of Roomescapeartist.com joins us on this episode exploring gladiatrix, the female gladiator. She also tells us about Escape, Immerse, Explore, their escape room tours.
Today’s game is called Off With Their Heads, where we take a word and remove the first letter to...2025-02-2523 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery9: Disney's The Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter (ft. Theresa Piazza)What's a day of family fun at Walt Disney World without churros, Cinderella's Magic Castle, and a show so terrifying they had to strap down the hapless guests to keep them from fleeing? In today's episode, we talk about the short-lived, bone-chilling attraction, The Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter. This attraction only existed for eight short years, but it made quite an impact, earning the distinction as quite possibly the scariest Disney attraction ever. Our podcast producer Theresa Piazza joins us again to talk about working at Great Gotham Challenge, an immersive puzzle hunt adventure that takes place in New York...2025-02-1828 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery8: Why Do We Sleep? (ft. Theresa Piazza)Theresa doesn’t sleep on the weekends, she says sleep is for the week. What is sleep, and why do we need it? Our podcast producer Theresa Piazza joins us to explore this bizarre activity that we spend almost half our lives doing. We talk about what happens when you don't get enough sleep, and share some tips and tricks for how to fall asleep when the dreaded insomnia hits. Theresa also shares some insights from producing our podcasts. The game today is called Catching Some ZZZ's, inspired in part by Theresa's last name. The first half of the ga...2025-02-1124 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery7: The Bat Bomb (ft. Dani Siller & Bill Sunderland)The story of the bat bomb begins as so many horrible things do: with a dental surgeon in Pennsylvania who had some connection to Eleanor Roosevelt. In this episode, David tells the story of a completely insane weapon that was built and tested during the World War 2 era, but was ultimately never used. Bill Sunderland and Dani Siller of Escape This Podcast join us again to dive down the rabbit hole of the bat bomb. They also tell us about their podcast Solve This Murder. Today’s game is Right Off the Bat, where every answer is a word conta...2025-02-0421 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery6: The Rise of the Golden Idol (ft. Dani Siller & Bill Sunderland)
Blank? Blankety blank! No, we're not censored. Rather, we're filling in the blanks to solve the mystery sleuthing game The Rise of the Golden Idol. This game plays a little bit like a graphic novel, where you're given images of fictional crime scenes and you need to figure out the order of events. What sets this game apart is the unique mechanics and fun storytelling elements. Guests Bill Sunderland and Dani Siller are writers for this game, and they join us again to solve some puzzles and talk about The Rise of the Golden Idol, including the...2025-01-2825 min
Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesLeaked Bonus Show! The Escape Ventures (S8E8)We're sharing one of our many Patreon exclusive Bonus Shows. We put a lot of love and have a ton of fun continuing the conversation after each episodes. We also record many extra episodes in-between seasons. All of this is available exclusively to our Patrons at patreon.com/roomescapeartist. Curtis Ratliff and Derek Townsley join us for more discussion about The Escape Ventures. They share an absolutely outrageous escape room story that we couldn’t put on the main feed. We talk more about game stores and the importance of inclusivity. David gives an argument against longer games, and we...2025-01-281h 04PG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery5: Escape This Podcast (ft. Dani Siller & Bill Sunderland)"Death Chalk... is it death chalk?"
Escape This Podcast? But we're just getting started! Of course we couldn't have a game show style podcast without having our good friends from Escape This Podcast on to share the fun. Bill Sunderland and Dani Siller, hosts of the popular audio escape room style podcast, join us this week to run a mini-puzzle for us that involves David having to put on some makeup. The game today is called Common Grounds (inspired by the NYT game Connections, no matter what Bill would have you believe.) The players must...2025-01-2123 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesCU Adventures S1E4 Throwback with Anne & Chris LukemanWe're trying something new and doing a throwback episode. Season 1, Episode 4 was an early darling amongst REPOD listeners. Guests Anne and Chris Lukeman of CU Adventures were such delightful guests.
Back then, neither David nor Peih-Gee had played their in person games (but they loved their digital and tabletop games). Since then, David has gone to Champaign-Urbana, and fell further in love with their work.
With that in mind, Room Escape Artist is hosting Escape Immerse Explore: Time & Space 2025 (Chicago to Champaign-Urbana) in the spring of 2025.
Tickets are available now for Session 1 (Sunday, Apri...2025-01-1446 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery4: Mini Golf (ft CU Adventures)
What a tee-rific idea! Today we're talking minigolf, the entertaining twist on a classic sport with an interesting history. Anne & Chris Lukeman, owners of CU Adventures in Time and Space join us again to tackle a subject very close to their heart. As they tell us in the episode, they're taking everything they know about creating amazing escape rooms and applying it to their new venture, Parcadia — a magical minigolf tavern inspired by D&D aesthetics. Our game today is called Hole in One, where I took a word, and "added a hole in one" by inserting an...2025-01-1424 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesPG's Playhouse 3: Roadside Attractions (ft CU Adventures)This is the final preview for PG's Playhouse being released on the Reality Escape Pod feed. Please go subscribe to PG's Playhouse wherever you get your podcasts to listen to future episodes.
What's a roadtrip without a visit to that Giant Ball of Twine or a glimpse of a giant Muffler Man? If the sign says "World Famous" anything, I'm pulling over for it. Our guests today are Anne & Chris Lukeman, owners of CU Adventures in Time and Space, an escape room company in Illinois. They love roadside attractions, and in fact, their es...2025-01-1326 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery3: Roadside Attractions (ft. CU Adventures)
What's a roadtrip without a visit to that Giant Ball of Twine or a glimpse of a giant Muffler Man? If the sign says "World Famous" anything, I'm pulling over for it. Our guests today are Anne & Chris Lukeman, owners of CU Adventures in Time and Space, an escape room company in Illinois. They love roadside attractions, and in fact, their escape room business was inspired by a road trip to House on the Rock. Our game today is about regional foods, where they've been replaced with words that rhyme. David then gives us a short history...2025-01-0725 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesPG's Playhouse #2: Y2K with Tommy HontonIn between Reality Escape Pod Season 8 and 9 we are starting a brand new show. PG's Playhouse.
Remember Y2K? The end-of-the-world that came and went without a hitch? Guest Tommy Honton joins us again to explore what really went down in this episode of PG's Playhouse. Our game today is called New Beginnings, where we take the names of old fads and transform them into something new by changing the first letter. David then walks us through a short history of Y2K, the fear mongering about a global shutdown and how the prevention plans went off w...2024-12-3123 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery2: Y2K with Tommy HontonRemember Y2K? The end-of-the-world that came and went without a hitch? Guest Tommy Honton joins us again to explore what really went down in this episode of PG's Playhouse. Our game today is called New Beginnings, where we take the names of old fads and transform them into something new by changing the first letter. David then walks us through a short history of Y2K, the fear mongering about a global shutdown and how the prevention plans went off without a hitch (mostly). Tommy also brought a game testing our knowledge of Greek metric prefixes.
2024-12-3122 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesPG's Playhouse #1: Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?In between Reality Escape Pod Season 8 and 9 we are starting a brand new show. PG's Playhouse.
In the inaugural episode of PG's Playhouse, Peih-Gee Law and David Spira are joined by immersive creator Tommy Honton to explore the controversial topic of whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. We kick off with a game called "Christmas-fied" where non-Christmas movies are transformed into Christmas-themed titles by adding festive song lyrics. We also discuss Die Hard's Christmas credentials, and its tight writing and unique casting choices.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe on your podcast app of ch...2024-12-2424 minPG’s Playhouse: Puzzles, games, trivia, & general nerdery1: Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?In the inaugural episode of PG's Playhouse, Peih-Gee Law and David Spira are joined by immersive creator Tommy Honton to explore the controversial topic of whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. We kick off with a game called "Christmas-fied" where non-Christmas movies are transformed into Christmas-themed titles by adding festive song lyrics. We also discuss Die Hard's Christmas credentials, and its tight writing and unique casting choices.
Full Show Notes
Production Credits
Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira
Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law
Produced by Theresa Piazza
S...2024-12-2323 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesPeih-Gee Law on Brentfast, Episode 100Season 8 is coming very soon. In the meantime, Peih-Gee was recently interviewed for episode 100 of Brentfast with Brent Pope:
"Brent sits down with the delightful and witty Peih-Gee Law, best known for appearing on Survivor (two different times!) and co-hosting the Reality Escape Pod! They discuss: Growing up Asian in the 90's, being on 2 different seasons of Survivor, the allure of escape rooms, and their Brentfast meal from Bamboo Bistro!"
2024-09-1944 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesTreasure Island (Spoilers Club Preview)In this clip, Brian Corbitt - game designer of Treasure Island at Brain Games in San Pedro, California - talks about the original, unused plan for the finale puzzle and why he decided against it. Brian is most well known for the raunchy, actor driven game Miss Jezebel, and he also talks about how that game completely changed his design philosophy. He also gives us a preview of the new game he's working on.
How to Listen
When you support Room Escape Artist on Patreon at $15 per month (or ab...2024-09-0506 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesThe Wicker Plan – David & Peih-Gee on The Infinite Escape RoomIn April, David and Peih-Gee were guests for two episodes of The Infinite Escape Room, a comedy puzzle show where a group of pals sit down, have a drink, and work together to solve an audio escape room.
This time around, they needed to escape a giant, flaming wicker man, and all sorts of silliness ensued.
The game episode is now available on the Reality Escape Pod feed:
And you can find the followup hangout episode where David and Peih-Gee had a casual chat with host Jamie Gibbs on The Infinite Escape Room’s...2024-06-2546 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesSpoilers Club: Stay in the Dark Part 1 PreviewThis is a teaser from this month's Spoilers Club. David Spira & Peih-Gee Law take a deep dive into iconic or impactful escape rooms. The creators join us to share exclusive behind the scenes, commentary and insights about their games. This month explored Stay in the Dark; a remarkably enormous game of cat and mouse played through a five story abandoned chemical factory. Creator Gijs Geers from DarkPark guided us on a journey through his game.
Get the full episode by supporting Room Escape Artist on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/roomescapeartist
Wh...2024-05-1705 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS7E8 Bonus After-Show Teaser: Cross RoadsWe're sharing a little bit of our Patreon exclusive Bonus show from S7E8.
In this clip, co-hosts David Spira and Peih-Gee Law talk about Activate and Time Mission, which are both different types of challenge arcades.
Listen to the rest of the Bonus Show now by becoming a patron today at patreon.com/roomescapeartist and to gain to access our library of over 60 bonus after shows.
Thank you for supporting our work.
2024-05-0206 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS7E6 Bonus After-Show Teaser: Confusion EscapesWe're sharing a little bit of our Patreon exclusive Bonus show from S7E6 with Al and Stacy Delcome, creators of Confusion Escapes in San Bernardino, California.
In this clip, Peih-Gee talks about playing her first jubensha, the larp-like murder mystery experience popularized in China.
Content Warning: Please be warned that this segment does discuss sexual assault in the context of the game. This is a common and controversial trope in jubensha games.
Listen to the rest of the Bonus Show now by becoming a patron today at patreon.com/roomescapeartist and to gai...2024-04-1806 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS7E2 Bonus After-Show Teaser: Jared ButlerWe're sharing a little bit of our Patreon exclusive Bonus show from S7E2 with Jared Butler, owner of Wasteland Weekend and Neotropolis.
In this preview, Peih-Gee talks about some of the escape room-esque features of Neotropolis, and Jared discusses how the bars work. He also shared his dreams for the future of the event.
Listen to the rest of the Bonus Show now by becoming a patron today at patreon.com/roomescapeartist and to gain to access our library of over 60 bonus after shows.
Thank you for supporting our work.
2024-03-2304 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesSpoilers Club: Sleep No More - Part 1 PreviewTo sleep, perchance to dream...
Sleep No More, the seminal immersive theater piece from Punchdrunk, has inspired countless immersive creators, including Haley and Cameron Cooper of Strange Bird Immersive. Haley and Cameron make no secret that it has heavily influenced their acclaimed escape room The Man From Beyond. When we heard that Punchdrunk would close Sleep No More's New York location, we decided to pay homage to this influential work with a feature on our Spoilers Club. Haley and Cameron are historians of Punchdrunk; they joined us to break down everything you need to know about this...2024-03-1604 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesPeih-Gee's Playhouse, The LA Edition
"This episode is brought to you by language that has fallen outta favor in the last century."
We're putting the "celeb" in celebrate! Play along as we test each other's wits with games, puzzles, and trivia, all themed around Los Angeles, the home for this year's Reality Escape Convention. In keeping with the theme, Season 7 of REPOD will feature guests whose work can be found in LA, The City of Angels. To celebrate, Peih-Gee's Playhouse is back with another special release episode chock full of games and merriment. We've brought back recurring guest Tommy Honton...2024-03-0549 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesSpoilers Club: Ghost of Mentryville Preview"Why did it have to be snakes?"
"Since we started this podcast, I have been talking repeatedly about my desire for there to be more lower budget, experimental, thought provoking, and thoughtful productions." David calls this game "the black box theatre" of escape rooms, while REA Patron Dan Egnor called it "the best room in the world in awesomeness per square foot."
You've probably never played this room, or even heard about it, but David and I love this room so much that we dedicated 90 minutes to thoroughly dissecting and reliving...2024-02-2407 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesSpecial Release Bonus Episode S6E3: Going Viral with Christine Barger
"You never know why something will go viral, and it doesn't matter why. They'll still come."
If social media was an escape room, most owners and designers would never find the key. Navigating all the different trends and social media apps is a daunting task, and it's even harder when most escape rooms don't allow photos or videos of their games.
That's why we brought in an expert. In this special release of our Patreon Exclusive Bonus episode from Season 6, Episode 3, we talk to social media influencer and the ow...2024-01-1254 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E13 Bonus After-Show Teaser: The Value of a Good EditorWe're sharing a little bit of our Patreon exclusive Bonus show from S6E13 with A.J. Jacobs and Greg Pliska of The Puzzler Podcast.
In this clip. Peih-Gee confesses to some writing struggles and David shares a story of being utterly destroyed and then rebuilt by a writing professor back in college.
Listen to the rest of the Bonus Show now by becoming a patron today at patreon.com/roomescapeartist and to gain to access our library of over 60 bonus after shows.
Thank you for supporting our work.
2023-12-2806 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E11 - The Art of Game Flow with Summer Herrick of Locurio
"Poor game flow is one of the biggest downfalls to any escape room."
In Season 6, episode 11, we chat with Summer Herrick, co-founder of the iconic escape room company Locurio in Seattle, Washington. In 2020, Locurio had the distinction of being the sole company to win in all three TERPECA categories: Top Room, Top Online Room, and Top Company. Locurio’s games, The Vanishing Act and The Storykeeper are fan favorites in the escape room scene, and with good reason.
Summer talks about Locurio's design process and breaks down the art of game flo...2023-12-1357 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E8 - Eric Berlin Puzzle Snacks
“An escape room crossword puzzle”
In Season 6, episode 8, we talk to the charming crossword constructor Eric Berlin. Eric is the creator of Puzzlesnacks, one of our favorite puzzle books, and he authored the Winston Breen trilogy, a series of puzzling novels for kids. Eric was also captain of Team Palindrome, one of the largest MIT Mystery Hunt teams, which won in 2021.
Eric has a long and illustrious career crafting creative crossword puzzles. From brazening his way into Games Magazine board game nights to convincing Weird Al Yankovic to star in a cameo c...2023-11-211h 04Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E7: The Analytics of Fun: Great Escape Room Design with Marie Huber & Nico Cesar of Red Fox Escapes“That is some crazy market research.” In season 6, episode 7 of REPOD, we chat with the brilliant Marie Huber and Nico César, owners of Red Fox Escapes in Cambridge, MA. Red Fox Escapes is known for constructing elegant and complex puzzles with gorgeous, detailed sets. As David notes in the episode, “There are a few hallmarks of Red Fox games… your approach to puzzles… and the abundance of detail in your games.”
As a former business analyst, Marie has a metrics-based approach to both how she runs the business and her design process. She even ran a workshop...2023-11-141h 04Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E6: Nutcracker in Swing Time - Kellian & Brian Pletcher, Creators of Club Drosselmeyer“It's an interactive Nutcracker in swing time.” In REPOD season 6, episode 6, we go behind the scenes with the creators of Club Drosselmeyer, Kellian and Brian Pletcher. Club Drosselmeyer is a World War II-themed mass-puzzling, swing-dancing, and immersive performance event, and it’s one of Room Escape Artist’s favorite holiday events.
Kellian talks to us about what to expect from Club Drosselmeyer, the format of the show, and how the puzzles work. She talks about drawing inspiration from history as well as current events and tells us why it’s important to throw in a dash o...2023-11-071h 05Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E5 Bonus After-Show Teaser: Halloween SpooktacularWe're sharing a little bit of our Patreon exclusive Bonus show from S6E5 with where Peih-Gee & David catch up on their experiences and travels.
In this preview, we talk about playing escape rooms with new players. Going out to experience Delusion an immersive haunted attraction and Pomona, California, and Ghost of Mentryville, a recently reopened game from Arcane Escape Rooms.
Listen to the rest of the Bonus Show now by becoming a patron today at patreon.com/roomescapeartist and to gain to access our library of over 50 bonus after shows.
Thank you fo...2023-11-0406 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E5: Halloween Spooktacular Special
“Chris, you’re a monster.”
Join us for spooky trivia games that test your escape room knowledge and scary stories to tell in the dark. Peih-Gee takes over hosting duties from David to present a ghostly and entertaining episode with guests Tommy Honton, and Anne & Chris Lukeman.
We learn about things like mummy brown and the origins of Halloween, a unique trick or treating tradition in the midwest, and a video game called Sanity’s Requiem, which gaslit its players into going mad. Play along with us...2023-10-311h 07Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E4: Hey Riddle Riddle Plays The Shop of TheseusWe're giving The Shop of Theseus a final send-off, and we invited the hilarious crew from the Hey Riddle Riddle Podcast to test their wits in this audio escape room co-created and run by Mark Larson, who was a guest on REPOD Season 5, Episode 11.
If you missed playing this game during RECON Remote 23, or if you want to relive your glory moments, join us for this final playthrough of The Shop of Theseus. JPC, Adal, and Erin are some of Chicago's top improvisers, and they had me roaring with laughter through the entire game. I...2023-10-231h 19Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E3: Pics or It Didn’t Happen with Christine Barger, The Haunt Girl“It's about whether you want to be culturally relevant in 2023.” In Season 6, Episode 3 of REPOD, we discuss the importance of social media marketing with The Haunt Girl—Christine Barger, co-owner of The Exit Game OC. Her game, 13th Basement, is a hilarious comedy-horror escape room that’s self-aware and parodies typical escape room tropes. Christine has almost a million followers on TikTok as an entertainer and haunt/ escape room influencer.
The conversation moves from haunts to being an escape room blogger. Christine tells us how she finally made the leap from influencer to escape r...2023-10-161h 11Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS6E2: Hard With Pain - Rich Bragg, Creator of TERPECAIf you consider yourself a serious escape room enthusiast, chances are you’ve heard of TERPECA, the Top Escape Rooms Project Enthusiasts' Choice Award. In Season 6, Episode 2 of REPOD, we chat with Rich Bragg, founder of TERPECA and ClueKeeper, and a former escape room Guinness World Record holder.
Rich has been involved in the immersive gaming scene since he first discovered the world of elaborate puzzle hunts in the early 2000s. Rich talks about playing in Moscow while setting the Guinness World record, and he tells us about playing the “hard with pain” game m...2023-10-1059 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesSpecial Release: RECON Remote 23 RecapWe brought together escape room industry professionals and enthusiasts from all around the world for a 2-day virtual event in August. If you're still coming down off the high of RECON Remote 23, we've got you covered. In this pre-season special release, we break down all the happenings at RECON, with a special behind-the-scenes look from Brendan Lutz, Room Escape Artist's CTO, and the Head of Technology for RECON.
We kick things off by reflecting on mistakes make in previous events and how it helped craft the program for this year's RECON. We touch...2023-09-181h 09Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesSAW(LVE) Hey Riddle Riddle with Peih-Gee Law
The floor is cold and hard against our face as we groggily awaken to Pigjaw looming over us... and the only way to survive is to saw(lve) his riddles.
Hey Riddle Riddle is an uproariously funny podcast featuring improvisers Adal Rifai, Erin Keif, and John Patrick Coan solving every riddle, puzzle, brain-teaser, and head-scratcher known to humanity. Some riddles are almost impossible, some are absolutely improbable, and some simply have not aged well. And if you don't like riddles, don't worry! This podcast is barely about them!
2023-09-151h 00Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesLeaked Spoilers Club: Not Another Escape Room - Time MachineHave you wanted to go behind the scenes at your favorite escape rooms? With the Spoilers Club, our patron-exclusive series, we take a deep dive with the creators of iconic escape rooms for an indulgent recap plus creator commentary. This content is normally safeguarded by Patreon access to avoid accidental spoilers leaking into the pubic, but we were lucky to cover an amazing escape room that is no longer running, and we're sharing it with everyone.
Time Machine from Not Another Escape Room is a local fan favorite amongst SoCal escape room enthusiasts...2023-09-0555 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesRoad to Reality with Peih-Gee Law (Special Release)What does it take to compete on the reality show Survivor? What's the backstory on these contestants? Learn more about REPOD co-host Peih-Gee Law and what makes her tick in this special RHAP crossover episode.
Road to Reality is a limited edition series hosted by Kellyn Bechtold (@theKellynB) from Survivor Ghost Island. Listen in while she interviews former Survivor contestants about their real life and how being on reality television has had a major impact on their life trajectories. Every reality contestant has been on a story-worthy journey to land on television and ye...2023-08-291h 54Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesSpecial Release Bonus Show - Theme Park Edition: Galaxy’s Edge, DASH, and... The Unhinged Rise of Mayor Law at Ghost Town AliveIt’s the dog days of August, and nothing screams summer more than theme parks, fried chicken, Star Wars, and ice cream... except for episode guest Mark Larson, but you'll have to listen to the end for that story. In this special release of a patron-exclusive bonus episode from S5E11, Peih-Gee and David discuss their recent trips to Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge and Knott’s Berry Farm’s Ghost Town Alive. We’re joined by editor Steve Ewing and game designer Mark, who chats about his involvement with DASH: Different Area, Same Hunt, a global puzzle hunt. Mark also cr...2023-08-151h 03Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS5E11: Golden Lock Grand Slam: Game Designer Mark LarsonIn Season 5, episode 11, we chat with Mark Larson, a game and puzzle designer with an impressive track record. As David notes, Mark is the only designer to have contributed to Golden Lock award winning games in 3 different categories: tabletop, virtual, and IRL escape room.
We talk to Mark about the different hats he's worn while working in the gaming industry: designing tabletop games, managing escape rooms, and designing audio escape rooms. One of his award-winning audio creations was Escape from Escape Island, a game created exclusively for RECON 2021. Mark has also designed the virtual game...2023-06-2651 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS5E9: Wishes & Well-Wishes, Celebrating 50 Episodes with David Spira and Peih-Gee LawIn Season 5, Episode 9, David and Peih-Gee celebrate the 50th episode of REPOD! As they reflect on the journey to 50 episodes, David says that his perspective shift comes from observing Peih-Gee’s growth as both an escape room enthusiast and podcaster, transitioning from regional enthusiast to having a more global perspective. David has been covering this industry for almost ten years. It’s startling to think about the influence that Room Escape Artist has had, which we don’t realize until guests mention it on the podcast.
We spend some time pondering magic wishes… if we could wa...2023-06-121h 07Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS5E3: Leroux Botha, Executive Producer of Survivor South AfricaIn Season 5, Episode 3, we chat with Leroux Botha, the executive producer who managed to revive the production of Survivor South Africa, largely through grit and sheer moxie, after it had been dead in the water. Leroux shares his journey from Survivor super-fan to content producer, to eventually creating his own version of the show. Survivor South Africa is really a fan love letter to the show. He pays homage to past challenges and prefers to keep twists and turns to a minimum. Instead, Leroux chooses to focus on engaging and straightforward storytelling instead of sneaky editing to designed to maximi...2023-05-0151 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesREPOD S4E12 - Season Wrap Up: Reflecting on a Season of Global GuestsIn Season 4, Episode 12, David and I reflect back on a season of podcasting with global escape room creators. I am continually impressed with all the guests who were brave enough to come on a podcast and chat with us in a language that’s not their native tongue.
After recording this season, one of the most noticeable trends was the rampant imposter syndrome that affects even the most brilliant escape room designers. David and I have a long chat about what causes it, and how to embrace it as a secret superpower. We also noticed some creators sh...2022-12-201h 08Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesREPOD S4E11 - The Struggle for Greatness: Lukas Rauscher of Crime Runners, AustriaIn Season 4, Episode 11, we chat with Lukas Rauscher of Crime Runners, Austria. His game, Going Underground, has consistently placed high on the Terpeca list since it first premiered, and has garnered rave reviews for its sense of adventure and adaptive difficulty that creates a fulfilling experience for both new players and experienced enthusiasts.
Lukas is an unapologetically passionate escape room enthusiast and advocate. He freely admits to having little to no moderation when it comes to creating his games because he constantly wants to outdo himself. He is also very candid when it comes to struggles with t...2022-12-1358 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesREPOD S4E10 - Digging for a Pony: David Spigner, CEO of Boda Borg, Sweden(ish)In Season 4, Episode 10, we head to Sweden to explore Boda Borg... or at least that's where we thought we were going with this episode. As it turns out, the President/ CEO of Boda Borg is an American business strategy visionary living in Laguna Hills, California named David Spigner. There is surprisingly little information about the Boda Borg story, and we are thrilled to share the tale of how he became the owner and President of what was originally a Swedish company.
Boda Borg has been around since 1995. That is way longer than escape rooms have e...2022-12-061h 13Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesREPOD S4E9 - Ukrainian Resilience: Tasha Tarkhanova, creator of Project Avatar, UkrainePlease consider donating to Direct Relief
In Season 4, Episode 9, we share stories from Ukraine. We talk to Nataliya (Tasha) Tarkhanova of Hypno Dive, creator of the Project Avatar series of virtual escape room games. Project Avatar is an incredible virtual experience that plays like a live-action video game, where you are directing a live actor (the Avatar) through an enormous abandoned warehouse. With stylish, acrobatic moves and impressive special effects, tech and visuals, Project Avatar was a high point in quarantine-era virtual escape rooms.
Then war happened. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukra...2022-11-291h 05Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesREPOD S4E8 - Expansion & Hospitality: Mark Flint, CEO of The Escape Game, USAIn Season 4, Episode 8 of REPOD, we return home to the United States for a chat with Mark Flint, CEO of The Escape Game (TEG). With over 26 locations in 14 states, TEG is positioned to offer a shared American experience. Many of their locations have the same games as locations in other cities, all with consistently high quality rooms, accessible venues in high-profile shopping centers, beautifully decorated sets, and friendly customer service.
Mark operates his company with a businessman's brain and an escape room enthusiast's heart. The emphasis on hospitality lies at the heart of The Escape G...2022-11-2250 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesREPOD S4E7 – Fandoms & Foodies: Prolific Escape Room Designer Gai Bosco, IsraelIn Season 4, episode 7, we head over to Israel, a relatively unexplored escape room region that has a bounty of creative, lighthearted themes. We chat with prolific escape room designer Gai Bosco of Cerebro, who has designed over 200 escape rooms, or roughly 25% of the Israeli market. Gai is not only an escape room creator, he is a mega-enthusiast and self-proclaimed nerd who got his start creating sci-fi fan fiction.
The Israeli escape room scene is teeming with family-friendly fandom themes, with escape rooms playing homage to many movies including The Lion King, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and...2022-11-1553 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesREPOD S4E6 – Blacklights and Blindsides: Dino Paulo, Survivor South Africa and owner of Hinthunt AfricaIn Season 4, episode 6, we chat with Dino Paulo, owner of escape room company Hinthunt Africa, located in Cape Town, South Africa. Dino also happens to be the winner of the reality show Survivor South Africa: Return of the Outcasts. In his first season, Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island, Dino was voted out early on. However, he established enough of a presence to return for an all-star returnee season, eventually winning the title of Sole Survivor.
This turnaround from downtrodden underdog to eventual winner is echoed in his experience as an escape room owner. Dino candidly s...2022-11-081h 04Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS4E5 – Epic Proportions: Jonathan Driscoll and Sacha St.Denis, owners of Escaparium, CanadaIn Season 4, episode 5 of Reality Escape Pod, we headed to Canada to chat with Jonathan Driscoll and Sacha St.Denis, owners of Escaparium escape games, Nuit de Terreur haunted attraction, L'Atelier resto-pub game cafe, and Ezkapaz immersive experiences. As you can tell from their list of businesses, Jonathan and Sacha have big ambitions. Not only do they have over 30 escape rooms under the Escaparium brand, they have recently expanded into a haunted attraction with escape room elements, a game cafe integrated into their Laval location, and an immersive experience at a local speakeasy bar.
2022-11-011h 02Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS4E4 – Holistic Game Design: Alexander Gierholz, creator of Amsterdam Catacombs, NetherlandsIn Season 4, Episode 4, we head over to The Netherlands for a chat with Alexander Gierholz of Logic Locks, creator of The Amsterdam Catacombs, which has won numerous accolades including a Golden Lock Award and a TERPECA. In a country rich with globally top-rated escape rooms, The Catacombs stands out for its commitment to immersion, stunning location and incredible ending. The Netherlands has a vibrant escape room scene, due in part to Alexander's efforts with events like Up The Game, a global escape room conference he co-founded in 2017.
Coming from a psychology background, and having taught...2022-10-2445 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS4E3 – The Doctor & The Alchemist: Creative Game Mechanics with Leanne Yong and Aaron Hooper of Next Level Escape, AustraliaNext up on our global tour, in Season 4, Episode 3, David and Peih-Gee go down under with The Doctor and The Alchemist, aka, Aaron Hooper and Leanne Yong from Next Level Escape in Sydney, Australia. They gave a fantastic talk at RECON '21, Playing with Game Structure: the Macro of Mechanics. In this podcast, they go into more depth about designing unusual game mechanics like their game, The Game, a competitive escape room where players go head to head, battling for objectives, or The Show Must Go On, which is part audio play, part interactive performance and part escape room.2022-10-1757 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS4E2 – Paradox Project, Greece: Dimitris Varelas and the Three Hour Escape RoomIn Season Four of Reality Escape Pod, we’re going global! Each episode we’ll be interviewing escape room creators from a different country, and there’s no better place to start with than Athens, Greece, home to Paradox Project. Paradox Project’s escape rooms are some of the most highly regarded games in the world, with two of their rooms ranked in the top twenty best escape rooms according to TERPECA. These games also have the distinction of being some of the longest escape rooms in the world, with The Bookstore clocking in at 200 minutes. That’s a whopping thr...2022-10-111h 01Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS4E1 - Reconnecting with RECONWe're kicking off Season Four of Reality Escape Pod with a RECON Boston recap! David and Peih-Gee are joined by Lisa Spira and Theresa Wagner. RECON was an incredibly special event with brilliant talks, amazing lobby parties, and some very special escape rooms. Magic was definitely in the air.
We recap the talks from industry leaders and discuss the amazing ARG (alternate reality game) created especially for RECON. David and Lisa give us insight on some of the aspects designed to help the convention run more smoothly. We look back fondly on the l...2022-10-041h 10Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesDavid & Peih-Gee talk pastries & puzzles on Podcast This Escape
Last week, David and Peih-Gee managed to solve the mystery of the Silver Screen room on Escape This Podcast, and this week, they're recapping their adventures in the madcap chocolate factory. We recommend listening to that episode before you listen to this one.
After getting stuck on donuts and pies, it was a relief to know that Dani and Bill had graciously reserved one of their harder rooms for us. We dissect some of the puzzles in the game and debate the merits of various puzzle design etiquette, including common expectations like prop...2022-09-2037 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesDavid & Peih-Gee Play Escape This Podcast
David and Peih-Gee go on a romp through a very wonky chocolate factory on Escape This Podcast, a show that's a mix between table top role-playing and escape room style puzzles. Much like Willy Wonka, Dani and Bill are madly creative geniuses, dreaming up fantastical audio escape rooms that have come very close to stumping us on more than one occasion.
Going on their podcast is always a good time, and the best part is that all their audio escape rooms are available for free to play with your friends and family at...2022-09-141h 07Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesSpecial Release: S3E2 Bonus Episode - Johanna Koljonen
Today we're releasing a Patreon Bonus Episode from Season 3 to give you a sneak peek of our REPOD Patreon perks. Johanna's episode was extremely popular, and with good reason. She shared a wealth of knowledge about game design with us on the main episode, and yet, we still had so many questions for her. Luckily she stuck around for the Aftershow.
This one in particular feels very much like an extension of the main episode. If you haven't listened to her main episode, we highly recommend you play that one first. You can...2022-08-301h 21Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesDavid & Peih-Gee get Stranger on The Infinite Escape RoomThe Infinite Escape Room is a puzzling podcast where a group of pals sit down, have a drink, and work together to solve an audio escape room. The creators are brilliant and hilarious, and they were kind enough to welcome us on a recent episode. We had a blast puzzling our way through this Stranger Things-inspired episode, despite David constantly trying to off Peih-Gee in some nefarious way, and Peih-Gee trying to figure out what is "bed cheese."
This is something a little different from our usual episodes, but we think you'll really enjoy it. We like...2022-08-0946 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E12 - RECON Boston 22: All About the Reality Escape ConventionIn season 3, episode 12, we chat with Lee-Fay Low and Theresa Wagner about the upcoming RECON, the Reality Escape Convention, taking place in person, in Boston, August 21-22, 2022. RECON is a new type of convention mixing talks from leaders in the immersive gaming industry as well as games ranging from an ARG, a large-format ballroom game, an included escape room, and visits to Level99 and Boda Borg.
Lee-Fay is the Programming Coordinator. She talks to us about the different talks you can expect at RECON Boston 22, ranging from Caro Murphy, an Immersive Experience Director on Disney’s...2022-05-0359 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E11 - The Puzzler: Best-Selling Author A.J. JacobsIn season 3, episode 11, we chat with New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs, about his newest book The Puzzler. A.J. is a self-described “human guinea-pig,” immersing himself deeply, even masochistically, into a given topic and chronicling his experiments, whether it’s living by the Bible literally for a year, or thanking everyone involved in the creation of his morning cup of coffee.
An avid crossword solver, A.J. dives down the rabbit hole of puzzles in his latest book The Puzzler. He goes on a journey...2022-04-2653 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E10 - Environmental Storytelling: Jeff Leinenveber and Jarrett Lantz Creators of The NestIn season 3, episode 10, we chat with Jeff Leinenveber and Jarrett Lantz, creators of The Nest, an intimate, memorable immersive experience that was a masterclass in environmental storytelling. The Nest unfolded through a series of audio cassette tapes that guests discovered while wandering through a labyrinth of memorabilia and memories.
As former Disney Imagineers, Jarrett and Jeff really showcased their talent in scenic design, crafting a rich narrative through an incredible set that took guests on a dreamlike journey through one woman's memories. They talk about purposeful design choices meant to foster a sense o...2022-04-191h 01Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E9 - The Mailbag EpisodeIn Season 3, episode 9 of REPOD, David and Peih-Gee are joined by David’s wife and REPOD producer Lisa Spira, along with Steve Ewing, the REPOD editor. We take questions and comments from listeners who have called in with voicemails or sent us emails. We had some really thought provoking questions, some lovely compliments about listeners’ favorite episodes, and of course, some hilarious prank calls.
We also got to play some hilarious games designed by Steve and Peih-Gee, themed on our past guests. We absolutely loved hearing from our listeners and had a blast going through our...2022-04-121h 35Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E8 - Chris Waters: The Architect of Constructed AdventuresIn Season 3, Episode 8, we chat with Chris Waters, The Architect of Constructed Adventures. Chris creates extraordinary, customized treasure hunt adventures for special occasions. His experiences are primarily for private clients and have included everything from being picked up in helicopters to getting mysterious envelopes delivered by otters.
Chris is the Willy Wonka of treasure hunts, doling out mysteries and golden prizes. However, instead of secrecy, he is incredibly transparent about what he does, his methods, and what he charges. He was full of tips and tricks for anyone who wants to create adventures for their...2022-04-051h 07Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E7- Adrenaline Mapping & Escape Room Design with Tommy Honton, creator of Stash HouseIn season 3, episode 7, we chat with Tommy Honton, creator of the award-winning escape room Stash House. He is a master craftsman of experience design with his bottomless bag of tools, combining storytelling and game design to create memorable, playable experiences.
It’s no coincidence that Tommy’s been mentioned by so many guests on this podcast. It’s clear his huge network exists because he genuinely cares about elevating the escape room community and helping like-minded creators succeed.
It was fascinating to get a glimpse into Tommy’s methodical creative design process. His approach...2022-03-291h 13Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E6 - Hillary Manning: Puzzle Design Expert on Create the EscapeIn Season 3, episode 6 of REPOD, we chat with Hillary Manning, the puzzle design expert on Create The Escape. Create the Escape is a fun kids show where in each episode, kids design an escape room for their parents to play and hopefully escape. Hillary has previously worked at escape rooms like Beat the Bomb and Escape The Room as a puzzle designer and gamemaster.
Hillary walks us through the challenges of designing escape rooms for a television audience, and creating puzzles that are both fun to play and visually pleasing with a large scale. She takes us...2022-03-2244 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E5 - Matt Leacock: Creator of PandemicIn Season 3, Episode 5 of REPOD, we sat down with Matt Leacock, best known for creating the Pandemic series of cooperative board games. There are several expansions for Pandemic as well as the Pandemic Legacy games, which are stand alone versions of the game with an interwoven narrative that affects the rules and mechanics of the game as you play.
The Pandemic and Pandemic Legacy games share many commonalities with escape rooms, including cooperative gameplay, cinematic narrative structure, and gameplay mechanics that tie in closely to the theme.
It was fascinating to hear Matt describe his g...2022-03-1547 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E4 - The Nerd Whisperer: Gabby Pascuzzi of Survivor David vs. GoliathIn Season 3, Episode 4 of REPOD, we were joined by Gabby Pascuzzi, a Survivor contestant who competed on season 37, Survivor David vs. Goliath. Gabby is half of one of Survivor’s most iconic Nerd Alliance, alongside Christian Hubiki, a robotics professor.
Gabby has a lifelong passion for puzzles and games, and she joined us to help explain why Survivor is so beloved by many game and puzzle enthusiasts. We break down some interesting game mechanics introduced on Survivor’s more recent seasons and discuss the various challenges and puzzles on Survivor.
On REPOD...2022-03-0857 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E3 - Interactive Narrative: Kathryn Yu of No ProsceniumIn Season 3, episode 3, we chat with Kathryn Yu, Executive Editor of No Proscenium and a co-founder of the Immersive Experience Institute, a non-profit that aims to create a sustainable future for immersive and experiential arts and artists worldwide.
Kathryn joins us to chat about game design in branching narrative games, including her brilliant creation Metaverse Noir, told through the medium of Twitter threads. Through her work with No Proscenium, she has her finger on the pulse of immersive experiences. Kathryn’s passion for interactive narrative and good storytelling was apparent throughout our conversation. It was a blast cha...2022-03-0149 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E2 - Pushing Boundaries Safely: Johanna Koljonen & Nordic LarpIn Season 3, episode 2, we chat with Johanna Koljonen, the co-founder of Participation Design Agency. She is an experience designer specializing in Nordic larp and an expert in designing for safe and enthusiastic participation. Johanna has helped create some incredibly compelling and intense Nordic larps, including Vampire the Masquerade, Inside Hamlet, and House of Craving.
Johanna puts careful thought into every aspect of her experiences, encapsulated in her concept that “everything is a designable surface.” Nordic larp encourages consent-based play, and Johanna discusses how to introduce systems that will allow participants to push boundaries safely. She gives...2022-02-221h 30Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS3E1 - Art Meets Gameplay at Immersia Escape GamesTo kick off Season 3, we chat with Maxime and Roxane Filion of Immersia Escape Games. Their escape games truly impressed us on our recent trip to Montreal. In this episode they talk about their immersive approach to game design, their diverse gaming influences, and how they measure success. Maxime and Roxane are also passionate about their creations and about this industry. Moreover, they have a shared vision of what escape games can be, and they are striving to build that future.
Show Notes
Episode Sponsors
Thank you to our sp...2022-02-1551 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesSurprise Bonus Episode from Season 1, Episode 4
Bonus Content?
After each episode, hosts Peih-Gee and David record another show, just for Patreon backers ($5/ month and up). Sometimes the guests stick around for the aftershow.
Where the main episode is a heavily edited and produced experience, the bonus content is a freeform conversation.
Guests
This sneak peek is the REPOD S1E4 Patreon Bonus Content, recorded with Anne and Chris Lukeman from CU Adventures in Time & Space.
You can find REPOD S1E4 with guests Anne and Chris here.
...2021-10-061h 17Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS2E8 - The Cinematic Delusions of Jon BraverIn season 2, episode 8, we chat with Jon Braver, creator of Delusion. Delusion is an interactive horror theatre experience where monsters might crawl on the ceiling, creatures could be flying through the air, and at any moment you could be pulled aside for your own personal storyline. Jon describes Delusion as a cinematic moving play with a rich, linear storyline where the audience gets to be the main character in a horror movie.
Jon started creating immersive horror experiences as a teen in his parents’ house. When he began doing stunt work for movies, he naturally incorporated stunts and...2021-09-2753 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS2E7 - The Puzzletales of Rita Orlov, creator of The Light in the MistIn Season 2, episode 7, we chat with Rita Orlov, the designer of industry-favorite, indie narrative puzzle games. Rita made a huge splash in the puzzle community with the launch of The Tale of Ord — an epic tabletop escape game with narrative depth and puzzle density. She followed that with The Emerald Flame and The Light in the Mist, a tarot card puzzletale.
Rita not only designs her games, she also self-produces, funding all of them via Kickstarter. She talks to us about some of the difficulties of being an indie game creator and her inspiration behind The Light in the...2021-09-2155 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS2E6 - Puppets, Haunts, & Pranks—Brian Corbitt, Creator of Miss JezebelIn Season 2, episode 6, we got to chat with Brian Corbitt, the creative mind behind the raunchy and hilarious Miss Jezebel—an actor-driven experience that’s a mix between immersive theatre and an escape room. Two of Brian’s games have won Golden Lock Awards from Room Escape Artist, and it was also voted in the top three best online escape rooms in the 2020 TERPECAs – the Top Escape Rooms Project Enthusiasts’ Choice Awards.
Brian’s games all have a quirky signature style to them, including the use of puppets, humor, interesting mechanics, and deeply immersive interactions. Brian worked in the haunt i...2021-09-1455 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS2E5 - RECON Rising: A Look Behind the Scenes at the Reality Escape ConventionIn season 2, episode 5, we take a deep dive into the inner workings of RECON, our escape room convention. In 2020, Room Escape Artist was poised to launch their first escape room convention. They quickly pivoted to a virtual convention when it became apparent that they wouldn't be able to host an in-person event due to quarantine. Within three months, they put together an unforgettable experience for the escape room community.
They had even bigger aspirations for this year's RECON, with new infrastructure and the all-new Play Pass, which lets you play a variety of games, including a few...2021-08-171h 30Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS2E4 - The King of Smash - Ken Hoang on Competitive GamingIn season 2, episode 4, we discuss possible futures for competitive escape room playing with the King of Smash, Ken Hoang.
Ken was the world champion of Super Smash Bros. Melee for five years and helped create much of the high level competitive gameplay. Ken was also an extremely strategic player on Survivor: Gabon.
Smash Melee was originally designed as a party game, not for competitive play. However, by exploiting glitches and mechanics that were built into the system, whether intentional or not, Ken was able to develop an expressive and unique style within Smash Melee, and bec...2021-07-0647 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS2E3: Creative Alchemy: Sarah Zhang & The Pursuit of the Assassin ArtistIn season 2, episode 3, we chat with Sarah Zhang from Omescape Escape Rooms in the California Bay Area. Sarah is one of the creators of the award-winning, online escape room game, Pursuit of the Assassin Artist, which was voted the #1 online escape room in the 2020 TERPECAs – the Top Escape Rooms Project Enthusiasts’ Choice Awards. It was also a winner at our own 2020 Golden Lock Awards.
2020 was a difficult year for most escape room companies. Many operators adapted their games for virtual play, allowing players to experience the games through a digital interface. Omescape elevated the online escape room, creatin...2021-06-2945 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS2E2: Nick Moran: Reinventing Escape Games with Innovative StructuresIn season 2, episode 2, we have a lovely chat with Nick Moran, who was creative director for Time Run, one of the most influential escape room companies. He has created ambitious games with innovative formats, and he’s now focused his creative genius on designing Spectre and Vox, a gorgeously crafted tabletop gaming experience with interactive storytelling.
Nick’s background as a narrative-focused writer becomes apparent when he starts talking about the structure of a game. It was fascinating to hear how he approaches structure from a narrative viewpoint, for example, by considering the “status” of the player in an esca...2021-06-221h 07Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS2E1: The Curious Mind of Neil Patrick Harris, Creator of Box OneIn episode 1 of season 2, we talk to acclaimed actor, producer, writer, and tabletop immersive experience designer Neil Patrick Harris. He's a performer known for his iconic roles on stage and screen, but our community knows him as a champion of escape rooms and immersive gaming, as well as the creator of the brilliant tabletop puzzle experience Box One.
Neil walks us through the path that led him to his love of escape rooms and other immersive games (including Survivor), explaining that it all stems from his fascination with structure and figuring out the mechanisms of how something w...2021-06-151h 22Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS1E8: Lisa Spira Room Escape Artist PuppetmasterIn episode 8, we chat with Lisa Spira, co-creator of Room Escape Artist, one of the producers of this podcast, and the main puppetmaster holding the strings of two very happy podcasters.
David and Lisa have been married for five years. He calls himself the Penn to Lisa’s Teller and explains that in their partnership, while he’s the loud carnival barker grabbing the attention, Lisa is the shorter, quiet one who is actually pulling all the strings (and we couldn’t be more thrilled that she’s helped us organize this podcast).
Together, we delve int...2021-04-2757 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS1E7: Chris Lattner - The Gordon Ramsey of Escape RoomsIn episode 7, we talk to Chris Lattner, CEO and creative director of The Room in Berlin, one of the top-ranked escape room companies in the world, according to TERPECA—the Top Escape Rooms Project Enthusiasts’ Choice Awards. The Room’s immersive adventures have continued to win awards and accolades throughout the years, including our own Room Escape Artist’s Golden Lock Awards.
Chris’ background was as a professional DJ in the techno scene for many years, performing at clubs and festivals around the world. He was also heavily involved in the European geocaching scene, years before escape rooms even existed. Afte...2021-04-1344 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS1E6: Anthony Robinson On Immersion, Larp, & SurvivorIn episode 6, we sit down with Anthony Robinson, an enthusiastic larper, former castaway on the reality show Survivor Fiji, and long-time contributor to the immersive theatre website No Proscenium.
Anthony introduced David and Peih-Gee, who met (and found their mutual love of escape rooms) as guests on an episode of the No Proscenium podcast. It only seemed fitting to bring Anthony onto our show to chat about immersive gaming and Survivor.
Anthony is an old school larper (Live Action Role Play) who also happened to play Survivor, which is one of the most immersive games...2021-04-0637 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS1E5: 6 Artists & 1 Programmer - Barry Meade on creating The RoomIn episode 5, we had a lovely chat with Barry Meade, founding member of Fireproof Studios and one of the co-creators of The Room, an incredibly vivid mobile game first released in 2012.
The Room had a tactile, immersive quality to it, from its haunting soundtrack, to the weight of physical objects, and how the environment handled the lighting design. These design elements, combined with a series of intricate puzzles, have delighted and inspired countless escape room enthusiasts and designers.
It was fascinating to hear about how a limiting set of circumstances created the perfect recipe for...2021-03-3043 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS1E4: Escape Room Storytelling Through Spectacle, CU Adventures Anne & Chris LukemanIn this episode, David and Peih-Gee chat with Chris and Anne Lukeman, owners of the escape room company CU Adventures and the escape room shirt company Solve Our Shirts.
We talk about how a trip to Wisconsin and to two attractions in particular "opened their eyes to a level of weird that became a commercial business." Those attractions were Wizard Quest, a fantasy-themed scavenger hunt and House on the Rock, which Anne describes as a "skyscraper hobbit-hole of kitsch." We learn about their background in indie filmmaking and how it has influenced their escape room design process...2021-03-2346 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS1E3: Juliana Moreno Patel and Ariel Rubin (Wild Optimists, Escape Room in a Box)Episode 3 is an interview with game and puzzle designers Juliana Moreno Patel and Ariel Rubin, the Wild Optimists. This brilliant duo designed the world’s first Escape Room in a Box which is released worldwide by Mattel.
Juliana and Ariel met, founded their company, and created their first product all while pregnant, which should give you a good idea of their intense passion.
They are known for their thoughtful designs in immersive gaming and continue to push the envelope when it comes to creating new types of game design.
Show Notes
...2021-03-1642 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS1E2: Survivor Challenge Consultant Myles Nye (Wise Guys Events)In this episode, David and Peih-Gee chat with Myles Nye, a Survivor Challenge consultant and designer of team-building games.
Myles took Peih-Gee to her first Escape Room, and we discuss tips and tricks for newbies. Myles talks about improv and how to create experiences that tap into the essence of play. We learn about how Myles became a challenge consultant for the reality show Survivor, and discuss the nuances of designing puzzles and games for television. He puts to rest some of the conspiracy theories about Survivor challenges, and also talks to us about why certain challenges p...2021-03-0948 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesS1E1: Trailblazing Game Designer Elan Lee (Exploding Kittens)In this episode, David and Peih-Gee chat with Elan Lee, one of the creators of the ARG (alternate reality game), and co-creator of Exploding Kittens - the most-backed campaign on Kickstarter at the time.
David manages to surprise Elan with interview questions that he’s never been asked before. Elan talks about creating the world’s first ARG and shares stories about what happens when you don’t properly define borders in escape rooms and immersive gaming. We also talk about escape rooms (of course) and Elan’s post-game ritual. We find out that Elan is a huge...2021-03-0246 minReality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive GamesDavid & Peih-Gee Blastoff! Reality Escape Pod Launch 🚀David and Peih-Gee talk about how they met a year ago on a podcast, what they’re hoping to accomplish with this podcast and their escape room origin stories. While this is technically episode 0, it's labeled as episode 1. It's a puzzle.
Show Notes
Production Credits
Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law
Produced by Lisa Spira
Music by Ryan Elder
Logo by Janine Pracht
2021-02-2340 min