A Room Escape Artist Production
In a world gone digital, doing things in person is strangely revolutionary.
Reality Escape Pod is an interview podcast diving deep with people who make the world’s best immersive games and experiences: ARGs, puzzle hunts, tabletop games, theme parks, and of course, escape rooms. Our aim is to bring together different segments of the gaming world to share ideas between them.
Hosts David Spira & Peih-Gee Law explore immersive gaming from all angles with a unique blend of curiosity, joy, and a deep appreciation of craft. Each episode explores the guest’s philosophy, design approach, and humanity.
About the hosts:
David Spira is an experience designer, co-founder of RoomEscapeArtist.com and Reality Escape Convention. He is the escape room industry’s most prolific leader. In 2014 he applied his professional skills as a digital experience designer to the burgeoning industry of escape rooms, and more than a decade later he has built a community for its creators and consumers.
Peih-Gee Law is most well known for being a fan favorite contestant on the reality show Survivor, where she played first in Survivor China in 2007, and again in a returning All-Star season Survivor Second Chance. In 2025, she launched PG's Playhouse, a fun podcast with brainteasers, puzzles, and trivia. She is also on the official story team for Neotropolis, an annual 5 day immersive cyberpunk festival, where she creates narrative driven gameplay and experiences for thousands of attendees.
Episodes
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Monday Nov 04, 2024
“Room Escape Artist has built a community within this industry.”
The year is 2014. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie just got married. Facebook is the largest social media platform. Celebrities everywhere are doing the Ice Bucket Challenge, and somewhere in New York City, Lisa and David Spira have just written their first review about a new activity called escape rooms.
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been ten years since Room Escape Artist started covering escape rooms. A decade is a long time to be doing anything, especially when it comes to writing about something many considered a fad. In this episode, I sit down with David and Lisa Spira, who are partners in both life and business, to take a look back over ten years of Room Escape Artist and talk about how it has grown up alongside the escape room industry.
I especially enjoyed hearing about the “inflection points,” including a key event that changed how they perceived and ran Room Escape Artist. Lisa talks about the sobering realization that people were making business decisions based on their reviews. This was one of the first turning points where they realized that they needed to take this fun blog of escape room reviews a whole lot more seriously.
For me personally, one of the greatest things to arise is the wonderful community that sprung up around Room Escape Artist and all their productions. From the lovely people who participate in the Escape Room Tours, the interesting discussions in the Patreon Discord, and the joyous learning opportunities of RECON, David and Lisa have brought together a community of like-minded people who all love the same thing. There is magic here for everyone involved, and I’m really looking forward to seeing ten more years of Room Escape Artist.
Episode Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors Morty, Buzzshot, & COGS by Clockwork Dog:
Morty
Morty is a free app for discovering, planning, tracking, and reviewing your escape rooms and other immersive social outings.
Morty News:
- Morty now features haunt attractions
- Morty for Android is here
Special Badge for REPOD listeners:
You can learn more at morty.app/REPOD to sign up and get a special badge for our listeners (works for existing users also).
Buzzshot
Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS.
Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:
REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.
COGS
COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when.
Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:
REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.
Production Credits
Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law
Produced by Theresa Piazza
Supported by Lisa Spira
Edited by Steve Ewing
Music by Ryan Elder
Logo by Janine Pracht
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