Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive Games

The Wonder Factory: Francine Boon & Victor van Doorn of Sherlocked (S8E12)

“A vision into the future of what I want escape rooms to be.”

After 1,200 escape rooms, it certainly takes something remarkable to capture the #1 spot on David Spira’s list of favorite games. As he tells us in this episode, his favorite game shifts from  moment to moment, but in this particular moment, that game is The Alchemist, created by Francine Boon & Victor van Doorn of Sherlocked Escape Rooms in Amsterdam.

David had this to say about The Alchemist:

“It's a wonder factory. It is filled with impossible moments and machines, and it made me weep with joy during the finale each time I watched it. I think I saw the finale three times when I came to visit. I just love this game and it feels like a vision into the future of what I want escape rooms to be.”

It’s not the first time that Sherlocked has created a game that has shaped the future of the escape room industry. Victor started playing escape rooms in 2012 when the industry was still in its infancy, and a few years later, he started Sherlocked, along with a few other partners. Sherlocked's games The Architect and The Vault are noteworthy for the level of immersion they created at the time. They used actors and “cold starts" to truly create the feeling that players were in a movie. 

We can see the influence of Sherlocked throughout much of the escape room scene in The Netherlands today. Many of the games there make use of actors, with immersive onboarding. Additionally, many are set in historical buildings, just liked Sherlocked is. Victor and Francine are creative alchemists in their own right, combining their skillsets to create wondrous, magical games.

This is the season finale for Season 8 of Reality Escape Pod. Season 9 will launch in April. Meanwhile, we are excited to release some off-season content. Plus, keep an ear out for PG's Playhouse, a new show launching this winter. If you want more content, we have over 100 episodes of the Bonus Aftershow available to Patreon Supporters, as well as our Spoilers Club, which offers in-depth coverage of iconic escape rooms. Thank you so much for supporting our show!

 

Full Show Notes

 

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

Designing Neurodivergent-Friendly & Accessible Escape Rooms with Sera Dodd (Bonus Preview)

 In this Bonus Show, we're joined again by guest Sarah Dodd. We cover a whole range of escape room topics, including well-crafted small scale escape rooms, whether we should introduce more categorization in escape room awards, and we also talk about taxonomy and the jargon of escape rooms.

In this preview, we talk about designing for neurodivergent friendly escape rooms and the importance of accessibility options

 

If you enjoy these previews, I hope you’ll consider joining our Patreon. For only $5 a month, you’ll get access to our Bonus Aftershow, where we continually release new episodes, even in our REPOD off-season.

Life Lessons from 3,000 Escape Rooms: Sera Dodd (S8E11)

“Finding escape rooms has been finding my community and my joy.”

When people find out I’ve played 400 escape rooms, they react with awe and wonder, to which my usual response is “That’s nothing—my podcast co-host David Spira has played over 1,200 escape rooms!” However, as it turns out, even David is not the final boss when it comes to the most escape rooms played. 

Enter Sera Dodd, who alongside her partner Sharan Gill, is one of the most experienced escape room players in the Western world. Clocking in at a whopping 3,000 games, not only has Sera seen it all, but she’s also helped shape the escape room industry over the years. From consulting on games, to sitting on the board of advisors for TERPECA, to co-founding the Escape Room Industry Conference (ERIC), Sera has used her experience and knowledge to help push the industry forward.

I especially appreciated Sera’s candor. She speaks openly about being autistic, and how escape rooms are a great way for neurodivergent people to find community and embrace play and adventure in a safe and controlled environment. (We discuss this in more detail in the Bonus Aftershow.)

 She also shares with us how her diagnosis of terminal cancer has changed her perspective on life:

“I think when one's faced with their own mortality, you spend a lot of time thinking, 'what is the point of life?' And the best I've come up with is to have good times, to be good, to do good, and to have good times with good people. And that's what escape rooms do for me.”

In the podcast, Sera talks about finding her tribe in our community of escape room enthusiasts globally, of finding generous friendship and joyous camaraderie. It’s a poignant reminder of how precious life is, and how important it is to appreciate the people in your life. I’m very grateful to Sera for joining us on Reality Escape Pod to share her story.

 

Full Show Notes

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

Teasing PG's Playhouse with Sandy Weisz

Puzzle designer Sandy Weiss joins us again to talk all things puzzles. We dive more deeply into creating elegant puzzles that connect within their narrative context, and we talk about bringing puzzly games to various audiences. Sandy shares his perspective on Noms, or nicknames, at the National Puzzlers League, and we also talk a bit about his course curriculum and our shared love of Blood on the Clock Tower.

This clip is a bit of a teaser for our new show, PG's Playhouse, which will feature games, puzzles, and a short chat. Here, we talk a bit about inspirations for puzzles, and then we play a game that I created for Sandy.

 

If you enjoy these previews, I hope you’ll consider joining our Patreon. For only $5 a month, you’ll get access to our Bonus Aftershow, where we continually release new episodes, even in our REPOD off-season.

Elegance in Puzzles: Sandy Weisz, The Mystery League (REPOD S8E10)

“Inelegant is a lot of random noise.”

For a long time, I thought that puzzle hunts weren’t for me. They seemed completely inaccessible, like something that only geniuses from MIT could solve, with the price of admission being a massive brain and a penchant for quantum computing.

Then, over the pandemic, I discovered The Pilcrow Bar. This was a free, online puzzle hunt commissioned by Michelin 3-star restaurant Alinea and designed as a collaboration between Sandy Weisz of The Mystery League, and Room Escape Artist Contributor Matthew Stein. I worked through the entire puzzle hunt, and at the end, I not only felt smarter, but I also gained a completely new appreciation for how elegant puzzles could be.

Sandy Weisz joins us on the podcast to talk about designing for elegance. As he explains, elegance in puzzles is when the puzzle “scaffolding” is woven into everything, from the theme, to the puzzle mechanic, to the illustrations, to the flavor text. He also tells us about some of the crazy puzzles he’s designed as part of his team-building business: architectural puzzles embedded into the walls and doors of F5 Networking’s 22-story office building in Seattle, a puzzle hunt on a private jet, and a giant ARG commissioned by Cards Against Humanity.

Sandy also made a game for this podcast (and I made one for him in the Patreon Bonus Show.) Sandy approaches puzzle design in a thoughtful, methodical way. His team building game Search For A Superhero will be featured at REA's Escape Immerse Explore Time & Space 2025 Tour. This is a great opportunity to check out his work as well as play regional standout escape rooms at CU Adventures in Time & Space and 60 to Escape. 

 

Full Show Notes

 

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

 

Get Packing (Puzzles) with Oskar van Deventer

In this Bonus Show puzzle designer Oskar van Deventer tells us about some of the latest designs he's working on, and we talk about different types of mechanical puzzles. We also share some tips for how to start solving them, and dig deeper into speed-cubing, ending with discussing mechanical puzzle design in escape rooms.

In this clip, we talk about how to get started solving packing puzzles which is a puzzle type where you have to fit a set of puzzle pieces into a specified container, usually a box or a frame.

 

If you enjoy these previews, I hope you’ll consider joining our Patreon. For only $5 a month, you’ll get access to our Bonus Aftershow, where we continually release new episodes, even in our REPOD off-season.

Mechanical Puzzles: Oskar van Deventer (S8E9)

“The Pursuit Of Difficulty”

I’m on a first date, sitting at a hip bar in Los Angeles. In the course of making semi-awkward conversation, he discovers that I like escape rooms. Ta-dah! He brings out a weird little metal ring, pulls it apart into two pieces, hands it to me, and challenges me to form it back into a ring. I was pretty much in love after that… with mechanical puzzles. While that relationship didn't work out, the one with puzzles persists to this day.

At one time or another, I’m sure you’ve played with these. Whether it’s the interlocked nails that you need to pull apart, escape room-style wooden puzzle boxes like the ones from iDventure, or the classic Rubik’s Cube, these all fall under the mechanical puzzle category.

Joining us on REPOD is Oskar van Deventer, a prolific and acclaimed Dutch puzzle designer. Since 1978, he has designed over 800 mechanical puzzles and more than 70 of them have been mass produced. If you've ever explored the mechanical puzzle world, there's a good chance that you've had his work in your hands. 

I especially enjoyed hearing Oskar describe the design process of certain puzzles like the Hanayama Cast Chain puzzle (pictured above) as a “maze.” It certainly doesn’t look like a maze. It looks like three metal links that you must unlink. But when he talks about how you must manipulate them through an imaginary plane, calling it a maze starts to make sense. I hope this episode inspires you to check out some of Oskar van Deventer’s puzzle designs, many of which he offers for free on his “Print It Yourself” webpage.

 

Full Show Notes

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

 

Designing For Flow & Adaptive Difficulty

Curtis Ratliff and Derek Townsley join us again for more discussion about The Escape Ventures. They share an absolutely outrageous escape room story. We talk more about game stores and the importance of inclusivity. David gives an argument against longer games and escape rooms. We also get into some of the regional differences between the Orlando and Los Angeles scene. in terms of escape room culture and design.

In this clip, we talk about the Escape Venture's design philosophy on puzzle flow and adaptive difficulty.

If you enjoy these previews, I hope you’ll consider joining our Patreon. For only $5 a month, you’ll get access to our Bonus Aftershow, where we continually release new episodes, even in our REPOD off-season.

Move Fast & Make Things: The Escape Ventures (S8E8)

“We try to do something new every three months.”

In 2018, Curtis Ratliff and Derek Townsley were both attending college, studying business management and theater set design. Additionally, they were both working at an escape room when the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day happened. Severely understaffed, beset with disasters, and lacking resources or appreciation from the owners, Curtis and Derek realized that if they wanted things to run more smoothly, they were going to have to do it themselves. 

And thus, The Escape Ventures was born. They started this business while they were both still in college, and now, six years later, they have three locations with twelve escape rooms, and more on the way. Not only are they incredibly prolific, their games are also critically acclaimed, with three games ranking in the top 300 games in the world. They are also featured in the Escape, Immerse, Explore tour to Orlando.

The speed at which The Escape Ventures creates and builds escape rooms is mind-boggling. Curtis and Derek join us to talk about their quick game development and production cycle. They were also early adopters of ideas like unlimited hints where every team wins. Their game design focuses on immersion, humor, characters, and quirkiness.

Not only do they design and build escape rooms, they also consult with other escape room companies, buy and sell escape rooms, and they have also just opened Geek’d, a game store with a fun and inclusive environment. I am in absolute awe at how much these two have accomplished, all before the age of thirty. I really enjoyed hearing about their process, and I especially enjoyed the conversation about the name Bros for Life, Fraternity Heist. Curtis and Derek have a passion and drive that is really inspiring. I’m really thrilled to learn what this younger generation of escape room designers is bringing to the industry.

 

Full Show Notes

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

 

Yannick Trapman O'Brian's Risky Payment System

Yannick Trapman-O'Brien joins us again to share some valuable insights on what I think is an especially great episode of our Bonus Show. He tells us about how he accidentally got admitted to college in Abu Dhabi, and we also talk about the importance of Arts Funding and Grants, and how to leverage it. Yannick takes a very thoughtful approach to designing his intimate experiences, and he really gets deeper into how he crafts his shows. He also talks to us about his work with Temple of the Stranger, and David tells a story about a memorable incident at a San Francisco escape room tour. 

In this clip, we dig deeper into his philosophy on payment systems and other design elements and discuss how they signal and set expectations for the audience. He also tells us about the three things you need to be a great artist.

 

If you enjoy these previews, I hope you’ll consider joining our Patreon. For only $5 a month, you’ll get access to our Bonus Aftershow, where we continually release new episodes, even in our REPOD off-season.