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Beyond the Puzzles: What My US Trip Taught Me About the Escape Room Industry

2026-05-17

Back in 2016 I played my very first Escape Room in Florida. A year later, in 2017, we opened our own first Escape Room in the UK. Fast forward to today and that somehow snowballed into our our four corporate locations…

Back in 2016 I played my very first Escape Room in Florida. A year later, in 2017, we opened our own first Escape Room in the UK. Fast forward to today and that somehow snowballed into our our four corporate locations plus eight franchise sites across the country. One thing I’ve noticed every time I visit America … but especially on this trip … is just how many Escape Rooms are now marked “Permanently Closed”. And oddly, they often seem to be the independents. The owner-run places. The ones with dedicated Games Masters. Which is ironic really, because that’s exactly the model we built our own business and franchise business around back home. What’s surprised me this trip though is just how underwhelming so many of the games have been. Nothing has really stood out. We’ve had puzzles that simply don’t make logical sense, followed by staff themselves admitting afterwards that they also don’t really like those puzzles either. We’ve had long waits for clues because one Games Master was juggling multiple rooms at once. There is nothing worse for immersion than standing in semi-darkness waiting for somebody to finish helping another team solve a combination padlock three rooms away while …

Topics: Escape roomsEscape room franchiseFamilyTravelBusiness advice

Matthew Eaves — escape room franchise founder, operator, and writer. Also: franchise, posts, contact.