Online Escape Rooms at Improbable Escapes
Looking for a safe, family-friendly experience for you and your loved ones this season? Hoping to plan a birthday party, but your family lives out of town? Why not sign up for an online escape room! This new way to experience escape rooms has been all the rage lately, and with new online escape rooms seemingly popping up monthly, it can be easy to fall to the wayside in terms of recognition from the public. At Improbable Escapes, we avoid that entirely by being one of the first companies to open online escape experiences, leading us to have a high amount of awards, both local and global!
Meet Liz, your (soon-to-be) favourite online host!
My name’s Liz, I’m a seasoned Shift Lead/Game Master that has been hosting both real life and online experiences for almost 2 years now, and I’ve been nominated by customers for the “Game Master of The Year” award due to my online experiences as a host. The games I’ve hosted have also been included in international escape room review websites, for hosting games such as The Cure For The Common Zombie and Neverland: Heist On The High Seas. I’ll be your Online Escape Room expert today, providing you with all the information you could ever need for understanding and booking an online escape room with us.
For those of you that are used to the in-person experience of getting to physically touch and feel the items around you, I can understand how it would seem like an online version of an otherwise very hands-on experience would be a little lacklustre. Never fear though! Our team has brilliantly adapted to the ever-changing times and turned most of our games into online experiences that are just as delightful! These games offer an entirely new experience for teams near and far! Your host will be your eyes, ears and hands in the process, while you and your team are the brains of the whole operation.
What makes online escape rooms at Improbable Escapes stand out?
Here are some things that make our online experiences stand out:
- These are completely immersive/personal experiences. From a custom Zoom call with just your team and your host to an entire online inventory of what’s happening in the room, supplying you with maps, photos, videos and items you can unlock with your host to better navigate the room in question.
- This is a completely INTERACTIVE experience! Most people think an online escape room is just pointing and clicking your mouse around a little 3D map. No no! With us, you will be interacting with your host the entire time, talking with them, directing them in real time via Zoom on things you’d like to look at, having them touch/manipulate objects etc. and even being able to ask for clues and hints if needed. It’s like a private show, just for you!
- Speaking of private, just like our in-person games, this will be a private booking! Just you, your teammates and your host. No one else will be added to your game.
- An online experience allows players from all over the world to come together when they may otherwise not be able to. Teams can have screens across the country to across the world coming together and sharing a one of a kind experience.
- Think you have too many people in your group? No way! While a real life game can only accommodate 2-8 players, not being physically in the room allows for larger groups, so anywhere from 2-15+ players can join in.
- Since your host is a real person, they can make large or small adjustments to tailor the experience to be the best it can be for you and your team. Need a little extra help? Been doing these for years and know exactly what you’re doing? Have younger members on your team? Less tech-inclined players? Your host has your back, we want you to have just as much fun and succeed just like you were here with us in real life!
Looking for some recommendations?
If you’ve ever been interested in booking an online escape room, but are left overwhelmed or confused at where to start or which game would be right for you, here are some recommendations I have for you. This list starts with the least experienced team, to those teams that keep coming back for more! These recommendations are mine alone – other game masters may have other recommendations.
For first time players of escape rooms entirely, I would recommend The Hot Chocolate Incident. This holiday-themed game is strictly online and beautifully combines theatrics with puzzles, gently guiding teams through the experience in a heavily story-driven manner.
For first time online players, but have played a real-life experience, I would recommend The Cure For The Common Zombie. This game was one of the first games to be adapted into an online experience and those familiar with real-life escape rooms will enjoy this experience using photos, maps, and additional information to guide their host through the room. This game also holds a higher escape rate for real-life teams which can translate into an online escape rate as well.
For those enthusiasts that have played many games and are looking for the next challenge, I would recommend Neverland: Heist On The High Seas (this is also my favourite game to play and to host!). This Peter Pan inspired experience leads teams through Captain Hook’s ship with the use of maps, photos, videos and un-lockable items that aid teams in guiding their host through the game. This game also holds a lower escape rate than other games I’ve mentioned, leaving teams feeling determined and accomplished at the same time.
A child’s birthday party? I would recommend Seven Dwarfs: Mining Mission. This Snow White inspired experience is great for the younger ones as it holds a very recognizable theme, and while it is perfect for those young and old, the charm and whimsy themes/decor will captivate children during this experience, while also solving puzzles, riddles and more with their host! Just make sure the players are either comfortable with navigating a website alongside their host or have a parent or guardian with them to help out.
Looking for a team building experience? I would recommend either The Hot Chocolate Incident or The TriWizard Trials. While The Hot Chocolate Incident adds more theatrics than other games, teams will still need to work together to solve the puzzles at hand, showcasing teamwork without having the stress of finding yourself stranded halfway through, since your host will be guiding you through with the storyline. The TriWizard Trials offers a magical experience that most will love/recognize. This is also a more story-driven experience, allowing teams to work together and be lead through if they need.
Looking for a less challenging game? I would recommend The Cure For The Common Zombie. As stated earlier, this game holds a higher escape rate than others in this list, and that translates into the online experience. While this game still offers a challenge, teams will find themselves progressing through the game at a comfortable pace.
Looking for the next challenge? This one gets a little tricky. While our games do hold escape rates ranging from 24% to 37%, the difficulty is subjective! Puzzle styles you find impossible to crack might be finished in seconds by someone else, and vice versa! Personally, I’m horrible at figuring out combinations to physical locks, but I love and excel at non-traditional puzzles, for example, piecing together a map or listening to sound-related clues. We know you’re all SUPER SMART, but we will always recommend starting with a lesser challenging game first if you have never played with us before, that allows you to get a feel for our themes and puzzle styles, and then try a more challenging experience next time.
How do you book an online escape room at Improbable Escapes?
So now you’ve got a run-down and want to book your own experience? AMAZING! Booking is so simple (we don’t want the puzzles to start until you’re playing your game) and I’ll run you through it, as well as some must-haves for your game.
Bookings can be made right on our website, just click on the game you are interested in and all available times will be shown to you, then just pick the time you would like and you’re off! The price will be per player, not per screen. Ex. If you have a team of 4, but you are all sitting around the living room using one computer for your Zoom call, you will be paying for your 4 players, not your single screen. You will need a strong and fast internet connection, a pen and paper, and a device to have your inventory on that can be easily viewed and accessed during your game.
Once your game is booked, you will receive a confirmation email, with a list of details as well as your custom Zoom link, don’t forget to forward this to other players so they can join on their separate screens!
Once you’ve booked your experience and the day comes, it’s time to play! Make sure you are logged into your custom Zoom link 15 minutes before your game is scheduled to begin, just in case there are any technical issues or anyone wants to grab a snack and drink beforehand. Once your start time has arrived, you will be greeted by your dedicated game host, introducing themselves, getting to know you and your team, and figuring out what your skill level is, if it’s a special occasion (we love a good celebration) and going over the must-haves/asking if you have any questions! Once you’re in the game, you’ll be talking to your host and guiding them through the game. You’ll be telling them things you’d like a closer look at, if things can be picked up/moved/manipulated in any way etc. all while utilizing your online inventory to get a better understanding of what is happening in the room.
Liz's experience hosting online escape rooms at improbable escapes
Much like watching real-life teams, I get such genuine joy out of seeing teams succeed and have fun in our rooms, and online games give the added bonus of getting to be IN the room with them! It’s basically like getting to play escape rooms myself all day, with the added help of the team guiding me through! I’ve gotten the pleasure of hosting birthday parties, work events, family reunions and more, and it truly is a one of a kind experience.
I’ve had the opportunity to host Escape Room review companies and larger-known companies. I’ve had teams tell me at the end of the experience that while they are sad they could not experience the room in person, they are so grateful and happy that I was able to provide them with the next best thing, and that they forgot they weren’t actually in the room with me at times! It’s such a heartwarming thing to hear.
Now that you’ve learned all about our online experiences and what makes us stand out from the rest, you know what to expect and how to make your online booking! If there is anything you are still curious or unsure about, everyone at Improbable Escapes is here to help, give us a call or email and we would be more than happy to help you out and answer any other questions you may have, we can even book your experience for you over the phone with you!
This has been your online escape room expert Liz, signing off, hope to host you soon!
Want some one-on-one help with picking an online escape room for your group?
Head on over to our Contact Us page, and Liz (or one of our other awesome team members) will get back to you ASAP!
Liz has been a game master with Improbable Escapes for 2 years, working at both Improbable Escapes HQ and Improbable Escapes Wonderland. She has also helped with off-site experiences, such as some Halloween programming at Fort Henry National Historic Site!
