Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are a form of immersive entertainment where participants work within a themed room to find clues and solve puzzles to complete a mission within a time limit. As an owner of Conundrum Escapes in Garner, North Carolina, I am using my research skills to understand the ways that escape room games can foster team-work and collaboration in children and adults.

Escape Room Camp

Escape Room Camp is a summer camp that uses Next Generation Science Standards to teach kids ages 8 to 16 about game design. The campers plan, build, and test their own escape-room-in-a-box games during the week. Along the way, they gain the skills to be “playful” gamers through lessons that emphasize being strategic, responsible, welcoming, cooperative, and creative. I am developing Escape Room Camp as a culturally-relevant, socioemotionally-focused approach to STEM education that will broaden interest in STEM and promote the idea that anyone can be a gamer.

If you’re an educator, summer camp leader, or escape room owner interested in trying the Escape Room Camp curriculum, please contact me.

Team-Building Research

At Conundrum, I study what we call Escape Room Style, which considers how individual players’ leadership, collaboration, and need for cognition contribute to their teamwork. If you’re part of a student organization in the Raleigh, NC area, learn more about how you can play our games for free and contribute to the development of this research!

I’ve written two books on team-building for escape room owners: Facilitating Team-Building Sessions: A Guide for Escape Room and Exit Game Owners and The Team-Building Workbook for Escape Room Owners and written a report on players’ experiences of surprise and challenge in games.