Nowadays, playing in escape rooms is an extremely popular pastime, and puzzle rooms can be found in almost every city both in the country and abroad. However, not everyone knows that their history is relatively young. When and in what place was the first puzzle room opened? Who came up with the idea for its creation? Let's go back in time to find out the answers.
The first escape room - how did it start?
A visit to an escape room is a way to get away from reality and a big dose of adrenaline. The idea of a puzzle room, from which you must find your way out in the allotted time, appeared in the 1980s. It all started with text-based computer games, which were popular at the time. Escape rooms were available only in a virtual version. Unraveling the puzzles allowed to move to the next level of the game. The course and progress of events could be followed by reading text messages displayed on the screen. By typing simple commands, players were able to influence the development of the situation and the fate of the characters.
It took some time for the first escape room in the real world. Simple games, based on text descriptions over time replaced point-and-click solutions. This time it was necessary to click the mouse on objects in the room to use them later in solving creative puzzles. The development of graphics made games more attractive to the audience.
The first escape room in the world - where?
Point-and-click games used similar skills to modern escape rooms. Finding the way out of the room required perceptiveness, patience and logical thinking. Collecting enough clues and unraveling the puzzles allowed participants to get the code or key to the exit, and that meant winning. Sound familiar?
The first escape room in the world was probably created in Los Angeles. It was there in 2006 that a group of friends fascinated by adventure games decided to bring their favorite pastime to reality. The idea gained enough popularity to inspire the Japanese. In 2007, Takao Kato becomes the creator of more puzzle rooms. The current name of escape rooms is created in Kyoto. Over time, the entertainment gains popularity in the Far East region, and from there, through China and Russia, it reaches Europe.
The first escape room in Poland - when?
Among European countries, escape rooms became popular the fastest in Hungary. Contributing to this was Attila Gyurkovics, who spread the game transferred from virtual reality in Budapest. Puzzle rooms have also appeared in Poland.
The first escape room was opened in 2013, in Wroclaw. Karol Szkraba and Mateusz Kacprowicz were behind this venture. The entertainment, which involves solving puzzles in order to get out of the room, quickly gained many fans in our country. Between 2013 and 2018, more than 1,000 escape rooms were created, located not only in the largest Polish cities, such as Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk and Poznan, but also in much smaller ones and in places popular with tourists, such as museums and mines.
Escape room in Poland and its evolution
The first puzzle rooms in our country were usually based on simple mechanisms. The starting point was an imagination-stimulating, interesting story. To leave the room one had to face numerous padlocks and find hidden objects. As time passed, the puzzles became more and more attractive, and the creators of escape rooms increasingly turned to modern technology to make the game more interesting for the participants.
Actors appeared in many rooms. Scenery also changed and became more elaborate, making it easier for participants to be introduced to the game. During the pandemic, however, the puzzle rooms had to be closed. The creators of escape rooms came up with the idea of allowing their customers to enjoy the entertainment without leaving home. A live cam escape room was created, which provided users with online access to puzzle rooms from around the world. However, this solution lost popularity when the opening of stationary escape rooms became possible again.
Escape room in the world - the future of puzzle rooms
The idea of solving puzzles to find the way out of a room does not lose its popularity. The number of creative ideas of escape room developers is not decreasing. On the contrary. They reach for unconventional solutions and interesting scenarios. All this is done to thrill the participants and provide them with incredible fun.
What awaits us in the future? A new trend, inspired by Scandinavia, are educational escape rooms, which not only provide entertainment, but also expand the participants' knowledge of history or nature. They are also an attractive way to improve analytical and social skills. The idea of using escape rooms to promote the tourism of a region or city is also gaining popularity. One should also not forget about the trend of escape room tourism, which involves visiting puzzle rooms from all over the world and ranking them.
