Ten Years Inside the Escape Room
I’ve spent almost a decade in a control room watching more than 50,000 people pursue common goals under pressure. The thing that determines every outcome, every time, is communication. Once I saw it in the room, I started seeing it everywhere.
I write about Active Entertainment, the science of puzzles, and the moments in life that don’t come with a clue.
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Genuine Intelligence
Why Puzzles Are the One Thing Artificial Intelligence Cannot Fake I have spent the better part of the last decade watching people solve puzzles. And now, puzzles are the only thing standing between civilization and digital chaos. Click Every Image That Contains a Bicycle Anyone who has logged into anything recently, and I mean anything,…
The Science Behind the Scream: How Psychology and Physics Conspire to Create the Perfect Escape Room Puzzle
There is a specific sound that escape room operators live for. It’s not the celebratory bell when a team escapes with thirty seconds to spare. It’s not the nervous laughter at the beginning when everyone’s pretending they’re totally fine being locked in a room. It’s something quieter and more electric than either of those. It…
The Pinball Principle: The Magic Is Real. Just Not What You Think.
Every week people walk out of my escape rooms and use the same word. Magic. I never correct them. What they experienced was real. I built it. And I can tell you exactly how every piece of it works.
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