As you’re probably aware by now, I’m a member of the design team for the Escape Room World Championship, and every year, thousands of solvers from dozens of countries compete to be the best at solving a series of themed puzzles. What you may not know is that the 2026 theme was just released!
This year’s theme is Slavic Myths and Legends. It’s an intriguing theme with lots of potential, and I can’t wait for players to experience what we’re building.
From the ER Champ website:
This year’s edition of ER Champ will take players on a journey into the extraordinary world of Slavic myths and legends. If you already know what a bies is, how to tame a bagiennik, or who dwells at the bottom of a well – wonderful! And if not, this year’s main characters, Milena and Sambor, with a little help from the Slavic gods, will guide you through this mysterious world.
As early as June, you will discover why licho never sleeps and what lurks deep within the forest.
The first experience players will have with the game is the Stress Test on May 30. This game kicks off the story for the year, gives players some example puzzles and a chance to test the interface, and helps the program team confirm the systems are ready for thousands of simultaneous players. There’s no prize for finishing first in the Stress Test outside of the pride in doing so.
After the Stress Test, the Qualifiers are on June 20. The qualifiers are a much longer and complex series of puzzles. The fastest finishers in the qualifiers are invited to the in-person Finals where the final champions will be crowned.
I highly recommend following ER Champ on social media or joining the Discord channel to stay up to date on the latest details. This year promises to be the biggest experience yet. If you follow the evolution of the games over the last few years, the scale and scope of the Finals has gone up an order of magnitude every year, and this year shouldn’t be any different.
The three months leading up to the qualifiers are going to go quickly. If you are interested in competing, you need a team of at least two, and up to four. For a little practice ahead of time, the prior years’ online games are all available at the ER Champ website, going all the way back to 2018. Check them out!
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