
On my recent trip to Florida, I got to play one of the newest TERPECA finalist escape rooms – Crazy Train: The Ballad of Skeemin’ Plotz at Doldrick’s Escape. The room is remarkable in many ways – the old timey cartoon aesthetic is unique among escape rooms, and the game hits all the right marks with aesthetic and puzzle variety. The most unique thing to me, though, and something that may go unnoticed among many escape room enthusiasts, is the level of craft invested to make an escape room that will delight players of all skill levels.
What do I mean by that? Well, there are a few very interesting things Doldrick’s does at the start and the end of the game to stealthily create a smooth experience for all. As a customer experience guru, I pay attention not just about how I feel about my experience, but also to how various customer segments would react to it.
The first thing I noticed is that the first few puzzles in the game aren’t truly puzzles, per se. The first sequence of the game involves placing three railroad map tiles on a grid, with the locations and orientation for those three tiles explicitly provided. The next step is to open a lock, and again, the game explicitly provides the passcode for that lock.
What does this do? I imagine that most seasoned, or even casual, escape room enthusiasts will blow through these first steps in a matter of seconds and quickly get to some more intricate puzzles. For players who have never solved an escape room or struggle heavily, though, this gives them a win right off the bat and teaches them how to interact with their environment. Placing tiles and entering codes are both important elements for the full course of the room, and all players first assert their ability to interact with the basics of the room before moving forward.
It may not seem like a lot, but this action sets teams up for success and starts the experience off on the right foot for any kind of team. The school of thought has been around for a while, and some escape rooms take extra action to signpost the first puzzle of the game quite heavily. This is one of the first times, though, where recurring puzzle mechanisms get a bit of an in-game tutorial that seamlessly teaches and gets players started on the right foot. It’s not unlike how most modern video games start off – you don’t get ten weapons immediately and face off against the game’s toughest enemies – instead, you get a single simple weapon to test against a simple enemy.
Late in the game, there’s another sequence I found quite interesting. Players engage in a climactic encounter, and the sequence requires players to solve a series of similar challenges. Once you figure out the first one, you know exactly what to do for the next several iterations. As an experienced player, it was still fun interacting with the game’s many dynamic set pieces, but I noted that this sequence would also do something else – it would act as a “palate cleanser” of sorts for anyone who struggled with any of the game’s puzzles.
Even the most ill-prepared teams would know what to do after the first round of the sequence. This guarantees that they know what to do for the entire extended sequence near the end of the game. The sequence takes time, so it essentially gives all players of all skill levels the chance to do a victory lap and feel accomplished. Experienced teams will still enjoy it, and for struggling teams, it could make the difference between a fond memory and a frustrating one.
I’ve only rarely noticed this type of experience design in escape rooms. Sometimes an escape room achieves a similar effect through an incredible reveal at the end or by making sure every player leaves with a win. The way Doldrick’s did it was quite subtle, but the effect is magical.
The finale sequence is a nice touch that provides a psychological edge toward a positive experience. I think of the peak-end rule written about by Daniel Kahneman in Thinking Fast and Slow. The idea behind this rule is that the overall sentiment of an experience is formed most heavily by how the individual felt at the most intense moment of the experience and at the end of the experience. Invariably, many players will struggle at different points throughout the game. Nudges and hints can mitigate any negative feelings players have when stuck, but a clever sequence toward the end of the game almost locks in a positive memory of the experience.
The experience of Skeemin’ Plotz is memorable in its own right. Its aesthetic is one-of-a-kind, and some of the game’s gadgetry is stellar. The game’s designers were clearly enthusiastic about the vision they brought to life. In spite of all that, I still find myself most impressed by the attention paid to the customer experience. The game obviously caters to serious enthusiasts given it’s immediate leap into the top tier on TERPECA, but I would venture a guess that the ratings from escape room newcomers are off the charts and that the room gets more players interested in escape rooms, even if they’re not usually puzzle people. Even amongst TERPECA nominators, there are many people more interested in immersive theater than puzzles, and Skeemin’ Plotz concocts the perfect recipe to leave them feeling on top of the world.
Doldrick’s has been a staple of top-end escape rooms in the US for some time now, but their newest game impressed me in new ways. Their creativity and sensibility for the customer experience is off the charts, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
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