Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive Games
David Spira & Peih-Gee Law
Your hosts David Spira & Peih-Gee Law explore immersive gaming from all angles.
Our guests have made awesome stuff: ARGs, puzzle hunts, tabletop games, and of...
We're sharing one of our many Patreon exclusive Bonus Shows. We put a lot of love and have a ton of fun continuing the conversation after each episodes. We also record many extra episodes in-between seasons. All of this is available exclusively to our Patrons at patreon.com/roomescapeartist. Curtis Ratliff and Derek Townsley join us for more discussion about The Escape Ventures. They share an absolutely outrageous escape room story that we couldn’t put on the main feed. We talk more about game stores and the importance of inclusivity. David gives an argument against longer games, and we also get into the regional differences between Orlando and Los Angeles in terms of escape room culture and design. I also end up learning all about Bucky's.
Episode Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors Morty, Buzzshot, & COGS by Clockwork Dog:
Morty
Morty is a free app for discovering, planning, tracking, and reviewing your escape rooms and other immersive social outings.
Morty News:
Morty now features haunt attractions
Morty for Android is here
Special Badge for REPOD listeners:
You can learn more at morty.app/REPOD to sign up and get a special badge for our listeners (works for existing users also).
Buzzshot
Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS.
Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:
REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.
COGS
COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when.
Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:
REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.
Production Credits
Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law
Produced by Theresa Piazza
Supported by Lisa Spira
Edited by Peih-Gee Law and David Spira
Music by Ryan Elder
Logo by Janine Pracht
--------
1:04:29
Escape Room Difficult - Hatch Escape's The Ladder (Spoilers Club Preview)
Terry Pettigrew Rolapp and Tommy Wallach of Hatch Escapes in Los Angeles, California joined us to talk about their overwhelmingly ambitious game, The Ladder.
In this clip, we talk about the genesis of The Ladder, and the design philosophy behind this game, exploring the nature of difficulty.
You can find the rest of this Spoilers Club episode by supporting us on Patreon at patreon.com/roomescapeartist
--------
12:25
CU Adventures S1E4 Throwback with Anne & Chris Lukeman
We're trying something new and doing a throwback episode. Season 1, Episode 4 was an early darling amongst REPOD listeners. Guests Anne and Chris Lukeman of CU Adventures were such delightful guests.
Back then, neither David nor Peih-Gee had played their in person games (but they loved their digital and tabletop games). Since then, David has gone to Champaign-Urbana, and fell further in love with their work.
With that in mind, Room Escape Artist is hosting Escape Immerse Explore: Time & Space 2025 (Chicago to Champaign-Urbana) in the spring of 2025.
Tickets are available now for Session 1 (Sunday, April 27th – Tuesday, April 29th 2025) and Session 2 (Tuesday, April 29th – Thursday, May 1st 2025).
Get your ticket now, while supplies last.
Production Credits
Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law
Produced by Lisa Spira
Music by Ryan Elder
Logo by Janine Pracht
--------
46:23
PG's Playhouse 3: Roadside Attractions (ft CU Adventures)
This is the final preview for PG's Playhouse being released on the Reality Escape Pod feed. Please go subscribe to PG's Playhouse wherever you get your podcasts to listen to future episodes.
What's a roadtrip without a visit to that Giant Ball of Twine or a glimpse of a giant Muffler Man? If the sign says "World Famous" anything, I'm pulling over for it. Our guests today are Anne & Chris Lukeman, owners of CU Adventures in Time and Space, an escape room company in Illinois. They love roadside attractions, and in fact, their escape room business was inspired by a road trip to House on the Rock. Our game today is about regional foods, where they've been replaced with words that rhyme. David then gives us a short history on roadside attractions, and I learn about the World Famous Muffler Men – an icon of the road trip era.
Full Show Notes
Production Credits
Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira
Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law
Produced by Theresa Piazza
Supported by Lisa Spira
Edited by Peih-Gee Law
Music by Matt Farthing
Logo by Theresa Wagner
If you enjoyed this episode, you can also hear more from Anne & Chris on Season 1, Episode 4 of Reality Escape Pod and consider joining the Escape Immerse Explore Time & Space Tour.
--------
26:42
PG's Playhouse #2: Y2K with Tommy Honton
In between Reality Escape Pod Season 8 and 9 we are starting a brand new show. PG's Playhouse.
Remember Y2K? The end-of-the-world that came and went without a hitch? Guest Tommy Honton joins us again to explore what really went down in this episode of PG's Playhouse. Our game today is called New Beginnings, where we take the names of old fads and transform them into something new by changing the first letter. David then walks us through a short history of Y2K, the fear mongering about a global shutdown and how the prevention plans went off without a hitch (mostly). Tommy also brought a game testing our knowledge of Greek metric prefixes.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe on your podcast app of choice.
Production Credits
Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira
Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law
Produced by Theresa Piazza
Supported by Lisa Spira
Edited by Peih-Gee Law
Music by Matt Farthing
Logo by Theresa Wagner
Über Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive Games
Your hosts David Spira & Peih-Gee Law explore immersive gaming from all angles.
Our guests have made awesome stuff: ARGs, puzzle hunts, tabletop games, and of course, escape rooms. Our aim is to bring together different segments of the gaming world and share ideas between them.