An alternative to
the escape room
An escape room is fun, but the same for every group. We build a concept that is made specifically for you.
A good escape room, but not yours
There are plenty of escape rooms in Twente, and some of them are really well made. The point is that hundreds of other groups get exactly the same room, the same riddle and the same story. For a fun evening that is fine. For a company outing, team day or hen or stag party that people keep remembering, a concept built specifically for that group works better.
We build that concept ourselves: a scavenger hunt, a team competition or a story with its own puzzles, geared to the occasion, the group and the venue you choose.
What a made-to-measure concept adds
- Its own theme and storyline, linked to the occasion
- Takes place at your own venue, not in a fixed room
- Scales with group size, from a small team to 50+
- Difficulty and tone can be adjusted to the group
Where an escape room reaches its limits
With a group, an escape room mainly runs up against the number of participants. Four to eight people fit in a room, so with a team of thirty you book four rooms in a row and three quarters of the group sits waiting or having lunch while the rest play. The shared experience you actually wanted falls apart into four separate ones.
The second point is the division of roles. In a small room with a ticking clock, two people take over and the rest look on. That is exactly the dynamic you don't want on a team day, because all you see is who naturally talks the loudest.
What an escape room does well is build tension within a set time. We take that principle over. What we do differently is the scale, the place and the fact that the story is about you instead of some random laboratory setting.
How we build a puzzle concept
We build a puzzle concept back to front. First we decide what the final reveal is and how it feels, then we lay out the route to it. That avoids a series of separate riddles that just happen to follow each other, which is the most common mistake in homemade scavenger hunts.
Next we divide up the information. The mechanism that forces teamwork is simple: no single team member has enough on their own to move on. Anyone who knows something has to say it, and anyone who stays quiet holds the team up. You don't need to turn that into a task; it happens by itself.
Then we set the difficulty. We build in a few tasks that we know groups will get stuck on, with a hint that we give at the right moment. A group that never gets stuck finds it too easy, and a group that never gets anywhere gives up. The interesting part is in between.
Which formats come closest
A city game is the most popular choice if you want the puzzle experience of an escape room but with a group that is too big for a room. The city becomes the playing field and teams walk their own routes in parallel.
If you are looking for something with a storyline and actors, a murder mystery dinner is worth considering. If you want to solve puzzles without leaving the building, life-size board games and indoor activities work well. For a list of tasks rather than one continuous story, a Crazy 88 is the looser version.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference from an ordinary escape room?
An escape room has a fixed space, a fixed story and a fixed time limit, the same for every group that comes. A made-to-measure concept is built around your group: its own theme, its own venue, its own difficulty level, and often several sub-teams at once instead of one group in one room.
Is this more expensive than booking an escape room?
Comparable or cheaper. A regular escape room quickly costs €25 to €35 per person. We build a compact made-to-measure concept from €195 for the whole group, a fully branded version from €550.
Can this also be done at our own venue?
Yes. Unlike an escape room, which is tied to a fixed space, we build the concept around your venue: an office, outdoor grounds, a city centre or another place you choose.
How many people does this work for?
An escape room is usually limited to 4 to 8 people per room. A made-to-measure concept scales up, from a small team to groups of 50 or more, by working with parallel tasks or sub-teams.
How long does a made-to-measure concept take?
Allow one and a half to two and a half hours for the game itself, plus a quarter of an hour for the explanation and a moment at the end to go over the result. Shorter is possible, but then there is little room to build up to a reveal. With a day programme we often combine it with a second activity.
What if the level within the group differs a lot?
We solve differences in level with tasks of different types instead of different difficulty. Within one team there is then a task that calls for logic, one that calls for observation and one that calls for teamwork. That way everyone has a moment when they are the most useful person on the team.
Do you have your own space where this takes place?
We have no fixed space, and with this concept that is precisely the point. The game is built around the place you choose: an office, a hall, company grounds or a city centre. If you don't have a suitable place, we'll find one that fits the group size.
Can this also be done outdoors instead of indoors?
Outdoors works well, and the surroundings then become part of the game. A route through a centre or across grounds gives room for larger groups than fit in a room. If you are unsure about the weather, we decide together beforehand whether to go indoors or outdoors.
Tell us about your group
Occasion, group size and venue: we will think along with no obligation about a concept that fits.