One Year Working As An Escape Room Host – Jacob

Working at an Escape Room: Welcome Aboard

Over a year ago I was scrolling through Indeed looking for a part-time job (while I finish my bachelor’s in Computer Science at San Francisco State University), when I came across a role for a game master (AKA, an event host) at Reason. The details of the job post fit exactly what I was looking for in a role and I applied without hesitation. What was revealed to me during my first interview was that the position would be at an escape room! I was shocked, nervous, and excited as I wasn’t quite sure how I would fare as an escape room employee. This type of job was NOT something that 8 years in the Navy had prepared me for. However, I was hired, and I jumped in with both feet, excited for a new opportunity and adventure.

Making My Escape

My first day on the job was something I will never forget as I had the task of escaping from Reason’s escape rooms by myself, starting with their smallest room, Mars. Mind you, I had only ever done one escape room with my Navy buddies in the past, with no real anticipation of ever doing this type of entertainment again. While this was not nearly as difficult as boot camp, my head spun at the idea of solving an escape room by myself. 

Standing alone in Mars was daunting, yet I was determined to escape! My manager and fellow hosts were there to steer me in the right direction if need be and I eagerly began solving my way through the puzzle.  One puzzle done, then two, a hint here, a hint there, another puzzle solved and finally, after 2 hours (of what usually takes our players 60 minutes), I had escaped! 

Escaping from Mars gave me the confidence I would need to then solve Reason’s other escape rooms, Glitch and Sonar. I felt I had gotten into the heads of our puzzle builders, giving me much needed confidence moving forward. Furthermore, I was starting to grasp what the average customer may feel during their first time in the rooms. 

Hosting Habits 

Once I had solved every single escape room at Reason, I was then tasked with learning the most important lesson of all – hosting. Being an escape room host is not like being most other types of host: you do more than just greet your customers and then lock them in a room. Escape room hosts require big energy, charisma, an intricate understanding of every escape room, and an ability to connect with players so they can escape.

Reason prides themselves as the leading future tech escape room in the Bay Area, so having a succinct and engaging plot line for each escape room was crucial to memorize. The plot lines are just a short set of sentences used to draw players into the escape game and set the scene for the tasks at hand. I spent a couple of hours memorizing and practicing these lines with the other hosts. I eventually got my seal of approval and I was then sent back into each escape room for a shake down on clues and hint giving.

Hints and Hang-ups

One of the most important parts of being an escape room host is to provide proper hints during the game. This skill is challenging because, not only is it contextual to the puzzle, it is also unique in how the player perceives the hint. When learning to host, I was asked by my manager to explain each puzzle in a room and identify how it worked step by step. Mentally breaking down the puzzles gave my manager the opportunity to ask me how I might give a hint for a particular step in the puzzle. I was also challenged by my manager to expand or alter my hints for the same problem in the event a player was still confused. Hinting is a balancing act in that you want your players to feel engaged in the game, however you don’t want to give away answers. Players enjoy a challenge, but do not want to feel belittled for not understanding.

Ready, Players Won

My favorite part of being a game master is interactions with the players who come to Reason! Many Bay Area Big Tech teams book weekdays, while families and friends usually book weekends. My schedule has allowed me to predominately host our corporate teams.

I find great gratitude in hyping my players up before they enter our rooms – many of whom have never visited an escape room before. I give the team a quick plotline for their designated room, say our rules, and whisk them into the escape room so they can begin solving. From there my job is to check in periodically, observe, and give hints as requested or necessary.

The players are always a joy to interact with. They approach all of our puzzles with genuine curiosity. I know exactly what’s going through their brain (thanks to my training), even if they haven’t said a word. With or without giving a hint I am always silently cheering them on, sometimes audibly congratulating their success. It is always so exciting to see the teams progress and work together to solve these puzzles, even after hosting 100+ games.

When a team successfully escapes, I am overjoyed! Because Reason uniquely has the ability to have teams of 20 or more, I would argue the rooms lean towards the more challenging end of the spectrum as a whole, meaning the wins feel extra special given the challenge. That special winning feeling washing over the players always gives me a comparable feeling of accomplishment.

Whether the team escapes or fails, all of the players are winners in my eyes. In the end I am just excited to see all of the effort a team has put into solving these puzzles. If the players wanted me to be heavy handed with the hints or hands off, I have fun watching their brains work just as much as they are having fun solving the puzzles.

Puzzling Perks

When the teams leave and after I have reset the room they played in, I get the opportunity to enjoy the other benefits of working for Reason. One of my job requirements is to write blog posts in between games. I enjoy doing this because my managers have given me free rein to write what interests me. Whether it’s the topic of mental health, music festivals, or why employers should rescind their RTO plans, I get to scratch the creative itch of mine (that isn’t just film photography). I have found myself learning more about what interests me and filling my search history with word definitions along the way.

An additional responsibility of mine has been to contribute to writing code for Reason’s newest escape room puzzles and building electronic props. This excites my computer scientist brain, and challenges me in ways that my current studies have yet to. I have been able to start learning how to code in C++ and execute programs that work with hardware components. Designing these puzzles has been invigorating and rewarding as every other program I had written previously has been confined to an output on a screen; where Reason’s projects have me learning to interface with LED strips, buttons, and game mechanics.

For my birthday, my managers allowed me to host my friends at Reason. This was highly entertaining for me and my friends. They got to see me in my escape room host element, while I got to chuckle at their expense and celebrate their success. It’s a moment that will live on for my lifetime and something I am sure my friends will share as one of their more memorable nights out.

Finally, our managers have graciously made an effort to purchase (what I would consider to be a start up/Big Tech inspired perk) an abundance of snacks and beverages every month. Me and the other hosts always get asked if we have requests for their next snack and drink order, which I have always found to be so considerate. Personally, I can’t stop myself from downing a trail mix and flavored sparkling water on each shift.

Finally…

As a whole my time at Reason has been an unexpected journey that I have thoroughly enjoyed. Never could I have imagined working at such an interesting company. From my awesome fellow hosts and caring managers, to my ambitious teams, the gratification I feel every shift has been rewarding. As a bonus, I get to further my educational and future career aspirations along the way. Each and every shift at Reason has me wondering to myself “who am I hosting today?”.