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HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF ESCAPE ROOMS AND ESCAPE GAME ROOM IN PARIS

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LIVE ESCAPE GAME: FROM VIDEO GAMES TO LIVE MISSIONS!

The origin of Escape Games comes from video games called “Escape Room” or “Escape Game”. The concept is simple: the player must solve puzzles by interacting with his surroundings in order to get out of a room and move on to the next level. The first escape room video game, Crimson Room, was released in 2004 and was created by Toshimitsu Takagi. The term Takagim will derive from this to designate this part of logic games, especially in the escape room fan community. In China, the “Beijing Takagism” club was founded in 2012.

It was the Japanese company SCRAP, which in 2007 wanted to develop the concept by creating the first Live Rooms Escape. Its founder, Takao Kato, wanted to stage the players. The latter must evolve in a themed room, and solve puzzles in order to escape within a set time (a few minutes or more depending on the scenario) with the help of a game master. The history of escape games then developed in the rest of Asia before arriving in Europe.

Escape Room Un Crime Presque Parfait – Cluedo grandeur nature
Escape Room Un Crime Presque Parfait – Cluedo grandeur nature

AND THE ESCAPE ROOMS TODAY?THE LOCK ACADEMY, VOTED “BEST ESCAPE GAME IN PARIS”!

In mid-2021, we have nearly 2,500 puzzle rooms in more than 870 different brands across France, including around 200 Escape Game rooms in Paris. Following the adventure and success of Hint Hunt, many cinemas opened from April 2014, with an acceleration in 2015 in particular. Indeed, almost 20 new brands opened each month in France between 2018 and 2019.

Meilleure enseigne parisienne 2022 - Lock Academy escape game paris 2022

And the story of Escape Games is not ready to end because new rooms are still inaugurated every week in France! This is why escape games and the organization of escape rooms are also very popular with groups of friends or family escape games for a birthday or members of a company who are creating a team of colleagues, in particular as part of team building, in Paris as elsewhere. Some escape rooms are designed to accommodate a family with children: the difficulty of such an escape room is modulated to allow children to progress through the various adventures and puzzles.

The Lock Academy entered the history of Escape Games in Paris on October 10, 2015! After a first establishment at 25 rue Coquillière, a second detective school opened its doors in June 2018 at 131 boulevard de Sébastopol. While establishments in Toulouse and Troyes are emerging. The brand has since won numerous awards, including that of the best Escape Game in Île-de-France.

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THE 7 SURVEYS OF THE LOCK ACADEMY PARIS

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ACADEMY CHÂTELET

ACADEMY SÉBASTOPOL

WILL YOU BE THE BEST DETECTIVES? BOOK YOUR GAME AT THE LOCK ACADEMY PARIS!

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ESCAPE GAMES AROUND THE WORLD: THE DIFFERENCES

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We will note differences between Asian and European rooms. In Asia, Escape Rooms are more competition-oriented. No joker to win! While in Europe, customers are very keen on immersion. Each room is then studied so that the experience of the group is optimal, with elaborate scenarios.

Budapest, in Hungary, was the pioneer city of Live Escape Games in Europe. Indeed, in 2011, the Parapark company was born. Its founder, Attila Gyurkovics, had the idea of ​​opening a Live Escape Game without knowing that they were already well developed in Asia. The latter was working on a new Team Building project.

Le Casse du Siècle – Escape Room insolite au musée
Le Casse du Siècle – Escape Room insolite au musée

A year later, the origin of escape games continues with the first franchise in Hungary: Hint Hunt. The same year, the SCRAP company established itself in the United States under the name of “Real Escape Game”. Hint Hunt will be exported very quickly to England, then to France in 2013.

In 2013, the history of Canadian escape games also began. A real community of escape room enthusiasts has emerged: they keep blogs where they leave a comment, their opinions and information on the adventures and the products they have had the opportunity to test.

WHAT ARE THE ESCAPE GAMES INSPIRATION?

A great source of inspiration for Live Escape Games is the life-size role-playing game. These games require players to embody a character that they must evolve and interact with other players. Within a Live Escape Game, players are immersed in a universe where they sometimes have to embody characters in order to solve a mission to escape the room. Escape from the room is then the main mission of the players. They must solve puzzles, find clues and glean information from each space of the place they occupy.

Treasure hunts have also inspired Escape Games as players must look for clues in specific areas of the room.

The different themes of the escape rooms are regularly inspired by books or films. Other brands such as the Lock Academy have instead opted to create their own universe. Indeed, at the Lock Academy you play as apprentice detectives! You evolve in the rooms of the school to solve mysterious investigations!

Ready to become real heroes? To take up the challenge, and to try the experience of an escape room in Paris, with friends or family? Discover our games!