Welcome, internet, to the newest, most exciting way to get trapped...
Escape rooms started out appealing to just the nerds, geeks, and gamers of our generation. How could they not? It’s like board games and video games came to life and you got to play the main character. By now (May 2018), escape rooms seem to be hitting their stride into that mainstream level of appreciation.
As one might expect, we are starting to see more and more marriage proposals happen here (at The Exit Game). Although we probably shouldn’t be surprised, it’s always really exciting to get a call from a guy asking if there’s a way to customize the game so that he can propose. It doesn’t happen super often, but we see about one per month at our Los Angeles location.
If the game master can accommodate it, proposing at an escape room is an excellent idea for the following reasons:
She’ll never expect it. Whether it’s just you two, or a group of friends, no one will expect it to happen. Even if someone might have had an idea, their immersion in the game will be enough to distract them. The element of surprise is a key theme for marriage proposals and nothing beats hiding it within a puzzle inside an escape room. She’ll be so busy looking for clues, you can get down on one knee while she discovers the ring inside an existing puzzle. Bam! Surprise! Win for you. Memories forever.
The excitement level is through the roof. Imagine the outpour of emotion from any proposal (we are thinking of the successful ones). Mix that with the tension and energy of being trapped and solving puzzles. You get an explosive over the top combination of emotional awesomeness.
The numbers are on your side. Success rate so far is 100%. Although “past performance is no guarantee of future results," still, 100%. She probably would have said yes wherever you popped the question, but bringing her to an awesome escape room really seals the deal.
Here’s why proposing at an escape room could be a big fail though:
If you hide the ring, note, or whatever you’re thinking, too early in the game-- emotions might be so high that nobody actually wants to finish the game after the proposal. This is rare though, since most people end up finishing the game.
However, if you hide it too late in the game, you want to make sure you actually finish the game, or else you may never reach the note/ring. That’s a big fail that’s never happened (yet). But, it is our biggest concern when hiding the surprise item within the last puzzle or close to the end.
As a game master, knowing that this is a proposal, we can help pace the game by piping in hints if the team falls too far behind. However, the more common tactic is to do a walk-through with the person proposing, or a friend in the group, prior to the game start. This way the person proposing can be more confident playing the game. Hey, he’s already got enough to worry about!
If you want to customize your game for a proposal or some other special occasion, just shoot us a call or email. We’ll do our best to accommodate your special day!