The Escape Hunt Experience

The Escape Hunt Experience is a real life escape game^[1] brand owned by Escape Hunt Operations Ltd,^[2] a Malaysian Company with operations in Malaysia and Thailand. Founded in Bangkok, Thailand in April 2013 these games are now franchised all over the world.^[3] The company keeps administrative headquarters in Malaysia, but the main operations are located in Bangkok.^[4]

The Escape Hunt Experience is known for adding a mini theme park feel to its branches where customers not only play games but also have a lounge to use before and after the game where they can dress up and take photos over refreshments.

Historical

Escape Hunt, as it was originally called, started off in Bangkok in 2013 in a modest four-room operation. The founder, Paul Bart,^[5] a UK national resident in Thailand at the time wanted to create a new form of edutainment based around the new craze of escape games spring up in several cities. He used his professional background and psychological training to build suitable for everyone from families to corporates. Paul is a fully qualified psychologist who graduated with an MA and distinctions from Cambridge University, UK in 1994.

By December 2013, Escape Hunt was renamed The Escape Hunt Experience to reflect the additional activities on offer. The first branch opened in Bangkok in July 2013^[6] quickly became the number one attraction on the TripAdvisor attractions rankings for Bangkok and stayed there until November 2014, when TripAdvisor re-categorised all escape games around the world moving them out of attractions. It now ranks as number one in the Fun and Games category.^[7]

Such was the popularity of their games, the first franchised branch opened in Singapore^[8][9][10] in May 2014, closely followed by many more. The Escape Hunt Experience continued opening branches all over the world and has branches globally from London^[11] to Sydney,^[12][13][14] Lisbon^[15] to Ho Chi Minh City,^[16] Cancun^[17] to Bali.^[18] As of the end of March, 2015, there are 21 branches opened worldwide with another 55 planned to open in 2015.^[19]

This rapid success and expansion are attributed to many factors not least the fact that each branch has unique games created and changed every six months. These are crested in the Escape Hunt Operations Game Design Academy (EHO GDA), the only one of its kind in the world, located in Bangkok at the heart of the global operations also located there. In April 2015, global operations in Bangkok, including the GDA, will move into new purpose-built 240 sqm headquarters on the 18th floor of the brand new Bhiraj Tower, a new skyscraper in central Bangkok in the so-called EmQuartier zone of Emporium Shopping Centre.

Description

The Escape Hunt Experience follows a philosophy of different games in every location which constantly change and currently has an inventory of over 100 games. As of the end of March 2015, over 4 million minutes have been played in its 121-game rooms worldwide.

The Escape Hunt Experience is themed on detectives finding clues and solving puzzles originally in a 100-year-old setting but now spanning many time zones. Many special features are incorporated such as game masters entering the rooms to play with customers and thereby maximise enjoyment.

Under the direct management of the founder, Paul Bart, who still works day to day in the business, the Escape Hunt Operations Game Design Academy (EHO GDA) leads innovation in real life escape game design for all its branches. This ensures a constant supply of new ideas and games based on sound psychological principles. These are particularly popular with many large multi-nationals who use The Escape Hunt Experience rooms worldwide for team building and assessment.

References