David Spira

3 weeks ago | roomescapeartist.com | David Spira

On a seemingly normal day in June 2022, the news hit the escape room owners groups: the Master Lock 1500iD Speed Lock, known better by its nickname, “the directional lock,” was dead. Initial reactions ranged from disbelief to placing massive orders of the iconic escape room lock. The rumors were true. The 1500iD was dead. In short order, the price of the directional lock soared at online retailers who retained stock. For a time, 1500iD locks sold for nearly $80 per unit.

1 month ago | roomescapeartist.com | David Spira

Europeans are often surprised to learn that in the United States, there isn’t a whole lot of crawling in escape rooms. We have some… but it’s usually not extensive, and more often than not, only one player needs to complete the crawl, and that person can open a bypass door for the rest of the team. This style of bypassing is common in the United States because it keeps a game in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

1 month ago | roomescapeartist.com | David Spira

I didn’t expect to find myself writing this piece, until I played two different TERPECA winning games from Athens, Greece doing variations of the same terrible idea (reviews coming soon). So here I am stating very clearly: It’s a terrible idea to use emergency equipment like “Push To Exit” buttons as game mechanics in your escape room. This is especially important if you don’t have proper fire safety affordances like the games that are prompting this post.

1 month ago | roomescapeartist.com | David Spira

Praise Dagon!Location:  Athens, GreeceDate Played: January 27, 2025Team size: 2-8; we recommend 3-5Duration: 150 minutesPrice: from 60€ per player for teams of 2 to 30€ per player for teams of 5-8Ticketing: Private Accessibility Consideration: All players needs to duck, crawl, climb stairs, and use a ladder. There is also fog. Emergency Exit Rating: We were locked in various spaces within the game. We’re unsure what fire escape measures there were, if any.

1 month ago | roomescapeartist.com | David Spira

For years our readers have suggested that I do a piece on the cult classic film The Cube (1997) as it’s incredibly escape-room-y, especially for a pre-escape room movie. So when Tony from Hack The Movies asked me to step into his studio and join him for a review, I watched The Cube twice, and drove down to Philly to shoot with him. I had a ton of fun filming with him, which I think is apparent throughout the review. I hope that you have as much fun watching it as I had recording it.