“Isn’t an escape room like the Saw movie?”

6 Fears That Prevent Players From Playing An Escape Room Game

By: Fox in a Box Tucson Escape Room

As owners of a Tucson escape room for almost a year now, we get to see a lot of people’s initial reaction to the topic of escape rooms. Unless you’ve played one, researched the idea or had someone explain it to you, you’ve probably thought, “What?! Is that _____?” We get it. Your mind has probably already flashed through several ideas on what the heck an escape room is. Along with that, people often dismiss trying an escape room without ever trying one or hearing it explained. Why? Fear.

Fear is a natural emotion and is ingrained inside of us for protection. As humans, we also have the capability to reason and use our incredible brain power to assess situations and solve problems. At Fox in a Box Tucson, we’ve had almost 1000 games played, and 230+ 5 star reviews! Let curiosity get the best of you and try us out!

If fear is holding you back, that’s okay! Let Fox in a Box Tucson explain the top 6 fears we’ve heard over the year and why they shouldn’t be a fear at Fox in a Box Tucson.

1) Claustrophobia

“But I’m claustrophobic.”

You will not have to worry about being in tight, small spaces. This is not a cave, MRI machine or anything that will trigger claustrophobia (see Locked Doors below as well). Our escape rooms are designed with safety and comfort in mind, so we have built our themes to have a spacious 350 square feet of space to move freely. Unlike other escape rooms in America, we do not stuff the game full of strangers or over stuff the room with 8, 10, 12, or even 14 players! We’ve heard of other escape games with rooms a third of our size and fill it with more players than we allow. Crowded! You’ll have more than enough room to move around at Fox in a Box Tucson.

2) Restraints

“Aren’t you tied up to something?”

Handcuffs, oh no! At Fox in a Box Tucson, you will not be restrained at the beginning or at any time of the game. Even if your friend tries to
restrain you for fun, we’ll stop them. Much like the claustrophobia
fear, our goal isn’t to scare you, our goal is to challenge your mind
with puzzles, clues, and logic. Escaping out of rope or handcuffs isn’t a
puzzle we have at Fox in a Box Tucson.

3) Locked in a room

“But what if I need to get out during the game?”

Our two themes are not locked. You are more than welcome to walk out at any time, if needed. Keep in mind, some escape rooms WILL lock you in, but they will usually provide a safety key, or an emergency button. But
again, at Fox in a Box Tucson, we never lock you inside.

4) Actors touching you

"Are there zombies in your zombie room?!”

Maybe you’ve heard of the Zombie theme where a zombie actor is on a chain and reaches out for you. We do not have any actors, volunteers or people in the game with you. We prefer to immerse you with sound, lighting and puzzle effects- not haunted house scares. We can’t guarantee one of your friends won’t try to scare you…

5) Not smart enough

“But I’m not smart with puzzles.”

We hear this A LOT. Let us tell you, after hundreds and hundreds of games, you CAN do this. Some puzzles have been solved by young children that haven’t even started school yet. Our puzzles are not like crosswords or Sudoku. Our puzzles are specifically designed with VARK learning styles in mind. Every one of us has a preferred learning style, such as Visual, Auditory, Reading or Kinesthetic. Co-owner Neil is a strong visual learner, but struggles with auditory puzzles. Co-owner Caitlin is a strong kinesthetic learner, but struggles with reading puzzles. Everyone is unique and we’ve taken that into account for our escape rooms. You don’t have to be smart, you just have to be willing to learn and interact with your environment with an open mind.

6) Failure

“But I’ll only have fun if I win!”

Perfectionism can get the best of us. Our experience is so immersive and mind opening that people recall memories from their escape long after they’ve completed it. The real goal is to have a great experience and enjoy the journey, rather than the destination. More than half of the teams we see fail, and that’s okay! Some groups prefer to fail because they want to come back or solve every puzzle without hints. Some groups beat the game with 30 seconds remaining and others would have won if they had 30 additional seconds. There’s no doubt this experience can be challenging at times, but there’s also a guarantee that it’s exciting and memorable. We recommend an open mind, positive attitude, and trust that you’ll have fun regardless of escaping in 60 minutes or not.

If you have further questions, please read our reviews or FAQ at foxinaboxtucson.com.

Catch ya later, foxes!