Portable Escape Rooms: The Best Meeting Activity?

November 29, 2022 by Nate Martin

Google has one of the biggest employee teams in the world – 150,000, if you can believe it – and still, it’s considered one of the best places to work in terms of company culture.

A whopping 97 percent of the company’s employees say it’s a great place to work. Compare that to the national average of 57 percent, and you realize just how mind-blowing Google’s corporate culture really is.

So, why does this mega-company have the power of a corporation, but the culture of a charming family-owned pâtisserie?

Google is smart enough to put two-and-two together: happy employees lead to a happy company. So to keep employees happy, Google sends them on group day-trips, invests in their development, and provides them with unique perks.

And guess what? They also use Puzzle Break portable / hybrid escape rooms – as do Microsoft, Twitter, Amazon, Facebook, Adobe, and many others. They’re investing in their employee’s happiness, and it’s working like a charm!

You can get aboard the team building trend too, with our state-of-the-art portable escape rooms. Let’s take a closer look…

The State of Company Culture in 2022

Thanks to an incredibly disruptive pandemic (let’s not say the name), most of us saw a serious decay of company culture. Why? Because when the water cooler chats become a thing of the past, and you’re stuck staring at the same four walls day-in and day-out, it’s tough to feel motivated or inspired.

If you want to get technical, it’s all thanks to a loss of social capital – “the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively.”

When we’re not able to form those relationships at work, we start to feel isolated, anxious, and stressed. Company culture goes down the drain.

Now that we’re slowly trickling back into offices, what can we do to make sure company culture comes back with a vengeance?

Enter: Portable Escape Rooms

Here at Puzzle Break, we really noticed this problem sweeping the nations. We built our six unique virtual escape rooms so that remote teams could still get down and have a good time solving puzzles. Our portable escape rooms are another part of the same effort – but there’s a twist!

Portable escape rooms – at least, our portable escape rooms – can be taken and set up anywhere at all. We can come to your office to spice up a boring meeting; we can set up in a conference hall or offsite if you’ve got hundreds of employees; we can even set up a hybrid escape room to connect remote workers with on-site ones.

Our portable escape rooms are also perfect for team building exercises. They’re an incredible bonding experience, they get people working together towards a common goal, and most importantly, they’re a whole lot of fun!

What’s not to love?

Pros and Cons of Portable Escape Rooms

Nothing good comes for free, sadly – not even escape rooms. And while we believe escape rooms are 100 percent a worthwhile investment, you might be looking for a bit more reassurance before taking the plunge.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of portable escape rooms, so you can decide if they’re right for your business.

Pro: You’ll Learn About Your Teammates

Often, you can spend years working alongside someone without ever knowing more than their job description or lunch order. But put them in an escape room, and you’ll quickly learn how they think, what they’re good at, and – most importantly – how they react under pressure.

You might not need to know that your accountant can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute, but it’s cool to learn about the hidden talents of your colleagues.

Con: They’re Not Actually That Portable

We get it, the name is a bit misleading. You can’t actually pack our escape rooms up into a bag and take them with you.

But hey – if you had to do that, it’d just be a nuisance anyway. Why set things up yourself when you could get an experienced team to do it for you?

We bring the escape room to you, so you can just focus on enjoying the experience.

Pro: They’re a Great Team-Building Exercise

Escape rooms are the perfect way to get your team working together. With everyone focused on solving puzzles and cracking codes, it’s a great opportunity for some bonding (or at least a bit of healthy competition).

In an escape room, all of your teamwork muscles are exercised. You’ll have to:

Communicate clearly, not loudly. Shouting will get you nowhere in an escape room, so everyone quickly learns to take turns and listen to each other.
Use one another’s strengths. One person might be great at finding patterns, while another is a whiz with numbers. But you’ll only escape if everyone works together.
Delegate tasks. You can’t do everything yourself, so you’ll need to learn to delegate and trust your teammates.

These are all super valuable skills for the workplace, as you’re likely aware. And you’ll practice them all without even realizing it – which is the best kind of learning.

Con: They’re Not Worldwide

Though we’d love to spread Puzzle Break locations all over the world, we’re currently based in the US, which limits our portable escape rooms to United States residents.

We’ve got a sneaky secret, though… our virtual escape rooms! Allow us to plug one of our most prized creations: six state-of-the-art, fully immersive virtual reality escape rooms, playable from anywhere in the world.

Designed for teams who had to go remote in 2020, our rooms are run via video conference and led by one of our talented Games Masters. Be virtually transported into a world of puzzles, clues, and mystery.

Pros: All Teams Are Welcome!

Since our on-site escape rooms are limited by size, we obviously can’t fit 100 players at once. But guess what? Our portable escape rooms can.

We’ve got a range of options for large groups, so everyone can get in on the fun – no one gets left out. Get in touch with us to chat about your team’s unique size and situation!

Now that you know the benefits of playing a portable escape room, it’s time to explore the different rooms we’ve got on offer for our portable players….

The Sentinel Signal

The search among the stars for extraterrestrial life has run fruitlessly for decades. Until today. Does your team of researchers have what it takes to crack the code and establish contact before it’s too late?

Revolutionary hybrid option available: Unravel the mystery with everyone in the same location, or with part of the crew located anywhere in the world!

A Hollywoodland Mystery

It’s 1950s Hollywood and not everything is glitz & glamor: There’s been a murder! Can you and your team of detectives find the clues, solve the puzzles, unravel the mystery, and catch the murderer before time runs out?

The Grimm Escape

An evil witch has cast a curse and it’s up to your team to save the day! Can you and your team of adventurers find the hidden clues, solve the puzzles, complete your quest, and break the witch’s spell before it’s too late?

With three completely different stories to choose from, the real challenge will be deciding which one to play!

What If My Escape Room Team’s in Seattle?

Our portable escape rooms are super convenient, and they don’t compromise on quality. But for some, coming into our on-site locations is their preference – and if you live in Seattle, you’re in luck!

As our original headquarters since 2013, the Seattle location is a bustling hub of activity, and it’s where you’ll find escape room technology seen nowhere else in the world. Here’s a quick rundown of the escape rooms we offer on-site.

The Eventide Departure: Can you and your companions solve the mystery of the last will and testament of the departed Professor Firestone and escape the ritual before it’s too late?
Puppeteer’s Workshop: A legendary stage puppeteer has returned from an unexplained hiatus and is searching for a new apprentice. Does your team have what it takes to conquer his challenges? Be on your guard; things are not always what they seem…
Escape the Lost Temple: Does your team of adventurers have what it takes to solve the mysteries of this hidden temple and escape before it’s too late?
Escape from Seattle – The World’s Fair Affair: This is our love letter to Seattle history & culture featuring never-before-seen technology, and a thrilling story. Does your team of researchers have what it takes to discover the secret of a mysterious tycoon?

What Are You Waiting For? Let’s Escape the Room!

For teams that have suffered many days, months, and even years in remote work purgatory, team building and culture repair should be your top priorities. Companies are only as good as their team’s morale, and if your business has been relying on virtual events and happy hours to keep everyone sane, it’s time to get creative.

Our portable escape rooms are the perfect way to blow off some steam, reconnect with your team, and have a ton of fun in the process. We’ve all been stuck in our homes for too long, and it’s time to break out. Contact us now to arrange our portable escape rooms for your next company event and see how much fun your team can have when they’re not staring at a screen all day. (Hint: a lot!)

Nate Martin

Dubbed the "Founding Father of Escape Rooms," Nate Martin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Puzzle Break, the first American escape room company. Puzzle Break is headquartered in Seattle with locations in Long Island, Massachusetts and on Royal Caribbean ships. Prior to Puzzle Break, he was a senior executive at Microsoft and Electronic Arts. He has shipped software used by billions of users as well as some of the most beloved video games of a generation. @GuyFromTomorrow on Twitter.

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