The Infinite Escape Room

Join us in this week's pubisode, where we discuss all things TERPECA (The Top Escape Room Project, Enthusiasts Choice Awards). For the last few years, producer Mairi has also been the UK Ambassador for TERPECA, and as this year's season is in full swing, what better time to chat about what it is, how it works, how it might be improved, and it's impact on the escape room industry as a whole.

As always, here are your recommendations for this month.

Jon - All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (book), a non-linear book set during World War II.

Mairi - S by Doug Dorst and JJ Abrams (book), an ergodic literature puzzle book set around the Ship of Theseus.

Mike - Mewgenics (video game), a tactical turn-based roguelike videogame, a little hilarious, a little gruesome.

Jamie - The Laundering by Killer Trails (tabletop game), about uncovering a money laundering operation and solving puzzles.

Hosts: Jon Saunders, Mike Collins, Jamie Gibbs, Mairi Nolan

Editor: Mike Collins

The team snap out of the waking nightmare of the 21st century workplace to find themselves in an empty series of white rooms. Spotlights illuminate spaces on the walls, but the spaces are empty. What to do?

Puzzle Maestro: Jon Saunders

Solvers: Mike Collins, Mairi Nolan, Jamie Gibbs

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Jon Saunders

*cheesy countdown music*

Welcome to Wizard Countdown! The game show where your opponent is the Undefeated Dark Wizard and you're just Jamie, Jon and Mike, with absolutely no magical ability whatsoever. Unless...?

With a glamorous goblin helping them out, it's up to the TIER gang to solve the situation and win the grand prize of Wizard Countdown: Three keys!

I wonder what they might be for? There's only one way to find out...

It's time to play Countdown!

Puzzle Maestro: Mairi Nolan

Solvers: Jamie Gibbs, Jon Saunders, Mike Collins

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Jamie Gibbs

Handout: https://surelook.github.io/countdown

TLDR: A game of countdown in which everyone is a wizard (or a goblin), create words to summon magical items and win the game.

In this series, we put our professional puzzle design experience to good use and look at escape rooms in film and TV as if they were real escape rooms.

In this podcast we're looking at the escape room episode of Hey Duggee, "The Puzzle Badge". This episode is the 44th episode of Season 3. Follow Jamie, Mike, and special guest Will Bain as they put the room through it's paces and discuss what improvements they'd make.

Hosts: Jamie Gibbs, Mike Collins

Special Guest: Will Bain

Editor: Jamie Gibbs

All links to our social media profiles and our Patreon programme over at https://linktr.ee/theinfiniteescaperoom

Welcome to Perdition Games, voted best small business in this particular shopping center three years running - and these lucky TIER chaps have just bagged a Groupon discount to play! Don't forget to give them 5 stars on TripAdvisor!

What follows are some of the classic escape room tropes: Old gramophones, pipes on the walls, grandfather clocks, curiosity cabinets, and so on. But as the rooms go deeper and deeper, it's escape room-ception all the way down.

Puzzle Maestro: Jamie Gibbs

Solvers: Jon Saunders, Mairi Nolan

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Jamie Gibbs

TLDR: A repeating sequence of rooms with small details changing every time, in the world's most okay escape room.

Jamie and Mike are joined by special guest host Will Bain who puts them through their paces in a storm-soaked dinosaur park. Along the way they must piece together a map, scavenge for supplies, and navigate the T-rexcellent world Will put together.

Will they make it to the Visitor Centre, or will Mike throw Jamie to the raptors?

TIER uhh... Finds a way.

Puzzle Maestro (and Special Guest): Will Bain

Solvers: Jamie Gibbs, Mike Collins

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Mike Collins

Handouts for this episode

TLDR: A Jurassic Park themed escape room hosted by Will Bain

Join us in this week's pubisode...(when Jon finally gets the intro right) the Jersey Republican, where robots sip their oily brews and poke captive humans with sticks.

This week we are joined by Chris Dickson of www.challengearcades.com, a connoisseur of this growing subset of the industry. Chris takes us on a journey through the history of the genre to the present day resurgence, along with some spirited discussion about all the ways in which the internet is terrible and has merely exposed our human desire for good olde human connection.

Next month: sex parties.

Guest: Chris Dickson

Hosts: Jon Saunders, Mike Collins, Mairi Nolan

Editor: Jon Saunders

TIER are once again joined by a very special guest, Chris Dickson of Challenge Arcades as this time they're thrown into the distant future of the year 2099...

/Cue epic synthwave music/

Armed with the Sonic Quantum Unlikely Interference Reconstruction Thingy (or SQUIRT device for short - thanks for that Mike), the team solve a series of corrupted transmissions and repeatedly press the 🔥 emoji which is definitely, totally, maybe a safe thing to do.

It's a case of audio distortion and... Potato based cryptography.

Puzzle Maestro: Mike Collins

Solvers: Jon Saunders, Mairi Nolan

Special Guest: Chris Dickson

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Mike Collins

Handouts:

TLDR: In a cyberpunk future, TIER solve a series of rebus puzzles in order to extract a potato which will save the world.

Join the TIER gang with special guest Chris Dickson of Challenge Arcades as they tackle a challenge arcade unlike any other... No, literally. This one is legally distinct from any other you might have heard of. It's GENER8 GLOBAL GAMES time!

In this episode, the team are representing the UK and must compete for the most points in the four challenge rooms:

The Floor Is Lava (But Worse)

But as with all puzzle games, things are not quite as simple as they seem.

Let the games begin!

Puzzle Maestro: Mairi Nolan

Solvers: Jon Saunders, Mike Collins

Special Guest: Chris Dickson

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Jamie Gibbs

TLDR: A challenge arcade series of puzzles including basketball, shopping trolly, alphabet, and floor is lava.

Join us in this week's pubisode, in the "local pub" which has been taken over by a massive brewery corporation, and so now also serves coffees. Following on from Jon's double bill of TIERtubbies, we're discussing the British Kids TV Shows of our childhoods.

As always, here are your recommendations for this month.

Jon - Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (book), about an artificial friend called Klara that is bought by a woman for her daughter

Mairi - Jordan Bolton (artist) who makes short panel comics of thoughts on life and friendships and relationships and death, especially Scenes from Imagined Films.

Mike - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (game), unashamedly French with excellent voice acting, plot, graphics, the lot.

Jamie - Undertone (film), a horror film themed around a podcast that touches upon dark kids nursery rhymes. No jump scares, but unnerving sinisterness throughout.

Hosts: Jon Saunders, Mike Collins, Jamie Gibbs, Mairi Nolan

Editor: Jamie Gibbs