Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive Games

Nineteen teams of six players each descend on the streets of New York City. The entry fee is $42,000 per team, and the only prize is bragging rights. For twelve puzzle-packed hours, the teams must navigate New York City, all the way from the furthest reaches of Coney Island to the heart of Manhattan. This is Midnight Madness, New York City's most exclusive puzzle hunt.

When you support Room Escape Artist on Patreon at $15 per month (or above), you get access to the Spoilers Club, our exclusive podcast where hosts David Spira and Peih-Gee Law chat in depth with creators about iconic escape rooms... spoilers and all!

https://www.patreon.com/roomescapeartist

This is a special one. 

Last month Zach Brittle, host of Marriage Therapy Radio reached out because he was curious what escape rooms could teach couples. 

After looking into his show and realizing that it's phenomenal, we decided to sit down for a conversation with him. What ensued was really special for both David and Lisa.

Anne and Chris Lukeman did something totally crazy when the brought a pipelined, actor-driven, escape room sampler complete with a boss battle to Gen Con in 2019.

When you support Room Escape Artist on Patreon at $15 per month (or above), you get access to the Spoilers Club, our exclusive podcast where hosts David Spira and Peih-Gee Law chat in depth with creators about iconic escape rooms... spoilers and all!

https://www.patreon.com/roomescapeartist

" I love shining a light on escape room creators and telling their stories."


For the last 10 years, Lisa Spira of Room Escape Artist has been tracking the growth of the US Escape Room industry and publishing industry reports. For our Season 10 finale episode, Lisa joins us to talk about this year's annual report.



New this year is a collaboration with previous REPOD sponsor Morty, an app that tracks individual games as well as escape room companies. Through this collaboration, Lisa was able to look at additional metrics, including revenue.



The 2025 Industry report is available on the Room Escape Artist website, and Lisa shares deeper analysis on this episode.

Some interesting trends noted include consolidation of ownership, and expansion of immersive gaming business models. We also talk about some interesting stats, including which days might be better for an escape room company to go dark; it's not what you would expect!



We close out the episode with some musings on exciting new design trends in escape room design, trends we don't care for, and where we think the escape room industry is headed. Whether you're an escape room owner, aspiring to work in the escape room industry, work in the immersive entertainment field, or just a data-loving enthusiast, the REA US Escape Room Industry Report is a must-read.



This is the last episode of Season 10. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back with a new season of REPOD in the spring of 2026. Meanwhile, consider joining our Patreon for access to our library of Bonus Aftershows and Spoilers Club episodes.

 

Full Show Notes

 

Episode Sponsors
We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: REA Patreon Backers, PG's Playhouse, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

 

Support Us On Patreon Today

Love escape rooms as much as we do? At Room Escape Artist, we’ve been analyzing, reviewing, and exploring the world of immersive games since 2014. We help players find the best experiences, and push the industry forward with well-researched, rational, and reasonably humorous escape room and immersive gaming content and events.



By becoming a Patreon supporter, you're not just backing a blog — you're fueling a mission to make the escape room and immersive gaming community stronger, more thoughtful, and more connected.



Access exclusive Patreon content such as:



The Bonus Aftershow


The Spoilers Club


Early access to escape room Tour tickets and REA articles.



Your Patreon support goes toward our mission: paying our contributors, funding our infrastructure, and supporting deep research and industry advocacy.

 

PG's Playhouse

If you love wordplay, puzzles, and trivia, this is the podcast for you! PG's Playhouse recreates a fun game night, all in a short, 30-minute format. Of course, what’s game night without making new friends? We bring on different guests for the different episodes.



Each episode features a puzzle packed with wordplay and trivia, a short chat with the guest, and a segment exploring an interesting topic. I hope you’ll take a listen and play along with us at PG’s Playhouse.

 

Buzzshot

Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS.



Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:



REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.

 

COGS

COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when.



Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:



REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.



 

Production Credits
Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Steve Ewing

Music by Ryan Elder

Logo by Janine Pracht

"A very twist ending. I don't think we were expecting it to go quite that way."


The scent of cedar and cloves drift through the air, and all around the lights are twinkling. Boughs of holly and mistletoe decorate the rafters, and you've gathered friends and loved ones to celebrate.

It's our first REPOD and PG's Playhouse crossover Holiday Special! To celebrate, we've invited our Podcast Producer, Theresa Piazza, and Room Escape Artist Contributor, Andrew Reynolds to join us for games, trivia, and merriment. Today's game is "It's Not Elf on the Shelf", inspired by an actual toy Snoop on the Stoop. Each answer is a celebrity paired with a rhyming location in the house.



We all share some recommendations for games, puzzles, and shows that we've been enjoying. Then David takes us down the rabbit hole of mistletoe trivia, which has sexier origins than any of us imagined.

I hope you enjoyed this fun PG's Playhouse-style episode! We're grateful for all of our loyal listeners, and we're thrilled that you've stuck with us for so long. Happy holidays, everyone!

 

Full Show Notes

 

Production Credits
Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner