Survive Saw

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Overview

After creating a successful Dr. Who escape room for a single group, we decided to ramp up to hosting three groups of six people. We turned the twisted traps in the movie Saw into spooky Halloween puzzles. After planning a story, building one-of-a-kind puzzles, and turning our home into a horror house, our experience was successful.

How to make an escape game in a nutshell

1. Dream up an inspiring theme
2. On a board, break your story into 3 phases, your problem, climax, solution
3. On post-it notes, write down your favorite puzzles
4. Weave 7-10 puzzles through your story
5. Theme your puzzles
6. Build and play!

Rules

1. Do not force anything. If a box or object doesn’t open or is easily movable, you need to find a way to open it, or it is a fixed prop.
2. Use Game pieces once. You won’t need them after you solve it.
3. If you feel stuck, feel free to ask the Billy's for help

Intro

Hello, you don’t know me, but I know you.

Most people are so ungrateful to be alive, but not you. I want to play a game; here’s what happens if you lose; a slow-acting poison coursing through your system, which I only have the antidote.

You have 60 min to save your life. There are, however, ways for you to win this all around you. Just remember X marks the spot.

The antidote is locked in a room. The way in that room is accessible only by solving deadly puzzles along the way.

Better hurry up. Live or die, make your choice, let the game begin.

Theming

A key in successful escape rooms, and my favorite part, is the theming by creating a story and immersing players into the experience. Before the game began, I went over the rules, and we blindfolded and handcuffed the players together in a circle around the kitchen and hallway divider wall. This trap in phase one forced the whole group to solve the first puzzle as a team before splitting off into two groups and eventually into solo victims.

Pig Pen

The pigpen cipher is a simple geometric substitution cipher that exchanges letters for symbols that are fragments of a grid. We displayed the ciphers on the walls and painted the code in “blood” on the kitchen’s plastic sheeting. The code spelled “microwave,” and players would find a jello brain when they opened the microwave. Digging into the brain, they would discover a key that would unlock.

Say see

Rebus puzzles, also known as word picture puzzles or picture riddles, use images or words to convey a phrase or message, typically a common idiom or expression. To help you solve them, look at word placement, size, color, and quantity. Players had to say what they saw and use those mystery words in a crossword puzzle to get a letter combination.

Jigsaw puzzle

We created a traditional jigsaw puzzle with an appropriate name for the theme out of not-so-traditional material. The result was a flesh-like puzzle that revealed three compilation numbers visible due to the missing pieces when overlayed on a board. I used a zombie prosthetic recipe I made for the previous costume and poured it into a mold to produce a square of skin. Painting it to look more realistic and hand-cutting the pieces resulted in a cringy prop.

Counting puzzle

We use the numbers on needle-less syringes to signify another combination—filling three syringes at a specific amount with a faux blood concoction and paining them to look used amplified the theming and created another spooky trap.

Hidden numbers

We added marks on a rope, and when wound around a specific area, the red sections lined up to reveal numbers. It was a perfect way to fit the theming and challenge players to look at objects differently.

Maze

When we first brainstormed the theme, a lightbulb clicked in my brother’s genius mind. A couple of weeks later, he surprised us with a custom saw maze cut with a laser cutter and assembled with a sensor that triggered an LED screen with a code. He never ceases to amaze me, and the puzzle has now a side table in our family home.

Tactile boxes

Tactile boxes were additional theming to add to the spooky atmosphere. Players would need to blindly reach into a box to pull out items that would help them solve the game. I used painted foam, slippery water beads, and solidifying slime to add to the shock value.  

Cure

At the start, a retro TV turns on and plays a bone-chilling plotline, thanks to modifying Chris’s voice, telling players they only have an hour to live unless they find a cure. There were three tapes that players would find throughout the game to give them clues as to what cure they should choose. When they reached the final room, they had a choice of twelve antidotes. Luckily all participants survived the ordeal.

Test run

Our brave family volunteered to do a test run of the game. While we observed them playing the game to get an idea of how long it would take and how it might be received.

Results and learnings

• The game was a hit, and we successfully rotated three groups of six players through the spooky game.
• We realized later that the apartment’s look from the outside might concern our neighbors; thank goodness it was around Halloween.
• It took longer than expected to re-set the game each time because we had to find and gather all the items. Next time we will have a single place for players to discard props when used.
• Having the map printout was crucial.
• The popular puzzles included the pigpen with the jello brain, the saw maze, and the “say see” crossword.
• The flesh puzzle proved to take more time than expected since three pieces were missing.