A Scottish escape room company has launched virtual game rooms as it continues to adapt to the new business environment.
Edinburgh-headquartered Escape - which has more than 200 rooms across the world - has designed an online version where players see a 360-degree view of existing physical rooms, with the ability to interact with items in the room.
They can explore the room on their own or as a group, with real-time assistance from 'gamemasters' via Zoom.
Escape can also put together bespoke online team-building packages for businesses with groups of up to 20 players, recognising the new work-from-home environment adopted by many companies.
The firm stated that it can also work with businesses to create unique online experiences by 3D mapping existing buildings, which can then be marketed to the public.
The escape room model has become a global phenomenon, where players must find their way out of a room by solving a series of clues and puzzles within a certain time frame.
A successful escape will require participants to work together to find hidden clues and solve challenging puzzles throughout the room.
Escape was the first operator to open in Scotland and claims to be the leading firm in the UK market, with around 150 workers in the UK and more than 300,000 worldwide customers.
However, the coronavirus has posed major challenges for the industry, with physical rooms across the UK currently closed while restrictions remain in place.
Daniel Hill, founder of Escape, said that the pandemic has forced the firm to adapt its business model.
“There is no doubt the past year has been challenging for our industry, but the popularity of escape rooms is undiminished - and we hope we can now introduce the concept to even more people.
“We know this will be very popular with companies looking for new team-building ideas with so many people now working from home.”
The company launched Scotland's first escape room in May 2014 at St Colme Street, Edinburgh.
A second branch of Escape was opened in Glasgow later that year, along with the first themed game - the Da Vinci Room - in Edinburgh.
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