Claustrophobia is a Russian escape room franchise. 142 "quests" have been opened under this brand in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, the UAE, the United States, the Kyrgyz Republic and Thailand. 120 more quests are under development in such countries as Slovenia, Italy, Great Britain, Andorra, Slovakia, and France. Claustrophobia was included in the “Best in the City” list by Afisha in 2014, and was nominated for RBK Prize 2014 in the “Startup of the Year” category.
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Description
A team of 2 to 4 players is locked in a room for 60 minutes. They have to leave the room during that time by solving thematic puzzles that test their quick wit, by interacting with various items and using logic. If one hour was not enough to complete the quest, the doors will still open, but the players will leave defeated. First quests under the brands “Claustrophobia”, “Soviet Apartment”, and “Psychiatric Hospital” appeared in Moscow in December 2013. There is a wide range of quest scenarios, allowing players to experience various stories, including adventures in abandoned castles, dungeons, on spaceships, in a maniac’s lair, and many others. While developing each quest, the authors create ultimately realistic settings and special effects, trying to avoid using numerous tasks and puzzles more than once.
Franchising
Claustrophobia started concluding first franchising agreements as early as December 2013, while first franchised quests — “The Sing-Sing Escape” and “Australia Motel” were opened in Moscow in March 2014. First quests in St. Petersburg started operating in May, and an office in Nizhny Novgorod followed up in June.
Claustrophobia performance
Claustrophobia presented a new escape room – Performance – in September 2014. This is a mix of a game and an interactive performance with real actors, where players become main characters and manage the plot development. In contrast to real-life quests, this format focuses on adrenaline and emotions rather than on solving various logical puzzles. The first performance by Claustrophobia is “Collector” that immerses the players into the atmosphere of genuine horror, allowing them to experience every dimension of fear. The second performance, “The Butcher’s Shop”, was opened in St. Petersburg on January 3, 2016, and some more performances are now under development in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Other areas of activity
In August 2015 Claustrophobia launched a new area of activity – children’s quests. Only one of them is now operating in Moscow – “The Treasure Island”, and 2 more are under development. These quests are aimed at developing attention and logic in children, and puzzles in children’s quests are not so difficult if compared to adult ones. Besides, children complete these quests being accompanied by animators. The players should be 7 to 12 years old. An absolutely new real life quest format was launched in December 2015 – an RPG named “MSK 2048”. The players solve puzzles, unite into groups, and interact with actors on an area of 1,500 square meters for 2 hours. Regardless of the plot based on a certain scenario, 5 different finals are possible.