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Reality Escape Pod – Escape Rooms & Immersive Games — Games
Reality Escape Pod – Escape Rooms & Immersive Games

A Room Escape Artist Production

In a world gone digital, doing things in person is strangely revolutionary.

Reality Escape Pod is an interview podcast diving deep with people who make the world’s best immersive games and experiences: ARGs, puzzle hunts, tabletop games, theme parks, and of course, escape rooms. Our aim is to bring together different segments of the gaming world to share ideas between them.

Hosts David Spira & Peih-Gee Law explore immersive gaming from all angles with a unique blend of curiosity, joy, and a deep appreciation of craft. Each episode explores the guest’s philosophy, design approach, and humanity.

About the hosts:

David Spira is an experience designer, co-founder of RoomEscapeArtist.com and Reality Escape Convention. He is the escape room industry’s most prolific leader. In 2014 he applied his professional skills as a digital experience designer to the burgeoning industry of escape rooms, and more than a decade later he has built a community for its creators and consumers.

Peih-Gee Law is most well known for being a fan favorite contestant on the reality show Survivor, where she played first in Survivor China in 2007, and again in a returning All-Star season Survivor Second Chance. In 2025, she launched PG’s Playhouse, a fun podcast with brainteasers, puzzles, and trivia. She is also on the official story team for Neotropolis, an annual 5 day immersive cyberpunk festival, where she creates narrative driven gameplay and experiences for thousands of attendees.

Copyright: © Copyright 2021 Room Escape Artist

Latest Episodes:

From The Vault: The Nightmare of Eveline Shadow Part 1, Entered & Logiclocks Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

The Nightmare of Eveline Shadow was a haunting experience where guests stepped into the nightmarish writings of a horror novelist. They had to navigate a hotel filled with nightmares, while being guided by the narrator’s prompts and scripts.

The closure of hotels during the pandemic quarantine era created a golden opportunity for a trio of talented creators from the Benelux region. Alexander Gierholz of Logiclocks, Jeroen van Hasselt of Entered, and Meggy Pepelanova came together to create a unique horror experience set in an entire empty wing of a hotel. Alas, they experienced their own nightmare when lockdown regulations became even more restricted. They had to put their experience on hold, and then suddenly regulations lifted entirely, and the hotel began to resume normal operations. Their window for hosting The Nightmare of Eveline Shadow at an empty hotel vanished, and we’re left with only handful of photos and this Spoilers Club series as evidence of its existence.

To listen to Part 2, and the rest of the Spoilers Club category, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/roomescapeartist

Episode Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors: Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.

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.

Become a Patron Today!

Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:

The REPOD Bonus Show
The Spoilers Club
The Travelogue Series

Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters 💙

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

Season 9, Best of the REPOD Bonus Show Sep 01, 2025

Show notes

"I have so many burning questions."

Our podcast, Reality Escape Pod, isn't exactly short-form content. Most episodes clock in at over fifty minutes, and yet, I always feel like I didn't get enough time with the guest. "But I've still got some burning questions!" I think to myself. Or maybe I have follow up questions, but I didn't want to interrupt the flow of conversation.

Luckily, we have our Bonus Aftershow. I love this format because David and I are able to have more casual conversations with our guests, rather than the more formal interview on Reality Escape Pod. The Bonus Show chats run the gamut from in-depth design discussions, to workshopping business or game ideas, to just trading battle stories of escape rooms gone awry.

In the Best of Bonus, I picked some of my favorite moments from our Season 9 Bonus Aftershow episodes. I really loved hearing more stories from James Douberly about the MIT Mystery Hunt, and listening to Neil Patrick Harris talk about magic and escape rooms. Jon and Ryan from The Great Gotham Challenge kept talking about "risky puzzles" and I finally had the chance to ask them about this concept. We also got the definitive answer from Steven Medway, creator of Blood on the Clocktower, on whether townsfolk (Team Good) should be executing every day in the game.

The Bonus Aftershow is included when you become a Patreon supporter of Room Escape Artist. Join today for access to our library of over 100 episodes of the Bonus Aftershow. We put a lot of love and time into creating the best possible content that supports our mission of elevating the escape room industry. We truly appreciate your support.

Full Show Notes

Episode Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors: Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.

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.

Become a Patron Today!

Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:

The REPOD Bonus Show
The Spoilers Club
The Travelogue Series

Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters 💙

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

REPOD Season 9 Key Moments: Editor’s Choice by Steve Ewing Aug 18, 2025

Show notes

"Highlighting the most interesting, entertaining, and impactful moments."

Have you been feverishly refreshing your podcatcher in anticipation of the return of Reality Escape Pod? Don’t worry, Season 10 of the podcast will be here in the very near future. To pass the time, have a listen to some memorable clips our editor Steve Ewing selected from each episode of Season 9. It’s perfect for new listeners of the podcast or fans who want to relive their favorite moments.

Full Show Notes

Episode Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors: Weldwood Marketing, Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.

Weldwood Marketing

Maximize your online presence with Weldwood Marketing. It's a one-stop shop for digital marketing—specializing in web design, SEO, online ads, and best business practices. They can even manage all your integrations so you can track the customer journey from clicking on an ad to booking your game. Let Weldwood help unlock more money for your business.

Special offer exclusively for REPOD listeners:

Weldwood rarely offers discounts, but they did for us. REPOD listeners get 15% off Marketing Services for the first 3 months, PLUS $750 off escape room websites. Schedule your Discovery Call and mention REPOD in the notes! Visit weldwoodmarketing.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.

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.

Become a Patron Today!

Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:

The REPOD Bonus Show
The Spoilers Club
The Travelogue Series

Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters 💙

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

Leaked! Blood on the Clocktower Bonus Show Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, David and Peih-Gee were joined by Steve, the creator of Blood on the Clocktower... and they talked a whole lot more about Blood on the Clocktower. The conversation spans the overlaps between Clocktower and Survivor, the difficulties of being the Storyteller, and a potential business opportunity for escape room operators (or people who are good at talking and managing game rules).

Find the main REPOD episodes here!

When you support Room Escape Artist on Patreon at $5 per month (or above), you get access to the Bonus Show, our exclusive bonus episodes that follow up on the main episode, almost always with the guest. Plus David and Peih-Gee release extra episode in-between seasons for our Patrons.

https://www.patreon.com/roomescapeartist

Death of a Swinger And Other Mysteries (ft. Reality Escape Pod) Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

A few months ago David and Peih-Gee appeared as guests on the Aurelius Whitlock's Murder Mystery Museum. They had learned about the show from our of our Patreon members, and after listening to the show for a few minutes, both of them were convinced that they had to go play.

Hosts Marcus and Nathan are a ton of fun, and care so deeply about their show, and it permeates everything that they do.

We hope that you have fun listening, and for more Aurelius Whitlock's Murder Mystery Museum, check out their website.

You will NEVER be able to experience the Nightmare of Eveline Shadow (Spoilers Club Preview) Jul 10, 2025

Show notes

Alexander Gierholz of Logiclocks, Jeroen van Hasselt of Entered, and Meggy Pepelanova came together to create a unique horror experience set in an entire empty wing of a local Marriott Renaissance hotel.

It only ran for a brief time, and now the best way to understand this mind-boggling immersive show is by listening to Alexander and Jeroen tell its story on The Spoilers Club.

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

S9E12: Lockhill - Designing for Chaos Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

" Horror is the excitement of the unknown."

It's dark all around you. You clutch your flashlight with trembling hands, but the beam of light blinds you when it hits a wall of fog. In the swirling mist ahead, eerie creatures wander the grounds between you and your goal. You must use your knowledge of the inhabitants of this place to save yourself and your friends. Welcome to Lockhill.

Bill Dalitsikas, owner of Lockhill Escape Game in Athens, Greece, is the master of horror, when it comes to escape rooms. The Sanatorium premiered at the #5 spot on the TERPECA awards, and Chapel & Catacombs was voted the #1 escape room in the world in 2022. (Both games also won Golden Lock Awards.) He joins us on REPOD to talk about his inspiration, thoughts on what makes for a good horror escape room, and the Athens escape room scene. These games are massive, and it's absolutely wild that for the most part, Bill designs and builds these games all by himself.

I really loved hearing him talk about using actors as puzzles in his games. It's one of the many mechanics that make his games feel like real live video games. Indeed, he was heavily inspired by Silent Hill, Mansions of Madness, and Betrayal at House on the Hill.

It became very clear as we talked to Bill that his motivation isn't to scare the players as much as possible; rather it's to give the players the best experience possible. That's why he has three different game modes for The Sanatorium: Day Mode where it's less scary with more focus on the puzzles, Night Mode where the focus is on the actors and scares, and Midnight Mode where players get the best of both worlds—maximum puzzles and maximum scares.

Even if you're not a fan of horror games, I think you will find this conversation compelling. Hopefully it will convince you check out the games at Lockhill next time your are near Athens.

Full Show Notes

Episode Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors: Weldwood Marketing, Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.

Weldwood Marketing

Maximize your online presence with Weldwood Marketing. It's a one-stop shop for digital marketing—specializing in web design, SEO, online ads, and best business practices. They can even manage all your integrations so you can track the customer journey from clicking on an ad to booking your game. Let Weldwood help unlock more money for your business.

Special offer exclusively for REPOD listeners:

Weldwood rarely offers discounts, but they did for us. REPOD listeners get 15% off Marketing Services for the first 3 months, PLUS $750 off escape room websites. Schedule your Discovery Call and mention REPOD in the notes! Visit weldwoodmarketing.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.

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.

Become a Patron Today!

Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:

The REPOD Bonus Show
The Spoilers Club
The Travelogue Series

Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters 💙

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

S9E11: Top Takeaways from 100 Episodes of REPOD Jun 23, 2025

Show notes

" Challenging yourself is how you produce growth in your own life."

Countless late nights, occasional tears, and many great conversations later, we did it. We made it to 100 episodes of REPOD!

We've had so many incredible guests come on the show, fully willing to share the secret sauce to their success. These guests have been a treasure trove of creative inspiration. From discussing how to create immersive sets, to tricks for directing a player's attention, from how to effectively market your business to creating puzzles, our guests didn't gatekeep or pull their punches.

To celebrate, we're taking a look back through the archives and picking some noteworthy clips. These were all things our guests said that really resonated with us – personally, professionally, or on a creative level.

Each of these clips fundamentally changed how we think about something. Maybe it gave us a new perspective on leadership, like Elan Lee's clip about "other people's work." Or perhaps it was Christine Barger going against industry norms by allowing filming in her escape room. Others were more philosophical, like Alexander Gierholz's musings on the dissonance of escapism. Many of these clips helped shape the way we think about immersive design, such as Linda Klein talking about "experiential mixers" or Tommy Honton's "adrenaline map."

It's been an amazing 100 episodes of Reality Escape Pod. I hope our guests have also inspired you in your creative journey. And if they did, we'd love to hear about it. Let us know if there's anything we missed that especially resonated with you. Thank you all for listening and for all your support!

Full Show Notes

Episode Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors: Weldwood Marketing, Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.

Weldwood Marketing

Maximize your online presence with Weldwood Marketing. It's a one-stop shop for digital marketing—specializing in web design, SEO, online ads, and best business practices. They can even manage all your integrations so you can track the customer journey from clicking on an ad to booking your game. Let Weldwood help unlock more money for your business.

Special offer exclusively for REPOD listeners:

Weldwood rarely offers discounts, but they did for us. REPOD listeners get 15% off Marketing Services for the first 3 months, PLUS $750 off escape room websites. Schedule your Discovery Call and mention REPOD in the notes! Visit weldwoodmarketing.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.

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.

Become a Patron Today!

Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:

The REPOD Bonus Show
The Spoilers Club
The Travelogue Series

Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters 💙

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

S9E10: Untangling Quantum Mechanics - Paul Kwiat of LabEscape Jun 16, 2025

Show notes

"It's the first science-based escape room."

If you ask an escape room enthusiast about entanglement puzzles, what likely springs to mind are those intertwined, bent metal nails that you need to separate. However, for Paul Kwiat, an entanglement puzzle is something else completely. Professor Kwiat is an acclaimed physicist, specializing in quantum physics, including quantum entanglement, along with quantum cryptography, dense-coding, quantum teleportation, entanglement distillation, and most recently, optical quantum gates. Phew!

But what's a physicist doing on REPOD? Besides his many other accomplishments, Professor Kwiat has also created LabEscape, the first science-based escape room. Most of the puzzles in his games are built on different science phenomena such as magnetism, thermodynamics, and polarization. Many of these are rather advanced principles that would be taught at a college-level course. These are not games for kids!

Professor Kwiat explains that he had three goals when creating his escape room. One—to show that science can be both relevant and accessible. Two—to show that these scientific effects are aesthetically beautiful. Three—that science is fun!

His love of science and physics is certainly infectious. We couldn't resist the opportunity to chat about quantum mechanics, including quantum computers, and cryptography. I truly appreciated that he took the time to explain all these principles to us, even if it meant crushing my romantic notions of how quantum entanglement works. This episode is a bit different, but I think you'll certainly learn something.

Full Show Notes

Episode Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors: Weldwood Marketing, Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.

Weldwood Marketing

Maximize your online presence with Weldwood Marketing. It's a one-stop shop for digital marketing—specializing in web design, SEO, online ads, and best business practices. They can even manage all your integrations so you can track the customer journey from clicking on an ad to booking your game. Let Weldwood help unlock more money for your business.

Special offer exclusively for REPOD listeners:

Weldwood rarely offers discounts, but they did for us. REPOD listeners get 15% off Marketing Services for the first 3 months, PLUS $750 off escape room websites. Schedule your Discovery Call and mention REPOD in the notes! Visit weldwoodmarketing.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.

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.

Become a Patron Today!

Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:

The REPOD Bonus Show
The Spoilers Club
The Travelogue Series

Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters 💙

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

How Miss Jezebel Trolled Escape Room Players Jun 14, 2025

Show notes

When Miss Jezebel first debuted, no one had really ever seen anything like it before. It incorporated an actor into the gameplay in a way that felt more akin to larp or interactive theater. For those in the right mindset, it was uproariously funny. It was also screamingly vulgar, with adult props that would make a bachelor party blush. It was an instant darling of the Los Angeles escape room scene.

Brian Corbitt, creator of Miss Jezebel, joins us in his second appearance on the Spoilers Club for a tell-all. One of his mantras is "Players loved getting trolled." Indeed he did, especially when it came to making out with sock puppets, having to quietly rip a giant piece of velcro apart, or searching for limes. Many of his interactions were designed to maximize fun, while showcasing the players' ability to improvise under pressure. They usually rose to the occasion, much to the amusement of their friends.

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

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