BEHIND THE SCENES OF CELEBRITY ESCAPE ROOM
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, NBC aired CELEBRITY ESCAPE ROOM. produced by Jack Black and Ben Stiller, starring Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Adam Scott, and Stiller as contestants. The event was designed to raise money for Red Nose Day, a charity that combats child poverty. If you missed it, you can watch the entire commercial-free episode at the end of this page.
At the start, Jack Black explains there will be ten total puzzles for the celebs to solve. This is ESCAPE! Alaska’s behind the scenes insight into the show and a breakdown of each of those puzzles. How much was real and how much was just Hollywood?
HOW MUCH WAS REAL?
Almost all Hollywood, baby. It does appear the four players actually participated in an escape room-like environment, but this would’ve been filmed on a set with some actual puzzles and some pretty great Tinsel-town set design.
Overseeing an actual run of players through an escape room is a highly technical task, so it’s likely Jack Black’s control panel was little more than set decoration, and Black had no interaction with the actual game mechanics (other than taunting the players over the PA). Further evidence the control panel is a giant blinking theatrical prop, is that the Game Director (Black) in this scenario must press buttons or throw a lever to get events to trigger in the room, when most of these could easily be automated, and certainly would in a room like this.
THE 80’S ROOM
In the 80’s Room, there are two puzzles with which our group is tasked. There’s a lot to like about the look of this room, and while we appreciate that the VHS movies are period appropriate, there was other decor (like license plates) that wouldn’t make it into a real world escape room unless they were part of a puzzle. The old TV and VCR lend themselves to loads of possibilities, and the group does get to watch a brief video on them.
Pretty great 80’s aesthetic with pastels, wood paneling, and Care Bears.
Escape room designers try to steer clear of misleading props and set design.
Hopefully, you wouldn’t find a reference to a 90’s sitcom in an 80’s room.
While some personalization is possible in most escape rooms, having your high school yearbook is really next level!
PUZZLE #1 - PICTURE BOARD
Throughout this experience there’s a lot that is personalized for the celebrities playing the game, which is very cool, but impractical in a regular escape room. Can you imagine playing a game where you find your high school yearbook!? Their reaction to this find was great, and each book held the magnetized pics needed to solve the PICTURE BOARD puzzle. We really liked this one and were already working on a similar puzzle for an upcoming room at ESCAPE! Alaska, so we can appreciate the tech involved. In this instance, they show Jack Black pressing a button to finish the puzzle rather than having it work on its own.
PUZZLE #2 - RUBIK’S CUBE
Although not a traditional Rubik’s Cube, this was still a fun themed puzzle for the room. Putting this cube right is a lot easier than solving an actual Rubik’s cube (especially one this size), so it’s a nice challenge to have that’s inviting to players of any skill level.
Solving this puzzle opened up the next room.
“ I’ve done a couple of [escape rooms], so I knew I get competitive in these types of situations. You just want to be able to do a Beautiful Mind sort of thinking, and no one can. It was great to see the way Courteney kept such a level head and was very analytical [just like Monica on Friends].
Lisa made me laugh all the time, because her reactions to what’s going on are so real. Adam is a pretty sharp guy, but he’s actually less intelligent than I thought. [Laughs] Not that I’m smart, but we were trying to figure out what 4 times 9 is, and I was like, “It’s 36!” And he kept on disputing that!”
HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY
Another puzzle rich environment, this high school hallway with lockers contained another two puzzles. The puzzles here are even more personalized for our players, but the concepts would work in a non-celeb room.
The mascot head with X-Ray Vision (black lights) was a cool prop!
The locker opening to another secret hallway was nice. Room within a room!
A removable fountain handle that opens the door for a trapped player- brilliant!
We really liked the trophies as a clue to hanging the letter jackets.
“I don’t remember anything because there were loud noises and it gave me amnesia.”
PUZZLE #3 - FLOOR TILE PUZZLE
A traditional jigsaw puzzle, this was a cool way to hide the pieces in plain sight.
Solving this puzzle opened up the trophy case, giving the group access to the next prop they needed.
PUZZLE #4 - OPEN THE LOCKERS
This one was a little odd, as it had everyone open their locker at the same time, revealing a hallway behind Courtney’s locker. The others had no reason, except possibly to ensure only one player wound up trapped in the Janitor’s Closet. There’s really no way to keep others from following the first player into the secret hallway, and any door that closes to cut them off would have to do so safely.
PUZZLE #5 - OPEN THE JANITOR’S CLOSET
Such a great - and deceptive - puzzle design on the player locked in the janitor’s closet. After trying the inside handle and having it “break off,” Courtney decided she needed help from outside, which kept her from searching inside her space. Missing the lone item on the janitor’s to-do list cost them a hint. Replacing the outside handle with the removable drinking faucet handle was a very nice use of props. One of the technical issues to solve in a room like this is that you have to answer the question “what happens if a player discovers the faucet handle before its time?” Solving this puzzle triggered the video that led the players to the final puzzle in High School Hallway.
PUZZLE #6 - HANG THE JACKETS
The trophies at the opposite end of the hall, the final clue, was a clever way to guide the players to hang the jackets in their proper places. While it is technically possible to have this puzzle automatically open the next area, this was probably done manually.
“I’ve done an escape room two or three times and the skills I brought to the table were essentially nothing.”
PROM
This was one of the more traditional escape-room-looking sets, like a room you might find in Anytown, USA. The most important part, however, the puzzles, were fun.
Cool prop where the clock turns and the hands stay in place.
Further confirming this was largely unscripted, the group jumps when the wall of balloons exploded. Sure, they’re actors, but they’re not that good.
While a wall of exploding balloons is a very cool effect, it would be impractical in the average escape room.
Courtney redeems herself from missing the earlier clue by being the one to notice their tickets match up with the M&M bottles.
“In this escape room, let’s just say... they’re lucky to have me.”
PUZZLE #7 - TIME TO CROWN THE ROYALTY
This clue felt a little heavy-handed as the clocks in the prom pics were so very obvious, but it still took the group a few minutes to figure out what to do what that information. Using a small step ladder, Courtney twists the clock on the wall to reflect the time in the pictures. This turned on the photography lights so the group could stand in place for their photo, which had them perfectly framed for a “gotcha” pic when the wall of balloons exploded, revealing the next game area.
PUZZLE #8 - FIND YOUR COLOR
The players had to figure out that the icon on their prom tickets (found in the letterman jackets back in the lockers) related to the icons on the M&M champagne bottles. Needing to understand how colors mix borders on “requiring outside knowledge,” which well designed escape rooms try to avoid.
PUZZLE #9 - DANCE OFF
Nothing more than a giant Simon game (also from the 80’s), this would be a fun puzzle to solve as a group.
PUZZLE #10 - KARAOKE
This was not a puzzle in any way, but with the actual Beastie Boys introducing, it was fun to see our contestants sing “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party).” A little disappointing, though, that PHOEBE, the one who played guitar and sang on FRIENDS, was completely unfamiliar with this 80’s staple. In the end, Courtney and Adam rocked the most.
CONCLUSION
There were some great puzzles in varying degrees of difficulty, immersive sets, and satisfying-to-use props, and, while some of it was all Hollywood and impractical out in the real world, at the end it was really just a lot of fun … exactly what you want from any escape room.