Online Escape Room Challenge
By Peter Hortor - AESL, 1st Kinoulton.
Attached is the 'cheat sheet'. I recommend any leader thinking of running the session first reads this and then tries at least the first room of the game so they know what they are doing when explaining it. The game can be accessed via:
https://www.saintmichaelsscouts.org.uk/virtual-games/
1. Set up an event on OSM with a deadline 1 day before so i could put the explorers into groups of 3. The message gave the zoom meeting link and made clear explorers could join from 7.30 to chat, but we would start the games at 7.45 sharp.
2. On the evening of the game, I followed the instructions from the link above to set up multiplayer games.This is very easy but the computer on which you set up the multiplayer games must not try to enter a game - it gets a game control page that can see all games that you have set up.
3. Each multiplayer game you set up comes with a link. I copied this into a word document so that i could later easily keep tabs on the games. Example attached. The game control page has a clear checklist for each game of which escape items have been discovered and which have not.
4. After starting the zoom meeting a bit early, i set up a break out room for each group of 3.
5. While the other leaders chatted, as explorers joined, i assigned them to the correct break out room but left them in the main meeting. I then gave the explorers a brief explanation of what was required including a list of things they needed to find in the first room and a clue of how to exit that room - the game is quite hard. There are 4 rooms, so it left a lot to do.
6. At 7.45 i pushed all the explorers into their breakout rooms and used the chat function to send them the correct link for their particular game (i.e. 3 explorers were all in one virtual world, with each group of 3 inhabiting an independent copy) - this was a bit laborious.
7. I went to the game control page and started all of the games once i could see participants had entered.
8. Leaders (who had the cheat sheet), then moved between break out rooms giving hints where needed to keep all the groups moving. Leaders did not enter the online game, just the zoom breakout room through which the group members were chatting to work together to complete the game.
In terms of running as a group once the leader has understood the game, here is how I did it:
1. Set up an event on OSM with a deadline 1 day before so i could put the explorers into groups of 3. The message gave the zoom meeting link and made clear explorers could join from 7.30 to chat, but we would start the games at 7.45 sharp.
2. On the evening of the game, I followed the instructions from the link above to set up multiplayer games.This is very easy but the computer on which you set up the multiplayer games must not try to enter a game - it gets a game control page that can see all games that you have set up.
3. Each multiplayer game you set up comes with a link. I copied this into a word document so that i could later easily keep tabs on the games. Example attached. The game control page has a clear checklist for each game of which escape items have been discovered and which have not.
4. After starting the zoom meeting a bit early, i set up a break out room for each group of 3.
5. While the other leaders chatted, as explorers joined, i assigned them to the correct break out room but left them in the main meeting. I then gave the explorers a brief explanation of what was required including a list of things they needed to find in the first room and a clue of how to exit that room - the game is quite hard. There are 4 rooms, so it left a lot to do.
6. At 7.45 i pushed all the explorers into their breakout rooms and used the chat function to send them the correct link for their particular game (i.e. 3 explorers were all in one virtual world, with each group of 3 inhabiting an independent copy) - this was a bit laborious.
7. I went to the game control page and started all of the games once i could see participants had entered.
8. Leaders (who had the cheat sheet), then moved between break out rooms giving hints where needed to keep all the groups moving. Leaders did not enter the online game, just the zoom breakout room through which the group members were chatting to work together to complete the game.