S9E5: MyssTic Rooms: Challenges, Constraints & Creativity

“Creating the escape room becomes the escape room.” New York City is REPOD co-host David Spira's home market. Whenever he's recommending escape rooms to guests and visitors, his favorite go-to is MyssTic Escape Rooms in Brooklyn, NY. Two of their escape rooms have won Golden Lock awards: Ghost Light, and their newest game, The Bird. Gara Roda and Moritz Marti, the co-founders of MyssTic Rooms, join us today on REPOD to talk about the challenges of building a world class escape room in bustling New York City, especially when they are far from their home countries. There are many reasons it's challenging to build escape rooms in NYC. Real estate is expensive, the hurdles of navigating the city's fire codes are many, and square footage is at a premium. An affordable place for their business meant a basement location which came with its own set of complications. A near catastrophic flood in the early days led to some pretty impressive flood mitigation. Shortly after they first opened, a tragic fire occurred in an escape room in Poland, which led to a crackdown by fire inspectors all over the world, but with especially tight restrictions in New York. Gara and Moritz persevered, despite all the setbacks, and it was inspiring to hear them talk about how all the different constraints led to more creativity. As David points out, even though their games are small in comparison to other escape rooms, "every single nook and cranny had an abundance of detail." These two escape room creators have endured seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and yet have recently just been honored with another Golden Lock award for their newest game, The Bird. They mention at the end of the episode that eventually they are looking to move back to Europe and are open to finding a partner or even possibly a buyer. So hit 'em up if this sounds interesting to you. Full Show Notes   Episode Sponsors Thank you to our sponsors: Weldwood Marketing, Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, Hive: The Race to Save Time Puzzle Hunt, 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 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.   Hive: The Race to Save Time Puzzle Hunt Based on the new Madders of Time series by bestselling author DL Orton. Registration opens May 1, 2025 Hive: The Race to Save Time runs from May 16-26, 2025 Over $1,000 in Prizes, winners determined by sweepstakes. Purchase of the book or free alternative method of entry registration is required to participate, but the e-book will be available for just 99 cents while the hunt is running. Visit Hive: The Race to Save Time website for more details. Preorder the book today!   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