Fox in a Box Room Escape is one of the leading brands in real-life room escape games. We take our room design process very seriously — because for us, it has always been about quality, not quantity.
It All Starts With the Story
Every room begins with its narrative. We establish the backstory of events leading up to the moment players enter, define the overall goal, and decide what happens whether they succeed or fail. A strong story is central to the escape room experience — it aids immersion and helps players understand their role from the very first second.
Through experience, we now design our rooms in 3 acts and include elements of foreshadowing. This creates even deeper engagement with the story for our players.
Puzzles That Fit the World
Once the story is set, our team of room designers develops a room layout and a system of puzzles. The setting is hugely influential in the types of puzzles we create. Some companies build the puzzles first and add a theme later — which risks breaking immersion.
If you’re on a pirate ship and suddenly encounter a touchscreen puzzle, the believability collapses. We never let that happen.
Review, Refine, Repeat
Every concept goes through a thorough review before we move forward. Our founder was an escape room enthusiast before starting Fox in a Box, and takes an active role in reviewing the design of each and every room.
After revisions, individual puzzles are drawn by hand with a description of their intended function — reviewed by both our electricians and carpenters to catch any potential issues early.
From Sketch to Build
Once the designs are approved, each puzzle is modelled as a 3D graphic so it can be inspected from every angle. This then becomes a technical drawing.
Our carpenters build the physical elements while electricians handle the wiring and programming. Everything is then assembled fully and tested before being placed into the prototype room — where it connects to our custom-built software and hardware, and is finished with props and decor that match the theme.
Testing Is Everything
With the prototype room complete, we run full test sessions and record the results. Testing is critical because players approach puzzles in an enormous variety of ways.
What feels logical to our designers isn’t always obvious to a first-time player — and what we expect to be difficult sometimes turns out to be surprisingly easy. We adjust until the experience feels exactly right.
From first story concept to a room that’s fully ready: the entire process takes approximately 6 months.
The Final Layer: Game Masters
One often-overlooked element is the role of the game master. In our Prison Break room, for example, players are led by an angry prison guard into their cell — adding another layer of immersion that sets the mood from the very start.
Other rooms use an introduction video to deliver a more vibrant, cinematic explanation of the story. Every detail is designed to pull you deeper into the experience.
Special Project: The Mind Gamers Rooms
One of our most exciting projects was collaborating with Red Bull on the Mind Gamers experience. Fox in a Box was responsible for producing the rooms and puzzles for the World Finals in Budapest.
Dr. Scott Nicholson and his team designed the semi-final and final rooms, drawing inspiration from quantum computing to create challenges that blend physical and mental elements.
We were approached by Dr. Nicholson and Red Bull because of our experience and resources in delivering large-scale projects. One of the key challenges was bringing Scott’s vision to life while ensuring the entire event could be filmed and broadcast live around the world — requiring a different approach to how we normally design puzzles.
Our aim throughout was to create a final experience of the highest possible quality — one that everyone involved would be proud of, and one just as exciting to watch as it is to play.
Bob Melkus
CEO, Fox in a Box