Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Barger
Christine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The 13th Basement escape room is what happens when passion meets opportunity. During the pandemic a friend of mine called with an opportunity to take over a location that he had already permitted for escape rooms. He decided to get out of the business and reached out knowing I had been blogging about the industry for many years and had played hundreds of escape games across the country. Together with my husband’s skills we were able to create a uniquely themed horror game that parodies the early horror escape rooms that got us interested in the hobby back in 2014.
It takes more than just excitement though, it takes a lot of work and different skills to build an escape room and run the business. I was able to put my tech theatre degree to work with the set designs and props. Creating the videos that appear within the game were a lot easier with my background as a professional actor on camera. The puzzle design came from experiencing hundreds of escape rooms and playing online puzzle games. I was able to use my expertise as a TikToker and social media content creator to market the business online. Finally of course customer service is a huge part of our experience and I have had several jobs working with guests in entertainment from wax museums to theme parks. It’s shocking how many things you learn in your life that you don’t realize until you need to pull from your past experiences.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have definitely been struggles along the way. Not every month brings enough bookings. Sometimes things break in the game and we have to think quickly to fix them before a group arrives to play. Once the power went out to our block right as guests walked in to play. It’s a lot of rolling with the punches.
As you know, we’re big fans of Exit Game OC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Exit Game OC is an escape room company at a physical location in Anaheim. Guests book a timeslot and play with a group of friends. Our bookings are private and we suggest 3-8 players for each group.
Our current game is the 13th Basement, a parody of old school horror escape rooms. We lovingly poke fun at tropes like excessive amounts of black light and directional locks with too many directions. This has made our game stand out to experienced players as nostalgic, while still fun and accessible to new players. You don’t have to be in on the jokes to enjoy the game, but it was important to us to create an experience that was not too difficult for new players while still allowing enthusiasts to have a great time.
I am proud of the experience we’ve created, but I think one thing that makes us special among others in the industry is our attention to accessibility. We really tried to make the game accessible for as many people as possible. Players start out in two separate rooms but we made sure that they could still see each other to communicate for players that communicate through sign language. We also have a secondary hint system that is visual for hearing impaired guests. We have left plenty of space around the props and tried to keep everything low enough to be in reach for wheelchair users. We include the LGBT+ community within the game. We put forth a lot of effort to be as inclusive as possible because we want everyone to be able to enjoy escape rooms!
We are currently building our second game at the location, hopefully it will be open in early 2025.
How do you think about luck?
Luck is an important part of business and life. I don’t believe luck will make or break a moment, though. It’s up to you how you respond to the opportunity. Whether good or bad luck, you need to be able to respond with positivity and preparedness.
Pricing:
- $39 per person
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theexitgame.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinebargerofficial/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChristineBarger
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/exit-game-oc-anaheim-4
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@christinebarger
