Thanks to Rachel Walker, Ciara Turek, Bucky, Falcor, and Pepper for letting me use this photo! And to Snap Camera for my ridiculous face filter.

Tabletop Zoom Gaming: Escape Room in a Box (Feature)

A step-by-step guide to playing remotely with friends using video conferencing

I miss escape rooms. I love escape rooms. Some might say I’m addicted to escape rooms. And now, with social distancing orders in place, the only room I’m escaping is my kitchen (in which I’ve been spending entirely too much time but that’s a story for another article…)

So, since I had a whole stack of “Escape Room in a Box”-type games, I decided to figure out a way to play remotely with friends via zoom. Here’s my step-by-step guide. You may have to devise some clever work-arounds if you don’t have access to the same gear but you’ll get the idea at least!

Things you’ll need:

1. A game to play. There are so many from which to choose online: Exit Escape Games, Unlock Games, Escape Room in a Box, The Escape Game, and more! Here’s a list of recommendations from our friends over at Room Escape Artist.
2. A laptop, tablet, or phone for you to video chat with friends. (Oh yeah, friends. You’ll also need those but I can’t actually tell you where to find them. That’s another whole article…)
3. A second device (ideally a phone) that you will use to film the table from overhead.
4. If you have a tripod with an articulating arm, use that! If not, you’ll need to figure out a clever way to suspend your phone over your table. Get creative! Use shoelaces, sticks, your little brother, whatever! Or, you can order one on Amazon or wherever you prefer to do your online shopping. Here’s a picture of mine for reference. You’ll notice I have added an adapter on the top of the tri-pod to hold my cell phone. Those can also be purchased online or maybe you can adapt the one you may be using in your car already! There’s also this thing I found on Amazon. I bet that would work too!

I already owned this tripod but there are many cheaper options online!

5. Lastly, you need to have TWO separate email addresses you will be using to sign up for two free Zoom accounts.

Once you have everything you need, you’ll schedule a Zoom call with your friends and invite your second email address to be a participant. That second account is going to be accessed on your phone, which you will then be suspending over the table to film the game. Be sure to mute that device or you’ll get some wicked feedback.

From there, it’s up to you to be the game master! You’ll have to hold some things up to the lens for your friends to see them more clearly. Sometimes it’s easier to just take a screengrab and share your Zoom screen so you can all work on puzzles together.

In any case, I hope this method enables you to play many different types of games together! Basically, any game that doesn’t require players to have separate, secret items like a hand of cards, should be able to use this method. And if you end up doing it, tag me on social media (@caramandel)! I want to see all your game suggestions!

Happy gaming!

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