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In this episode, Curt goes solo as Chris is still out sick, and welcomes guest Matthew Stein, a multifaceted puzzle designer, violinist, and adventurer. They discuss Matthew’s unconventional career path, the intricacies of puzzle design, and the magic of music. Matthew shares his profound experiences with letterboxing, escape rooms, and puzzle hunts, including the prestigious MIT Mystery Hunt. They explore the connection between puzzles and meaningful human experiences while Matthew also sheds light on his future projects, including two upcoming books. Tune in for a deep dive into the world of creative puzzles and the adventures they inspire.
LINKS
- IMakePuzzles.com (Matthew’s site)
- Enigmida.com (Matthew’s Instagram)
- Baymele (Music)
- AtlasQuest.com (Letterboxing)
- Explorers Guild
- MIT Mystery Hunt
- Colby’s Curios Cookoff
- RePod – Life Lessons from 3000 Escape Rooms: Sera Dodd
- Tale of the Heartless Pirate – Dream Labs
- The Storykeeper – Locurio
- Ghost Patrol – Trivium Games
- The Alchemist – Sherlocked
- The Crumbling Prince – Ukiyo
- The Dungeon – Puzzleworks
- Capitol Treasure – NEO Escape Rooms
- So Clover (Boardgame)
- Stuff Made Here (YouTube)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Whether it’s a university theater program, a high school woodshop program, a local artist, or a music writer, find meaningful partnerships to level up your escape room business.
- Local universities have a lot of skilled students and faculty that you can partner with.
- “It’s not about being good at escape rooms. Escape rooms are not a skill I’m trying to increase. If it were just a skill that I was trying to build up, then I would have gotten as good as I was going to get after probably 50, 100 escape rooms and move on to something else. It’s about having unique, memorable, meaningful experiences, creative ways of spending time with my friends. And that’s what keeps driving me to travel and experience creative escape rooms out there.”
- Cool hint systems would be something players can interact with even if they don’t need a hint.
CONNECT AND FOLLOW MATTHEW STEIN
MYSTERY SOUP PODCAST HOSTS
CURT JACKSON
CHRIS KALLAL
