I like to talk about value instead of cost. My financial aim is to live below my means and aggressively save/invest. However, this does not prevent me from spending money on things that I find a lot of value in. There are some things that I enjoy that are not the most frugal choices in the world, but are a good example of enjoying the road to financial independence. I’m not interested in saving every conceivable penny at the expense of enjoying life. And one of the experiences that I enjoy is escape rooms.
The (Seemingly) Bad Value of an Escape Room
I remember when I told my grandfather about escape rooms. He knew that I had done a few of them, and he wanted to know more. I explained the basics (you have 1 hour to solve a series of puzzles and complete an interactive story). He was shocked that each person pays $25-30 for an hour of entertainment. Sure, when you just look at that figure, it’s twice as expensive as a movie ticket and at least half the length of time. How could Frugal Jon take part in such a racket?! Well for many reasons, an escape room should not be measured in its cost per hour during the game and here’s why.
The Real Value of an Escape Room
Let me start by saying that escape rooms are charging a fair price for their experiences. For the non-chain escape rooms, countless hours of planning, puzzle creation, and room construction goes into the one hour experience. I’ve talked to a bunch of escape room owners that pour their sweat, tears, and talent into creating their rooms. They deserve fair pay for the work they do and the overhead that they have for running the game. Even when I feel a room is sub-par, I don’t whine too much about the cost.
With that out of the way, here’s what actually goes into the value of an escape room experience. The first is the set up. The best escape room businesses take 10 minutes to set up the story and world that the interactive room exists in. Then the employee running the game will typically field questions about the different puzzles and theming in the room. I’ve gone to some rooms with passionate owners who have talked to me for 15-20 minutes about their design choices and reasoning. After the room is done, I’ve always spent at least 20 minutes discussing the room with the team I brought with me. We discuss what we liked and disliked about the set and puzzles. We talk about our favorite moments in the room, and how we solved different puzzles. Even when the room is bad, I’ve enjoyed bashing the things we mutually hated about the room. Finally, I keep a running ranking of the rooms I’ve completed with a written review. When I add all these things up, I easily get 3-4 hours worth of entertainment out of a single escape room.
Hammering the Point
Going to escape rooms with friends, family, or just my wife is something that I get a lot of value out of. Because of that, I work hard to fit a night of escape room fun into my budget. That’s the freedom that a value mindset gives me. By recognizing the material things that I get value from and not wasting money on things that I do not, I’m not breaking the bank by going to an escape room once a month. I’ve built a lifestyle that prioritizes maxing out retirement accounts and saving that includes escape rooms.
What’s something that you value as much as I value escape rooms? Let me know in the comments!