A 2019 survey conducted by SEO ORB was sent out to escape room owners and fans around the world. It aimed to reveal all there is to know about the growing industry – including a list of the most popular themes. Let’s take a look at those in the top five. You might be surprised by the results!

5. Future / Technology

Rooms nowadays are incomparable to their first variations over a decade ago. Slowly but surely, escape room companies around the world are starting to adopt a tech-heavy approach to room design. The inclusion of sophisticated gadgets and electronics makes creating an effective future-themed room much more straightforward – putting it an impressive fifth on the list of most popular escape room themes!

4. Horror

Perhaps the most obvious inclusion on the list, horror-themed rooms will always have a place in the hearts and minds of escape room fans. The first recorded purpose-built haunted house was launched over one hundred years ago in England in 1915! A century has passed, but it seems people just can’t get enough of jump scares! Think of escape rooms as an extension of the haunted house concept, embracing similar traits and adding its own unique twist – the escape.

3. Science / Laboratory

In the bronze medal position is the theme encompassing science and/or laboratory-experiments-gone-wrong. If you’re familiar with escape rooms, think about it: how many times have you seen a zombie apocalypse or a viral outbreak themed room? This is what you’d call a cornerstone theme, meaning it’s a safe bet and a standard inclusion for most escape room companies. 

2. Fantasy

Fantasy can comprise of anything from mythology to film & television franchises. Where the latter is concerned, think Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. In the real world, feeling attuned to anything involving fantasy requires the suspension of disbelief – something that isn’t the case within a fantasy-themed escape room. The creation of a deeply immersive atmosphere gives players a sense of realism, helped by the presence of high-quality props, décor and artefacts.

1. Mystery

Coming in at top spot is the much-loved mystery theme! This includes murder mystery, finding a missing person(s), revealing a nefarious plot… basically, anything that involves the divulgence of truth! After all, the truth will set you free – literally! The escape room concept requires players to solve puzzles, find clues/hidden objects and decipher a series of codes & riddles. Sounds like detective work, right? It’s only natural for escape rooms to excel at this theme when the two are so intrinsically linked!