Escape Room Designers

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I grew up in a home full of puzzles; my Dad has a collection of more than 3,000 unique mechanical puzzles. I grew up solving puzzles and thought it was normal. I have helped invent about a dozen mechanical puzzles and have attended the International Puzzle Party in Chicago and Paris.

My philosophy on escape room puzzles is that the player should 100% know that the answer is correct before they verify it. A good puzzle is not “guess what the designer is thinking” but rather a fun journey 

When I was 12 years old, I started a haunted house. The first year, it was just on the front porch. The next year, it grew to the back yard. As I grew, so did the haunted house, and in college, my haunted house filled an entire laboratory on campus. The props became more elaborate, and the rooms expanded until eventually they were too big for my home and yard. Eventually, I teamed up with a local miniature golf course and opened a professional haunted house at the golf course. The haunt was approximately 7,000 square feet, built outdoors from scratch and included a 2-story mansion façade. After 20 years, I closed the haunted house when I moved to Spanish Fork in 2017.

My love of puzzles expanded in 2017 when my wife and I ran the Provo, UT location for the puzzle hunt DASH. In the puzzle hunt, teams from all over the globe compete to solve a series of puzzles over multiple locations. The puzzle hunt takes 6-8 hours to complete and is essentially a marathon for the brain. 

Starting in 2010, I started developing web pages for fun. It started as a hobby, but I have also developed websites for friends and family and a dozen or so small business clients. Most of the websites are pretty simple and use pre-built platforms like WordPress, but my adventure blog dyeclan.com was coded from scratch. My experience with web programming has helped me build custom web apps and controls for escape rooms.

In February 2020, I started consulting for Winchester Escape House in Payson, UT. I have absolutely loved helping them design and build their escape rooms. I have helped with puzzle design and puzzle flow, building remodeling, room construction, room theming, prop construction, prop control programming, and just about every facet of escape room design. I even built a platform where escape room games can be played in a room where the room décor and puzzles are projected on the walls and change as the game progresses.

Because of my day job as a structural engineer, I have extensive experience with 3D modeling and renderings. This comes in handy when creating models for laser engraving, 3D printing, or virtual props. It’s also incredibly helpful to have a structural engineer on hand when applying for building permits!

I worked construction in college and also have experience with woodworking. I have a full wood shop and can construct almost anything needed. I also have a 3D printer and laser engraver and have access to a CNC mill and a metal shop.