What is live escape game ? Could it be used in education in non formal education processes ?
These were the questions we‘ve been trying to answer in Erasmus plus training course for youth workers, called „Escape to Europe“. TC was organized by NGO Creation and Innovation Lab on May 22-28, 2017.
Participants spent 5 days in peaceful, calm Lithuanian nature, in training center „Daugirdiškės“, exploring a way of learning ad gaining not only specific, but also social, personal competences.
Live escape game structure is very simple. Group of people is locked in the room and have only one hour to solve tasks and puzzles, to find an exit. During that hour many things might happen. People exchange their roles in the groups, they might experience stress, tension and have to communicate in very close enviroment. It is a good way to test yourself as a team player.After the game, during reflection many discoveries are made. Live escapa games is a perfect way to examine oneself in unusual, stressful situations and to be more prepared for real life challenges.
Live escape games might also have a topics and deliver specific knowledge. For example, during hour project we have been exploring sustainable development topics. At the end of the training course we developed ideas, created the tasks and installed it into rooms in topics such as: „global warming“, „democracy“, „gender equality“ etc.
Since the first training course day we experienced what is escape game. Each of us secretly put into drawer one item which represents us. Later we found these items in escape game where we were put into by trainers. We have to unlock locks, solve puzzles. Also there was a get to know each other task, where we took a random object from drawer and had to tell as much about person only looking at the random item we got. It was also a stereotype, tolerance game, because we judged person just because of the object. We got another code only when all items were explained. So live escape games are not only for fun, entertaining. It cal also be a learning tool.
During the rest 4 days of training course we were analyzing what kind of competences could be developed in live escape games. We builded ideas for our own personal live esacape games. We created plots for escape game in 
nature, historical castle etc.
In the last two days we combined everything we learned and constructed massive escape game for education. Ususally escape games can host limited amount of participants – up to 6 people. We created a structure which can host up to 30 people and installed this game into Vilnius Open Youth Center „Žalianamis“. We put hour best ideas into educational escape game and had more than 30 visitors, who in aproximately 50 minutes solved all of our tasks and escaped the youth center.
Later we had reflection and got a lot of positive feedback from local lithuanians who never participated in such a structure before. They said they would do it again.
All in all live escape games are still experimental tool of learning. It works better with small groups, up to 6 people, but it can also be used at schools with more than 20 participants. Most basic structure is to use the drawers. If you have 5 drawers with locks on it, which need 3 digits to crack the code, you can 
put in these drawers as many tasks as you want. After the drawer tasks are completed, participants receive a code and unlock the next drawer. If the game is organized, for example, at school, participants can solve the tasks and legally escape the lesson. (if they manage to do it faster than 45 minutes).
The best thing about building live escape games for education is that you are not limited with anything. Its a small universe. You room has its own laws and rules and you can put there anything you can imagine. Fell free to experiment and share your discoveries and ideas with the rest tutors, educators, youth workers, etc.
