On the other hand,
designing your own game is incredibly satisfying. Plus,
crafting your own escape room experience brings with it a number of other benefits:
? First, you can really unleash your creative side. This act of creation, with the purpose of sharing a fun experience with friends, is super
super addicting!
? You control the whole experience. You decide how hard to make the puzzles, how many puzzles the players need to solve, and the game's length. You design the decorations. Everything from first to last is on you.
However, designing escape room games takes a looooong time. First, you need to develop a theme. Then, you need to develop riddles and puzzles. Then you need to test those riddles on a few select, insightful friends (just because they make sense to you doesn't mean they make sense). Whatever you save in cash, you certainly make up for in time. This high time investment can be enough to scare some away, but if you've got the time, then go for it!
That said, a middle ground does exist. Some kits allow you to customize them using programs such as PowerPoint. In this case, you get the best of both worlds ? the game comes fully made, but you can play mad scientist by changing or adding new puzzles and riddles!