By Nick Granger, Enigma Rooms
In September 2026, students from Harrison College in Doncaster began an escape room design project with Enigma Rooms Doncaster. They played several games, watched Danny reset a room and asked Nick Granger about the creative, practical and financial work behind building and operating an escape room.
Harrison College runs the project each year, with students working in groups to develop their own playable escape room games. We’re delighted to support them with first-hand insight into what happens beyond the locks, clues and puzzles that guests encounter.
The visit ended in The Twisted Broom, where the students joined Nick for an open question-and-answer session about escape room design, costs, construction and day-to-day operation.
Harrison College Escape Room Project at a Glance
- Organisation: Harrison College, Doncaster, UK
- Project: Students work in groups to design and create their own escape room games
- Enigma Rooms visit: Playing multiple games, seeing a behind-the-scenes reset and discussing experience design
- Q&A: Questions about designing, costing, building and operating escape rooms
- Next steps: A visit to the Enigma Rooms workshop and a design-development session at Harrison College later in September 2026
Learning Through Escape Rooms
The first part of the visit was all about experiencing the games as players.
Playing an escape room is a brilliant way to understand how teamwork, communication, story and problem-solving come together. It also gives students a chance to consider the experience from the guest’s point of view: what attracts their attention, how information is revealed and how a group works together when the clock is running.
Of course, there were no puzzle spoilers during the visit—and there won’t be any here—but the experience gave the students plenty to think about as they begin developing their own ideas.
For us, this is one of the most enjoyable parts of working with schools and colleges. Students often notice different details, ask unexpected questions and bring a completely fresh perspective to the creative process.
Behind the Scenes with Danny
Once the students had finished playing, Danny showed them how one of our escape rooms is reset for the next group.
Every item needs to be returned to the correct place, each part of the game must be checked and the whole experience has to be ready for the next team to begin their adventure. It gave the students a glimpse of the operational thinking that sits behind the fun.
Designing a game is not only about coming up with exciting ideas. It also means considering how those ideas will work repeatedly for different groups of players. A puzzle might sound brilliant on paper, but its position, durability, clarity and place within the wider experience all matter when it becomes part of a working escape room.
A Q&A in The Twisted Broom
We finished the visit in The Twisted Broom, where Nick Granger held a Q&A with the students.
The conversation covered how we approach game design, what it can cost to create an escape room and some of the practicalities involved in building an experience. The students were able to ask about the journey from an initial idea to a finished game that can welcome real players.
Enigma Rooms first opened in 2016 and remains a family business. Over the past ten years, we have learned that good experience design involves much more than individual puzzles. Theme, atmosphere, story, flow, construction, guest experience and day-to-day operation all need to work together.
Sharing some of that experience with the Harrison College students was a real pleasure. It is always encouraging to meet young people who are willing to test ideas, solve problems and learn how creative concepts are brought to life.
What Happens Next?
This first visit is only the beginning of the project.
Later in September 2026, the Harrison College students will visit the Enigma Rooms workshop, giving them another opportunity to see more of the practical making and building side of our work.
Nick will also visit Harrison College in Doncaster to spend time with the groups and help them refine and develop their escape room designs.
We’re looking forward to seeing the themes, stories and challenges they create—and how their ideas evolve as they put what they have learned into practice.
Working with Schools, Colleges and Organisations
We work with schools, colleges and other organisations to deliver escape room design workshops and share the creative and practical thinking behind immersive experiences.
These projects can encourage teamwork, communication, creative problem-solving and the confidence to develop an idea collaboratively. They can also introduce students to the different skills involved in experience design, from storytelling and puzzle creation to construction and guest experience.
If your school, college or organisation would like to explore an escape room design project or workshop with Enigma Rooms, email us at hello@enigmarooms.co.uk to start a conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Harrison College students do at Enigma Rooms Doncaster?
They played multiple escape rooms, saw Danny reset a game and joined Nick Granger for a Q&A about designing, costing, building and operating escape room experiences.
What skills can students develop by designing an escape room?
An escape room design project can develop teamwork, communication, storytelling, creative problem-solving, project planning and practical design thinking.
Does Enigma Rooms work with schools and colleges?
Yes. Enigma Rooms works with schools, colleges and other organisations on escape room design workshops and immersive experience projects. To discuss a project, email hello@enigmarooms.co.uk.
We’ll share a follow-up as the next stage of the Harrison College project takes shape.
