site.btaBulgaria Hosts World Escape Room Championship for First Time

For the first time, Bulgaria is hosting the World Escape Room Championship, featuring 12 teams from Japan, the United States, France, Switzerland, and Poland. The event is organized by Funky Monkeys Escape Hub, co-founder Vanessa Zimmerman told BTA.

An escape room is a game in which participants must solve a series of puzzles and riddles within a set time limit in order to "escape" the room. The championship final takes place on Monday, October 20. The average age of the participants is around 30, and only adults are allowed to compete. The world champion will be the team that achieves the fastest combined time across both parts of the escape room. According to Zimmerman, more than 600 teams took part in an online qualifying round in May. The winner will be announced later on Monday.

"With this event, we’re trying to show people that escape rooms are not scary or intimidating, no one is being terrorized. They are designed purely for entertainment," Zimmerman said. "Escape rooms require creativity and knowledge to succeed. Within an hour, players must connect various puzzles to find the solution and exit the room. Many people imagine something frightening or violent, or think it’s too childish, but in fact, it helps develop cognitive skills," she added.

At the moment, the championship is entirely amateur-based and funded by the participants themselves. "We hope that as it gains momentum, it will grow into a large-scale event that attracts more sponsors and wider interest," Zimmerman said.

As part of the championship, a conference is also being held to promote escape rooms and foster stronger connections among escape room owners.