Break-Thru is an experience designed to bring communities together, foster understanding among different groups, and be fun at the same time! The name suggests that the experience will help break through barriers between groups; however it is also a literal description of the last part of the challenge.
Individuals or small groups will sign up together. In advance of the experience, they will complete a questionnaire with a mix of serious and silly questions (e.g. city of birth, favorite food, biggest pet peeve, political and religion affiliation, etc.). Using those questionnaires, each group will be paired with another very different group in the same location. If no team is available, the experience could also be modified to allow the two partner teams to be in different Break-Thru locations throughout the country. In that case, the final stage would involve realtime video communication between the two groups.
Ultimately, the two groups will come out of the experience having had a great time. But they will also have built trust and communication between them and have a greater understanding of their differences and similarities.
There will be some cost in setting up the experience, especially the technology for the virtual chain link wall. However, it has the potential to be financially successful because it builds on the popular trend of Escape rooms but makes them more relevant to our everyday lives. The LA Times quoted Sam Roberts, the assistant director of the Interactive Media and Games division at the USC School of Cinematic Art saying “There is a growing consumer demand for social play experiences that are live and unique and can’t be repeated…You can charge premium prices for it.”
One concern is whether people will be willing to engage in the experience with strangers, but the some Escape games already place strangers together on the same team, so it’s not unprecedented. Escape rooms are also often seen as good places for corporate team building exercises, so why can’t the rest of the public take advantage of this activity to build trust among one another?
Additional sources of information:
Sources:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-escape-room-boom-20160417-story.html
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/escape-rooms-growing-in-popularity-in-us/3498838.html
