Morgan Roberts from Morgan’s Escapes and her gorgeous dog Jade are stepping into the spotlight this week. Morgan talks about running a small independent business, the challenges she’s faced along the way and her upcoming crowdfunding campaign. You may have also seen her creations for EnigMarch popping up over social media. Read on to find out more!
(Meet Your Maker is an interview series featuring creators of puzzle and mystery games and experiences from across the globe. We aim to shine a spotlight on both established creators and those who are just setting out on their journey. Stay tuned for more interviews coming soon.)
What can you tell us about yourself in a nutshell?
I’m Morgan and I’m based in North Wales. I completed a degree in medical engineering and worked in the industry for a few years before training to be a teacher of mathematics. I taught for a decade and then moved over to accounting. You’ll often find me out walking with my partner and my springer spaniel Jade exploring the beautiful Welsh countryside; I love the outdoors.
How did Morgan’s Escapes come about?
After completing my first escape room back in 2012 I was instantly hooked. I began designing my own games as an end-of-term treat for my pupils and an exciting way to give gifts to friends and family. At the end of 2020, I opened Morgan’s Escapes to share my games with a wider audience.
Do ideas for new games come to you easily?
All my games start as scribbles on a scrap piece of paper – I find this method works best for me. Inspiration comes in waves, a few great ideas all at once and then nothing. I find it best not to force it when I’m out of ideas. I find just sleeping on it or going for a walk with the dog helps my brain figure things out.
You’ve got a new crowdfunding campaign launching soon – what can you share about that?
In the short term, I am stepping back from game design to focus on my next set of accountancy exams. That being said, I am releasing a new puzzle game as part of “Pocketopia” which launches later this month! It’s called Escape the Lighthouse Keeper and you can sign up to be notified of the campaign launch on the BackerKit website. Here is a teaser:
“You have heard many rumours over the years about the abandoned lighthouse at your local beach. Built in 1776, the lighthouse remained active for over 100 years, keeping watch over the fierce Irish Sea until its closure in 1883. Although it has been empty for over 140 years, you often look out of your bedroom window to the distant beach and see an eerie glow emanating from the lighthouse. You decide to grab your friends and set off on an adventure to investigate.
Once inside the lighthouse, a door shuts behind you. You are trapped! Luckily, you notice some hidden clues and puzzles among the maritime artefacts. You must use all your problem-solving skills to solve these puzzles and escape the lighthouse before the lighthouse keeper returns.”
If someone hasn’t played your games before, which would you recommend starting with?
Inheritance. It is presented as a hotel welcome pack and contains a welcome letter, spa brochure, menu and validated parking ticket. It also contains business cards and leaflets for local attractions. I love the idea of hiding puzzles in ordinary-looking items, where at first glance they look just like a menu (for example) but if you look closely you’ll find a hidden puzzle. Inheritance is the first puzzle game of this type I got professionally printed and it is a firm favourite of mine.
I was impressed by how well put together Inheritance was!
Thanks! I have a wonderful team of players who test games and puzzles for me. Then, based on their feedback, the puzzles are tweaked and retested. Lots of playtesting really is key to ensuring the game flows well.
Aside from the printer woes you’ve posted about on Instagram, what are the main challenges you’ve faced?
Ah, printers! A necessity but so temperamental. As a (very) small business, a lot of my games are printed from my home office so if they go down, I can’t produce a lot of the games. The main challenge is having to do everything myself: designing the games, marketing, fulfilment, coding the website and finances – to name a few!
Your Christmas puzzle cards were a win with my friends and family. Are you happy with how they turned out?
Great to hear and yes, I am very happy with how they turned out! I worked with an amazing illustrator Carl Pearce (@carlpearcetheillustrator) who transferred my very bad scribbles into beautiful works of art. I would literally turn up with an idea of the overall image and my scribbles to discuss what I wanted and he brought that to life. He also added some sneaky film references of his own to one of them and offered suggestions along the way for the layout/colour schemes etc. It was great fun working with Carl to develop these cards.
Have you created any bespoke games?
Occasionally. It depends on how busy I am at the time as to whether I can commit to them. I produced a custom game for Virgin Media O2 back in October 2023. I have just finished a second custom game for them which will be going out to stores in the UK soon for the staff to complete. I am always happy to consider requests depending on my availability!
Do you have a favourite play-at-home experience?
There are so many to choose from and many great games are still sitting unplayed on my shelf of shame! I recently got my hands on a copy of The Murder Map Mystery: Usborne Puzzle Adventure Kit which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also love a good jigsaw and I’m currently working on one of Exit’s escape puzzles Thames & Kosmos.
Do you have any advice for someone looking to create their own games?
Just give it a go! It is nerve-wracking putting your own puzzles out into the world and I still get anxious sending out new puzzles to play test. EnigMarch is in full swing – a daily puzzle creation challenge which welcomes all skill levels and is a great opportunity to try things out. It’s the perfect time to have a go!
You can find the puzzles I’ve released this year on my website.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I’d like to thank you for the lovely feedback, encouraging comments and support you have shown for my games, it really is appreciated. You have expressed an interest in designing your own game and I really hope you do. Maybe try designing a few puzzles for EnigMarch!
Thank you!
One thing I did forget to speak to Morgan about was the wonderful code/cipher-themed enamel pins that she produced a while back. They look great and are the perfect weapon to add to your puzzle-solving arsenal!
I am really inspired by Morgan’s creativity and commitment to puzzle creation and experiences that enrich the community. If you haven’t checked out any of her puzzle games yet, please do. As a small business, every purchase and piece of feedback has a huge impact on her ability to continue creating. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
Special Offer: If you have read this far and are interested in trying one of Morgan’s games you can use the discount code “MORGAN15” for 15% off in her ETSY store.
Follow Morgan’s Escapes online
Discover more from The Escape Puzzler
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
