Personality types and exit games

Myers-Briggs types. Adapted from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MyersBriggsTypes.png, released under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Some people put a lot of stock in the Myers-Briggs personality types. Other people compare it to a modern-day form of astrology, with all sixteen types being desirable in their own way and people choosing to self-identify with the commentary from their specific type through a process of self-directed cold reading. I tend to be somewhat more towards the latter end of the spectrum – but then, as an INTP, I would say that.

That said, I did enjoy the 16personalities.com summary of the INTP type. It’s quite possible that if you’re a MB person, you might have been able to see it coming through in this blog; “They love patterns ((…)) people with the INTP personality type tend to share thoughts that are not fully developed, using others as a sounding board for ideas and theories in a debate against themselves rather than as actual conversation partners“. Guilty as charged.

I also enjoyed the graphic at the top of the Prelude Character Analysis page for the personality type, being a certain sort of logic puzzle. It probably shouldn’t be a surprise that I thought “I recognise that puzzle – and I like it”! It might also explain why this blog keeps a diffuse focus in puzzle adventures and tries to interest people in logic puzzle competitions.

So this post is principally directed towards those who do tend to give credence to personality typing, specifically the MB types; if this isn’t for you, there’ll be another post along tomorrow.

Do exit games tend to attract certain sorts of personality types? Do certain sorts of puzzles in exit games tend to attract certain sorts of personality types? Is there any social science, pseudoscience or just plain tried-and-tested anecdotal received wisdom over why certain sorts of puzzles – irrespective of the quality and originality with which that puzzle is implemented – tend to play well with the sorts of people who would pay money to play an exit game? Could sites do more to help people find which of the several games they offer they would most enjoy based on players’ personality types? (Right, that’s almost enough underdeveloped theories for one post, you lovely sounding-board.)

I also enjoyed reading this recent Escape Games Review post, hinting at an exit game, themed around the Seven Deadly Sins, where every team member started off in a sin-themed mini-room of their own which they had to escape solo before they could work together towards a group victory. Could there some day be an exit game where players had individual puzzles to solve that were tailored towards their personality types – either to play to their strengths, or to force them to overcome their weaknesses?

4 thoughts on “Personality types and exit games”

  1. Great article Chris. I’ve wondered myself how escape businesses (or even for enthusiasts like ourselves) could better recommend Escape Rooms to their preferences, but perhaps the right approach is through some form of personality marker (whether that be a ‘colour test’ or a key fob that stores this information).

    Or perhaps as you mention this could be a good lead into the Holy Grail of Escape Rooms, the Replayable game. Tailoring a game to challenge the personality archetypes, that’s an interesting concept (and probably a million dollar idea)

  2. This could tie in well with the ‘room type’ graphics used by Lockin Real Escape (which you mentioned when they launched).

    1. Absolutely. I think graphics like those are instant best practice, well worthy of consideration by any site that offers more than one game to help customers find which of the games they have to offer are best-suited to them.

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