Shannon McDowell (she/her) is a board game inventor and puzzle designer who was hired to research and mitigate cultural bias in the puzzles for the 2019 Red Bull Escape Room World Championships. Shannon walks us through how she became a professional puzzle designer, how cultural biases manifest in escape rooms & puzzle design, and how to design puzzles that are challenging while remaining inclusive.

00:02:07 - How We Connect Through Games


00:04:28 - Meet Shannon


00:10:21 - “We Haven’t Seen Everything That’s Possible”


00:17:36 - Cultural Bias in Escape Rooms


00:20:26 - Five Categories of Cultural Bias in Puzzles


00:24:55 - How to Make a Bad Escape Room


00:38:18 - How Hints Can Make or Break A Puzzle


00:50:55 - On Physical Accessibility in Escape Rooms


01:01:00 - The Value of Inclusivity in Gaming

Resources


Shannon’s publications - https://www.shannonmcdowell.ca/publications-media


Shannon’s free puzzles - https://www.shannonmcdowell.ca/puzzles


SCRAP Entertainment Inc - https://realescapegame.com/about/


2019 Red Bull Escape Room World Championship - https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/events/red-bull-escape-room-world-championships-final


Cryptex Hunt - https://cryptexhunt.com/2022/

Support my show! www.bubblegumbitchcraft.etsy.com

Credits


Guest - Shannon McDowell, https://www.shannonmcdowell.ca/


Production by Victor Media Group, Inc. - https://victormediagroup.co/


Original Music by Byson - https://spoti.fi/3eoC47l


Creator / Host - Clara Mount (@bubblegum_titan on Twitter)


Executive Producers-- J.B. Adams and Gerard Mitchell


Sound Editing - Anna Hughes