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Made by Mom Gift Guide: Party Locker Games makes it easy to bring 'escape room' experience to your home

When Amy Koch looked around for an escape room experience that was suitable for her 10-year-old daughter and her friends, she came up empty. So she made her own - Party Locker Games.

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Party Locker Games
By
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
Editor's note: We're featuring the 12 local moms featured in our Made by Mom Gift Guide. Today, Amy Koch, creator of Party Locker Games, is up.

Escape rooms are on location adventure experiences that require players to solve puzzles, play logic games and answer questions to "escape" from a space, and they are growing in popularity. In the last few years, they've sprouted up across the Triangle.

But when Amy Koch looked around for something suitable for her 10-year-old daughter and her friends, she came up empty. That eventually led this Raleigh Charter High School teacher and mom of three to start her own business. Koch's Etsy store, Party Locker Games, features fun escape games designed for kids' parties.

I checked in with Koch, who teaches psychology at Raleigh Charter and lives in Raleigh, to learn more. Here's a Q&A:

Go Ask Mom: How did you come up with the idea for Party Locker Games?
Amy Koch: Last spring, my daughter wanted to go to an escape room for her 10th birthday. She's a real mystery buff and Nancy Drew fan. I called around to escape rooms in the area, but they all had either scary themes (she didn't want that) or were too difficult for a group of kids her age to pull off without help.

So, I checked the Internet and found a downloadable kit for exactly this purpose. I paid $20 to download it and another $40 to print (there was a lot to print)! Then, two days before the party (ha!), I read through the game and realized that it wasn't at all what I had in mind! It was more like a scavenger hunt with a story, whereas I knew my daughter expected puzzles and riddles.

I spent the next two days creating my own escape room for her party. Surprisingly, given how rushed I was in making it, it was a giant success! I've created many birthday parties for my three kids over the years, but this one was the best (yet)!

Coincidentally, I had just assigned a project to my psychology students in which they have to spend 12 to 15 hours working toward a goal of their choice. I assign it every year and try to commit myself to completing the project as well. In past years, I've learned to knit, play new songs on guitar, draw cartoon faces, and I even did a live performance of Rapper's Delight (just a couple of verses).

This year, I decided to start an Etsy shop and sell the kit. I figured there had to be other parents out there who found birthday party ideas online, only to realize that gathering the supplies and putting together the parts ends up being expensive and time-consuming. Essentially, I made this kit for them.

GAM: What's inside one of your escape room boxes? How do you come up with the themes and decide what to put in them?
AK: A kit comes with a small wooden treasure chest, two sets of seven clues (one for ages seven to nine and another for ages nine to 13), an invisible ink/black light pen, two red decoder screens, two locks, eight notepads, and detailed but concise instructions for setting up and running the game. There are even scripted hints parents can provide if the kids get stuck.

Since opening my Etsy shop over the summer, I've added Escape Room-themed party favors, and most recently, a downloadable Christmas Lockout game. The Christmas game is a series of puzzles and riddles that lead guests to the location of gifts. I envision it as a fun game for multi-generation groups to play at a Christmas party, a fun family activity for Christmas Eve, or even as a way to make Christmas morning a bit more magical for older kids who no longer believe in Santa! Friends, families, and even customers are a great source for ideas. I have a bunch of ideas brewing, but finding time to create them is a bit trickier!

GAM: Escape rooms have really grown in popularity over the last few years. Why do you think people love them?
AK: I think people like to solve puzzles. Doing it with friends in an immersive environment just adds to that fun.
GAM: What skills and lessons can kids learn from trying to "escape?"
AK: I try to design my escape room puzzles to require diverse sets of skills. Some require specific knowledge, others creativity, logic, spatial awareness, and perseverance. I want my games to make all kids recognize that they have something to contribute to the group. I also hope that kids leave the game with a little more appreciation for one another's individual talents and skills.
GAM: What's your hope for the future of Party Locker Games?
AK: I started the store as a hobby. As a teacher, a big part of my job is devising creative and engaging ways to motivate and educate kids. I thought it would be fun to share something I created with a larger audience. As for the future of the store, I'm taking it one step at a time. I'm not ready to give up on my (awesome) teaching career just yet!
Check out Koch's Etsy store for more information.
Goo Ask Mom features local moms every Monday.

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