Dark Escape Games has begun shipping Clown Around, the first installed title from its compact range of pay-per-play escape-room games.
Escape-room puzzles in an arcade-sized format
Dark Escape Games first appeared at the AVS Companies booth during IAAPA 2025, presenting a smaller take on the escape-room concept. Instead of a full room, each experience is contained in a cabinet roughly the size of a deluxe arcade machine and designed for sessions lasting five minutes or less.
The games are built for unattended operation. Objects inside the cabinet are secured with steel cables, allowing venues to offer the experience on a pay-per-play basis without needing an attendant dedicated to each unit.
AVS Companies is their exclusive distributor. The initial range included Clown Around and Pyramid Scheme, while Dark Escape Games has since added Idol Time. At the time of writing, shipping status for Idol Time and Pyramid Scheme had not been confirmed, although both could potentially be ordered and begin rolling out soon.
The two original games were available to experience at IAAPA 2025 and attracted interest from attendees. A demonstration video is included below without revealing puzzle solutions.
How Clown Around works
Clown Around uses a circus murder mystery as its premise. Players investigate clues and three-dimensional props inside the cabinet to identify which clown is responsible for the murders.
A printed panel with a soft-touch surface lets players remove suspects from consideration. Pressing a clown activates a red LED, and the final remaining suspect is identified as the killer. The selected answer affects the ending, meaning the conclusion changes depending on whether the player is correct.
The cabinet also includes integrated redemption features. These may not have been part of the presentation experienced at IAAPA, suggesting they could have been added after feedback from the show.
First installation at Tiebreakers
The first Clown Around unit is now installed at an FEC called Tiebreakers in Johnson City, Tennessee. It forms part of the venue’s “living storybook” installation, Booville®.
Where the concept could fit
At IAAPA, interest in Dark Escape Games appeared to be concentrated among higher-end family entertainment centres, theme parks and cruise ships, partly because of the expected price point. The compact format and short play time could make the games a practical addition to venues looking for an unattended interactive attraction.
For Australian operators and collectors following new location-based entertainment hardware, the format sits somewhere between a traditional arcade machine and a self-contained attraction. Our arcade news and features cover more developments across the industry, while the arcade machine buying guide can help compare different cabinet formats. For operators planning ongoing servicing, arcade repairs and maintenance are also worth considering before installing new equipment.
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