An investigative journalist suspiciously vanished last night, and the last thing they did was hand their laptop over to their trusted librarian. After opening the laptop and seeing the contents, the librarian grew alarmed and called you all in to help. The librarian knew the journalist was doing research on the company that makes Euphorigen, a mood enhancing supplement. Now the government is about to sign a contract to put Euphorigen in the public water supply for everyone to enjoy its benefits. But you have suspicions, and only 45 minutes to uncover the truth!
The Euphorigen Investigation is an online escape room that immerses players in a world of manipulated media, social media bots, deepfakes and other forms of misinformation. Join teams of 4-6 players and a game host and see how well you do at solving misinformation puzzles!
We will run 5 parallel escape rooms of 4-6 players for each session.
What is the goal and/or outcome of your session?:This project of the University of Washington designs and studies the impact of escape rooms as a mechanism for learning about and developing resilience towards misinformation. We are eager to hear what participants have to say about the experience. Do people think this will be effective for the general public? Will this game appeal to diverse groups, in particular those who might be most vulnerable to misinformation? What ideas do people have for improving it? And of course, we want people to have fun!
We're hoping that many efforts and discussions will continue after Mozfest. Share any ideas you already have for how to continue the work from your session.:We plan to release our escape room through public libraries and museums, first as an online experience, and later as a physical escape room (when the pandemic subsides). This is part of a broader set of applied research activities we are developing to combat misinformation. We look forward to collaborating with others in this space, and expect there will be many people at MozFest who will have ideas and interest.
Chris Coward is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at the University of Washington Information School. He studies digital equity, information literacy, misinformation, and civic engagement.
Lindsay Morse co-founded Puzzle Break, the first US-based room escape company, in 2013, and currently serves as the Chief Creative Officer.