In honor of our second anniversary, Escape Authority is thrilled to announced our newest feature, the Readers Key Tournament!
Vote for the best venue in the US! The Power is in your hands!
Escape Authority has long-aimed to be the Social Hub for the Escape Room Industry, and in our first two years, we have quickly become the most respected source of in-depth, honest game reviews on the internet, thanks entirely to you, our loyal readers. Now it’s time to make your voices heard. We’ve awarded our fair share of 5 Key, and even 6 Key reviews – but now you have the power to award a title far more coveted – the one and only Readers Key – 2018 Best Venue honors!
While other sites review games and then arbitrarily issue annual awards they decide upon from the same click of their own keyboard, our goal is to add legitimacy to that honor by putting the power completely in the hands of you, our readers. (To qualify for this year’s tournament, a venue must have received at least one 5 Key or better review by today, May 1, 2018. Nominated games must remain open and operating through the duration of the tournament to be considered. Bracket placement was determined via a random number generator.)
The Readers Key Tournament will take place over four rounds spanning the entire month of May. Each First Round bracket features three venues going head to head, with the top two vote-getters advancing. Each Second Round bracket features four venues, with the top three vote-getters advancing. The Semi-Final Rounds feature the winners of the Red Bracket vs. the winners of the Green Bracket, as well as the winners of the Yellow Bracket vs. the winners of the Blue Bracket. The top five vote-getters from each Semi-Final match will advance, making our grand finale the Top Ten Best Venues as voted on by our readers.
Readers Key voting will occur on our Homepage, not Facebook page – which will continue to remain the exclusive home to our weekly EA Free Play! Giveaway contests. One vote per person, per poll is allowed, and no registration is required to participate. (And yes, participation is open to everyone, including venue owners and their employees.) Each Round 1 poll will remain open for exactly 24 hours. Round 2 polls will remain open for exactly 48 hours. Round 3 polls will remain open for 72 hours. The Final Round, beginning with the top ten venues in the country will remain open for 120 hours – but the lowest two vote-getters will be eliminated each day at 5:00pm EST, building towards a head to head, one on one last day for our Readers Key Tournament!
The first ever EA Readers Key Winner will be announced on June 5, 2018. Once official, the winner will receive a dated Readers Key badge posted in all of their reviews on our site, as well as the right to post their award in their venue, on their own website and across their social media channels.
Readers Key is part of Escape Authority’s second anniversary celebration. Every single day throughout the month of May, EA will feature not one but TWO site updates – with our normal content posting at 1:00 pm EST (instead of the normal 3:00 pm EST) and a daily Readers Key post at 5:00 pm EST.
Each daily Readers Key post will be not only the place to vote for YOUR favorite venue, but also gives an opportunity to learn more about them through shared venue details, as well as a re-posting of each of their highest scoring reviews.
And best of all, you can vote in our Readers Key Tournament for the very first time today at 5:00 pm EST!
And perhaps you’ve noticed a few Question Marks hiding on the Readers Key Tournament Brackets; There might just be a few surprises planned during this event.
And yes, I do know what they are. And no, I won’t tell you.
Although the games I’ve personally designed are consistently very highly rated by both enthusiasts and newer players alike, I cannot in good conscience nominate an attraction I created. As such, the venues that call them home have been intentionally omitted from the initial forty-eight options in the Readers Key Tournament.
