Your business quest. Quest in reality as a business: ideas and implementation

* Calculations use average data for Russia

1. PROJECT SUMMARY

The goal of the project is to organize a quest room in Rostov-on-Don. The price segment is medium. The target audience is children from 12 years old, as well as men and women under the age of 35 with an average income.

The quest room is a new format of entertainment that combines the advantages of a computer game and sharing leisure time with friends. The essence of the game is that a team of 2 to 6 people get out of the closed room, solving puzzles, selected in accordance with the scenario. Participation in quests allows participants to have fun with friends, cheers up, tickles the nerves, strengthens the team spirit (which is useful for corporate clients during team building); Participation in quests allows children to develop communication skills, logical thinking, mindfulness and a number of other useful skills.

Quest rooms are a fairly new type of entertainment, both for Russia and for the world as a whole. To date, there are players on the market both regional and federal scale (by franchise). The competition is not yet very strong, but it is growing every year.

The project's competitiveness is based on unique author's programs developed jointly with an experienced theater and screenwriter, high-quality scenery, and a special atmosphere in all rooms.

The project is investment-attractive and cost-effective, as evidenced by simple and integral performance indicators (Table 1).

Table 1. Key performance indicators of the project

2. COMPANY AND INDUSTRY DESCRIPTION

A quest in reality is a relatively new type of team entertainment (games), which involves solving puzzles in accordance with an established scenario in order to get out of a closed room. As a rule, a team of 2 to 6-8 people takes part in the game. The first quest rooms appeared in Japan and the USA around 2011-2012, then they began to spread to other countries of the world. This direction has acquired the greatest development in Budapest, where a large number of quest rooms were created, and where those who wish to play a new type of team games began to gather.

Since the industry is new and, at the same time, quite specific, regular statistics and market analysis are not carried out. However, according to experts, at the end of 2015 there were about 200 companies in Russia, of which 170 were Moscow-based, owning 400 rooms. About 450 more rooms at that time were being built outside of Moscow. The revenue of Moscow rooms alone was estimated at 1.5 billion rubles a year. Today, according to expert estimates, we can talk about an increase of at least 30%, which is about 2.0 billion rubles in Moscow alone. Together with the regions, the total revenue can reach 4.0 - 4.5 billion rubles.

In connection with the emergence of new players and the saturation of the market, the demands of clients for quest rooms are increasing: the complexity of puzzles, technical performance, design, and so on. Such an increase in demands inevitably leads to an increase in investment costs, however, and increases the interest of the public, attracting more and more new customers. A distinctive feature of this type of game is that one person, having completed the quest, does not return to it, but is looking for all new games and puzzles.

The average load of quest rooms, according to experts, is 80-85% of the maximum possible. The proportion of corporate customers who either organize holidays for their employees or invite clients to promote their own services or products is increasing.

A large share of the market is occupied by companies operating under the franchise of the pioneers of this segment. Estimated, they account for more than 60% of the market. The big disadvantage of such a system is the standardization of programs (games, scenarios). Given the reluctance of customers to play the same games, more favorable conditions are being created for non-network players at the expense of city guests. With a small remoteness of cities in the Southern Federal District, as well as with a large number of labor migrants, students, and so on, the uniqueness of the program is a serious advantage for the project.

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To understand the potential level of demand for entertainment services, it is necessary to analyze the overall economic situation in the country. An analysis of macroeconomic indicators indicates a negative GDP growth since the 1st quarter of 2015, which means a transition from stagnation to a crisis.

Several obvious factors became the prerequisites for such a decline: sanctions from the EU and the USA, depreciation of the national currency, falling oil prices and, as a result, a decrease in the welfare and solvency of most of the country's population. There was also a significant increase in the cost of imported products - both food and non-food products. According to Rosstat, in 2014 alone, prices for goods and services increased by an average of 11.4% compared to 2013. Prices for food products increased by 15.4%, for non-food products - by 8.1%.

Figure 1. Consumer price index, % of the previous year (forecast until 2018)

The fall in real disposable incomes of the population, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, amounted to 1% in 2014, and already 7.8% in 2015. However, according to some estimates, after summing up the results of 2016, positive dynamics are quite likely. According to RBC.Quote forecasts, growth may reach 1%.

Despite the rather positive forecasts of experts regarding the growth of oil prices, lower inflation and consumer prices, in the coming years we should expect a continued decline in consumer activity - consumers will approach purchases in a balanced and cautious manner. One of the reasons is the high debt burden of the population, the lack of consumer confidence.

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As a result of these processes, many sectors of the economy may suffer. According to the Ministry of Economic Development, retail trade turnover in Russia decreased by 8.2% in 2015 compared to the previous year.

Based on the data presented, it can be said that, with spending cuts, the population will shift their focus from more expensive entertainment, such as tourist trips, towards more economical ones. One of these economical types of entertainment can be considered quest rooms.

Within the framework of the project, a new enterprise is being organized in Rostov-on-Don. Rostov-on-Don is the administrative center of the Southern Federal District and the Rostov Region, the largest economic, cultural and industrial center of the South of Russia. The population of the city is 1.1 million people, the population of the urban agglomeration is 2.16 million people. There are 39 higher educational institutions located in the city, which is important for the project, since students are the basis of the target audience. In addition, the city is visited by a large number of residents of other cities of the federal district - Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories.

The quest room is located in the city center, in the basement of a former shoe factory, which creates a special unique atmosphere. In total, five rooms with different subjects are planned. Since a distinctive feature of quests in reality is the absence of repeated visitors to the same game, over time it will be necessary to redesign the game space and create new scenarios.

3. DESCRIPTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

The project is supposed to provide entertainment services - the so-called quests in reality. The essence of the game is a team to find a way out of a closed room within a limited time, solving puzzles in accordance with a certain plot.

A professional screenwriter with experience in theater and cinema is involved in writing scripts. The scenery is designed and produced by professional set designers, collaborating with the Drama Theater. Gorky (Rostov-on-Don).

Teams from 2 to 6 people can participate in the game. The duration of one game session is 60 minutes. Taking into account the preparation for the game of the next group, sessions are held every hour and a half. The project provides for the creation of five rooms with different subjects. Description of the plots is given in Table. 2. The cost of one game is 470 rubles per person.

Table 2. Plots of games

	Name	Description
	Aztec pyramid mystery	Dive into the atmosphere of an ancient civilization in order to find a sacred totem that will open the way out of the pyramid. Genre: adventure. Difficulty medium
	A voodoo doll	Professor Zilberman disappears under mysterious circumstances. In his apartment, they find a strange doll that looks like a professor. The professor's students need to find a connection between his disappearance and the doll. Genre: mystic. Difficulty medium
	One-Eyed Willy	Solve the mystery of the pirate treasure and get out of the cave full of dangers. Genre: adventure. Difficulty is low, suitable for beginners and children from 12 years old
	Silent Hill	Find out the secret of the disappearance of all the inhabitants of the foggy town. Additional task: find a mysterious artifact and get a bonus - a certificate for a discount on your next visits. Genre: horror. Difficulty high
	grumbling dead	Save your team from the zombie invasion, get out of the locked house. Additional task: find a mysterious artifact and get a bonus - a certificate for a discount on your next visits. Genre: horror / fantasy. Difficulty high

As an additional service, the project offers the organization of corporate events and holidays (birthdays, solemn events), including services of a presenter, catering and others. The service is paid separately in accordance with the cost estimate.

4. SALES AND MARKETING

Target audience of the project - Target audience - children from 12 years old, as well as men and women under the age of 35 with an average income. The most active part of the audience is young people aged 18 to 30. The main advertising campaign is aimed at this segment of the target audience.

Promotion is carried out using both offline and online tools. Moreover, preference is given to the latter. Offline tools include:

Periodical articles in the local press describing reality quests as a new form of leisure

Loyalty program - bonuses and discounts for regular visitors, corporate clients, gift cards; incentives for new visits also occur during the games - for completing additional tasks in the game, participants receive discounts on the next visits to the quest room

The following are used as online tools:

Own website containing information about the project, a list of games with a text description and promotional videos, a game schedule; on the site you can book a room for any available time; website promotion is carried out using contextual advertising in search engines

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Prices for project services are at the average market level, while the quality of plots and scenery is much higher than average. Comparison with the main competitors is given in Table. 3. Evaluation of the plot and scenery is carried out by an expert method based on the analysis of the market on a ten-point scale, where 10 is the maximum value.

Table 3. Competitive analysis

	Name	price, rub. per person	Plot	Scenery
	Locked
	Rostov-quest
	Mysterious Island
	horror city
	Quest city

The demand for project services has an unexpressed seasonality. Some decline occurs during the summer holidays, when a significant part of the population leaves the city. However, due to the decrease in the tourist flow due to the unfavorable economic situation, this decrease may be leveled in the near future. Peaks fall on the period of various public holidays, in particular, on the New Year holidays. Planned sales volumes are given in Table. 4.

Table 4. Planned sales volumes

It is planned to achieve the planned volumes by the end of the first year of the project implementation.

5. PRODUCTION PLAN

The quest room is located on a rented area in the basement of a former shoe factory, which provides an additional mysterious atmosphere. The total area of ​​the premises is 400 m 2 . This includes game rooms, a waiting room, as well as staff quarters (operator's room, equipment room, etc.). There are all necessary communications. The premises meet all the requirements of supervisory authorities.

The scenery is developed by a specialized enterprise located in the city of Rostov-on-Don, according to the sketches of decorators. The company has experience in creating scenery for domestic television films. The term of production and installation is three months.

Necessary computer equipment with software and electronics are purchased from a supplier in Moscow. The supplier carries out delivery, installation and commissioning of equipment, as well as training of project personnel.

Booking requests are accepted by phone or through the form on the project website. To clarify and confirm the information specified by the client on the site, the administrator contacts the customer by phone within 20 minutes after registering the application. The client then receives an e-mail with a booking confirmation, the date and time of the game, as well as the contact details of the administrator. One day before the game, the client receives an email reminding them of the time and place of the game, which will help avoid no-show.

6. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN

In order to implement the project, a new enterprise is being created. IP was chosen as the organizational and legal form. Based on a comparison of several options (according to financial results), the form of taxation was chosen - simplified tax system, the object of taxation - income; the rate is 6%.

The entire project implementation process can be divided into three main stages: the preparatory stage, the growth stage and the operational stage. During the preparatory stage, the necessary equipment is produced and purchased, its installation is carried out, and employees are recruited and trained. The duration of the preparatory stage is three months. Rooms open one by one, as soon as they are ready. Open rooms can receive clients, while the closed rooms are undergoing renovation and finishing work. The growth stage involves the active promotion of project services and reaching the planned sales volumes. The approximate duration of this stage is from seven to twelve months. After that, the stage of operating activity begins within the framework of planned financial results.

The project team has the necessary key skills and knowledge necessary for the successful implementation of the project. Of the entire team, only the project initiator is directly involved in the project, which performs all the management and administrative functions. To do this, he has a successful experience in doing business.

The project team also includes a screenwriter, set designers and a consultant. They do not participate in the project on a permanent basis, but they provide services of high quality and with a high degree of priority. The consultant has experience in launching and developing quest rooms in various cities of Russia and provides support to the project in the form of free organizational consulting.

The organizational structure of the project is simple - all employees are directly subordinate to the project initiator. The staffing and wage fund are given in Table. 5.

Table 5. Staffing and payroll

	Position	Salary, rub.	Quantity, pers.	FOT, rub.
Administrative
	Accountant
	Administrator
Industrial
	Game space operator
Trade
	Content manager
Auxiliary
	Cleaning woman
	Total:			RUB 157,000.00
	Social Security contributions:			$47,100.00
	Total with deductions:			204 100.00 RUB

7. FINANCIAL PLAN

The financial plan has a planning horizon of five years and takes into account all income and expenses of the project. Income refers to revenue from operating activities; income from investment activities and the sale of assets is not provided for by the project. The revenue of the first year of implementation is 16.6 million rubles, net profit (after taxes) is 9.6 million rubles. The proceeds of the second year and subsequent years (after reaching the planned sales volumes) - 20.9 million rubles, net profit - 13.5 million rubles.

Investment costs - 3,105,000 rubles. The main part of the funds is spent on the preparation and equipment of the premises, the development and promotion of the website, as well as the formation of a working capital fund, which will cover the losses of the project until the payback is reached (Table 6). Own funds of the project initiator - 1.7 million rubles. The lack of funds is planned to be covered by attracting a bank loan for a period of 36 months at a rate of 18% per annum. Loan repayment is carried out by annuity payments, credit holidays - 3 months.

Table 6. Investment costs

	NAME	AMOUNT, rub.
The property
	Premises preparation
Equipment
	Computer equipment, video equipment
Intangible assets
	Website development
working capital
	working capital
	Total:	3 105 000 ₽
	Own funds:	RUB 1,700,000.00
	Required borrowings:	1 405 000 ₽
	Bid:	18,00%
	Term, months:

It is problematic to determine variable costs in the project cost structure, all costs are classified as fixed. The main item of fixed costs is the rent of the premises; they also include advertising expenses, utility bills and other expenses, including depreciation charges (Table 7). The amount of depreciation is determined using the straight-line method based on the useful life of fixed assets and intangible assets of five years.

Table 7. Fixed costs

A detailed financial plan is given in App. one.

8. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Efficiency evaluation is carried out on the basis of an analysis of the financial plan of the project, cash flows, as well as simple and integral performance indicators (Table 1). To account for the change in the value of money over time, the discounted cash flow method is used. The discount rate for the project is 12%.

Simple (PP) and discounted (DPP) payback period is 6 months. Net present value (NPV) - 3.3 million rubles. Internal rate of return (IRR) - 21.6%. Profitability index (PI) - 1.05. All these indicators testify to the effectiveness and investment attractiveness of the project.

9. WARRANTIES AND RISKS

To assess all the risks associated with the implementation of the project, an analysis of internal and external factors is carried out. The results of the analysis carried out and the proposed measures to neutralize risks and develop opportunities are presented in the form of SWOT (Table 8).

Table 8. SWOT analysis of the project

	Strengths High quality plot and scenery The presence in the state of an experienced content manager, who is also engaged in promotion on the Internet Convenient location in the city center (there is parking and public transport stops within a 3-minute walk)	Weak sides Lack of established client base
Opportunities Growing interest among the population in quests in reality Shift in demand towards more budget-friendly leisure activities	Active online promotion and involvement of even that part of the target audience that has not previously played quests in reality, through engaging events (competitions, sweepstakes)	A self-growing market will allow you to quickly increase your customer base using available resources
Threats The emergence of new players in the market Price struggle by existing players	Price struggle is unacceptable for the project; the high quality of the plot and scenery makes the project one of the best in the city, which will help form a loyal audience even at a relatively high price level	It is necessary to implement a maximum of promotional activities in a short time, increase brand awareness of the project, even if the demand for project services is deferred

10. APPS

APPENDIX 1

Financial plan

Denis Miroshnichenko
(c) - portal of business plans and guides for starting a small business

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The quest in reality is a form of active recreation in the form of an intellectual game. There are several forms of business organization of this kind. The optimal form of start: the acquisition of a franchise.

 

What is a quest - known to many, especially fans of computer games. This is an adventure involving the solution of various tasks and puzzles, the goal of which is usually to find the most favorable way out of the situation. Bringing the adventure "to life" is becoming such a sought-after entertainment for a wide variety of consumer categories.

Who's playing?

The main target audience of this business is young people. Students, office workers 20-35 years old. It is they who, having played enough quests on the computer, are ready to try their hand in reality. But these live adventures are also in demand among family people, including children and middle-aged people.

Now this business is in the stage of rapid development, that is, for those who want to realize themselves in this direction - the most favorable time. Even despite the crisis, and perhaps thanks to it. After all, quests can supplement what is already working: a cafe, a club, an event agency, a children's studio and other similar activities, thereby expanding and strengthening your position.

Here is what one of the founders of Claustrophobia says about his project

There is a choice

Currently, there are 2 models of organizing this business.

The first is the so-called room quests.

Players in the amount of 2-6 people are locked in a room, and within an hour the participants need to find a way out of it. The room is equipped thematically according to the scenario, it contains the appropriate props. Details carry secrets, clues - everything that is needed to reveal the "main secret" and help you get out of the room. This model requires the presence of at least one equipped room, hiring staff, that is, the initial costs are quite high. But the profit in this option is rather big.

The second model is exit quests.

Here, each participant is assigned to a certain role, and together the players must solve the main riddle of the game.

There are three types of this model:

• open, where anyone who has submitted an application can participate. They are held in various predetermined public places: cafes, shopping malls, recreation parks, etc.
• Individual, which are usually ordered for a group of 7-20 people for some holiday and are held in places determined by the customer: at home, in a cafe, at a picnic and other convenient places.
• And corporate, designed for large (more than 25 people) groups of participants and held by order of enterprises. The initial cost in this model is minimal. All that is needed is a script, handouts and simple props for the participants, as well as a host. The profit in this option is less, but quite stable.

Table 1. Key features of quest business models.

	room	visiting
		Open	Closed (individual)	Corporate
Start-up costs
Payback
Expandability	Expensive (purchase / rent of premises, equipment, scenario)	No Significant Costs (Scenario Only)
The number of games in one scenario that can be played per day
Number of game participants
The cost of the game for a group of participants, thousand rubles		0.2-0.7 (for one)

As you can see, each of the models has its own advantages and disadvantages, but both options are quite in demand among customers and are easy to implement.

In addition to these two main models, there are also quest tourism, local history games and some others, but they can be considered varieties of the second option.

Supplement 2016: A new type of quest: Virtual reality (the player is immersed in a virtual world and performs various tasks and missions in it) and Quests based on famous films and TV shows - Quest House.

How to start?

The most difficult thing in the quest business is the scripts. Of course, the course of the game in open games and its finale in indoor games largely depend on the actions of the participants, but a quality plot is the basis of everything. Therefore, it is necessary to start precisely with writing and working out the script, and start from it in the future when equipping the premises and thinking through the props.

However, it should be understood that even for professional producers and screenwriters, starting on their own and from scratch is long, difficult and risky.

Another option is to work on a franchise. In this case, there is no need for any special education or special skills - the franchisor for a lump-sum fee and royalties provides ready-made scenarios, an advertising strategy and a general development concept. It is enough to have the desire and basic knowledge in the field of doing business. Below, franchise options from the main players in the Russian market will be considered in more detail, but their essence is similar. A new franchisee receives a package that includes a brand, 1-3 scenarios for games, a general development strategy, a set of instructions and developments, and advertising support is provided on the main site. This will allow you to start working immediately after preparing the premises in the variant of room quests, and in the case of open quests - only slightly running the game.

What to build on when thinking through the quest business?

The first thing to consider when calculating a new project is the population in the city. The lump-sum contribution depends on the size of the city. The practice of the main players shows that cities with a million inhabitants are the most optimal for the quest business. 400-800 thousand is also not bad. In cities of less than 400 thousand, it will not be easy to get promoted, the download, and hence the return, will be weak at comparable costs for advertising and games.

Do not interfere with the study of the competitive situation. With a complete lack of competition, promotion can take a long time, as potential clients will first need to explain what a quest is and why it is needed.

If there are 1-2 competitors, promotion will go faster. The essence of entertainment will already be known to people, and a person will not follow the same story a second time, he will look for something new.

A large number of competitors in the millionaire will not be a particular hindrance, especially if the quest business is launched not as an independent one, but as an additional one.

Consider the main players in the quest market in reality.

Questrooms

There are still few companies working with closed quests, but they are developing rapidly: new companies appear once a quarter. And although the common features are similar for everyone, each company tries to initially introduce its own zest, whether it is the general atmosphere of the games, the complexity of the scenarios, technical equipment and other nuances and little things.

Let's compare the first two players on the Russian quest room market. (Table 2)

Claustrophobia is the first "room quest" company in Russia. It has been operating since December 2013 and in this short time has reached a monthly network turnover of 40 million rubles. It has franchisees in more than 20 regions of the Russian Federation, as well as abroad.

Questroom.rf is a company headquartered in St. Petersburg. They have been operating since the beginning of 2014. Represented in 15 cities of Russia, Belarus, Sweden, Canada.

Table 2. Comparison of franchise terms for escape rooms.

	Claustrophobia	Questroom.rf
Total number of stories as of February 2015
	In developing
	From 350 thousand rubles (in large cities - 1 million rubles or more), depending on the population and the presence of competitors and other franchisees.	From 200 thousand rubles, depending on the population and the presence of competitors and other franchisees.
		From 15% of revenue depending on the population
	1.0-1.5 million rubles (excluding the franchise fee)	1.2-1.5 million rubles (including the franchise fee)

The cost of the franchise for both companies includes 2 scenarios, premises equipment projects, instructions for staff, specific inventory, website booking system, brand and brand book, special software, expert support, new scenarios (after working out the existing ones).

The payback period of both companies is approximately the same: 3-4 months in a millionaire and 6-8 months in small towns.

As can be seen from the table, the terms of cooperation are not much different. It is best to navigate the choice by getting specific conditions for your city, as well as playing 1-2 games (which are starting) of each of the companies, that is, based on your own subjective opinion.

Open or away quests

This direction has been known in Russia since 2009, and due to the ease of starting, it is widely distributed throughout the country. In this format, practically no investments are needed other than a lump-sum contribution, the royalty rate is at least 15%, and often much more (35%). In addition, new scenarios are sometimes also available for an additional fee.

So, let's compare the most popular organizers of outdoor quests.

Questtime. Start of work - 2012. As of the beginning of 2015, it is represented in 12 cities of the Russian Federation, as well as in Riga.

Questoria. Works since 2009. At the end of 14 years, it is represented in 55 cities of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan.

Table 3. Comparison of franchise offers for outdoor quests.

	Questtime	Questoria
Total number of scenarios as of February 2015
Maximum number of players in a standard story
Duration of a standard game, hours
Possibility of holding holidays and corporate events (for a large number of participants)
Franchise cost. Starting (lump) fee	From 40 to 100 thousand rubles, depending on the population	60-85 thousand rubles depending on the population
	From 15% depending on the population	0-35% depending on the population (no royalty for cities with less than 400 thousand)
Approximate initial investment in the project		Lump sum plus 20-30 thousand rubles
Purchasing New Scenarios	Individual conditions	For large cities it is included in royalties, for small cities it is available only for an additional fee.

The cost of the franchise includes 2-3 scenarios, handouts for participants (except for consumables and costumes), marketing strategy, advertising support, including layouts of advertising materials, online booking system, training of presenters, expert support at all stages.

The payback period is declared from 3-4 months in large cities and 4-8 in small ones.

Feedback on the Questoria franchise.

What to choose?

As can be seen from the comparative analysis, any of the quest models in reality is a great business idea for both beginners and those who want to expand an existing business or invest free funds. Beginners will surely appreciate the second option - open quests - as it does not require significant investment and gives you the opportunity to just earn extra money in your spare time. It will also be of interest to cafe and restaurant owners as an excellent tool for expanding and retaining the customer base.

Those who are looking for an option for capital investment, or the idea of ​​adapting their own premises with an area of ​​​​50-100 m 2, will certainly be interested in escape rooms.

But whatever you choose, you will find an exciting job that brings a decent profit.

Interested in starting an entertainment business and don't know where to start? In this article, we will consider the option of opening a quest room, we will analyze is it profitable to open a quest room and what is needed for this.

Introduction

Quest rooms appeared on the territory of the CIS countries about 5–7 years ago. They instantly became popular due to the fact that this is a really interesting and unusual entertainment that allows friends or family to have fun, experience a lot of emotions, develop ingenuity and logic.

Classic quest room look

The principle of the quest room is that a small group of people is launched into it and locked. There are various clues and puzzles in the room, by solving which you can get out of the room. As of the end of 2017, there are about 1,200 such rooms in the Russian Federation, but the market requires about 2 times more. In addition, quests with different scenarios will not compete with each other - usually people go through all the possible options that they are interested in.

There are many types of quests in reality , ranging from children's to professional, designed for competent "survivors". Among the main advantages of the business, one can single out a low “input” cost, quick payback, ease of marketing and organization.

We analyze the market

Before starting to develop a detailed business plan, you need to study the market in order to understand how much this service will be in demand, whether you will have competitors and what level of prices for such entertainment will be justified. Experts recommend opening such entertainment in cities with a population of over 300 thousand people - they will always have an audience that will like new entertainment. In small towns and urban settlements, a business may simply not pay off due to its specificity.

The presence of competitors in the city should not scare you, provided that there are not very many of them. It's just that you will either need to cooperate with them, or study the scenarios they have, so as not to be repeated. Practice shows that people attend several quests, comparing them, getting hooked on new ideas, so the wider the range, the more people are eventually involved in the game.

A typical visitor to such entertainment is:

1. Young people aged 18 to 35 years.
2. Medium-high income.
3. Corporate clients (often entire organizations or large companies go on quests).
4. Families with children aged 7-8 years.

Attention:companies use quests to test their employees. In stressful situations, leaders, logicians, analysts and other bright personalities are well manifested.

Interesting stories attract a lot of people

We carry out a SWOT analysis

After you have studied the market, you can analyze the external and internal factors of the business. Remember that external factors are practically unchanged, so they must be skillfully used in the conduct of business. These include:

1. Almost complete absence of competitors (the market is filled only in Moscow and St. Petersburg).
2. Stable interest in new entertainment among people.
3. Ability to implement your own scenarios.
4. Low "entry" threshold in the business.
5. High profitability (often investments pay off in 3-4 months).

Of the minuses, the following points can be distinguished:

1. The need to regularly change scenarios (no one will go through the same quest twice).
2. The need to follow the current topics of quests.
3. The demand for such entertainment is quite unstable.
4. It is possible that the state will turn its attention to quests in the near future.
5. Traumatic danger of some ideas.

Attention:the main thing in the quest is an interesting scenario. If you do not have the experience of compiling it, then the scripts can always be found on the Internet. We recommend that you use them as a basis so that you and your competitors do not end up taking scripts from the same place.

Where to open

So, we have already figured out the strengths and weaknesses of this event. Let's consider,and where is the best place to do it. There are three main types of games:

1. Indoors. Usually they work on the principle of “find a way out”.
2. Outdoors in the park, in the forest belt, on the streets.
3. Mixed types, partly indoors, partly outdoors.

The second type does not require almost any investment, but with the first and third, you will have to make initial contributions. It is not necessary to purchase / rent a room for the game in the city center or in expensive business centers - either an apartment or a basement-type utility room is suitable for this.

Take photos of the team and post them in groups to increase the rating

You can choose buildings in residential areas, near shops or even in the hypermarkets themselves. You can rent separate rooms or small houses, dividing them into several rooms suitable for various quests.

Important:you will need to take care of safety to prevent injury to participants. Be sure to get a book in which notes about the safety briefing will be placed, and the participants accepting the quest will sign that they have read the rules.

The principle of organizing entertainment is as follows: you need at least 4 rooms with different plots. They will work daily, starting at 10 am and ending at 21-22 pm. The administrator will receive and advise guests (they will need two). In optimal mode, the entertainment point will operate approximately 300 hours per week. To increase coverage, you can combine room quests and outdoor games - this will help you unload the premises and create more complex scenarios based on street knowledge, history, ingenuity, etc.

How to open

In order to officially open, you should register with the tax office. Usually, such a business is opened as an individual entrepreneur or LLC, if there are several owners and they want to contribute shares. 92.72 is used as the OKVED code, which refers to “Other activities for the organization of recreation and entertainment”. We will also give you the following tips:

1. The easiest way is to work according to the USN scheme. It is up to you to decide which scheme to choose (it all depends on the rates in force in the region). You can work both according to the Income scheme, and according to Income minus expenses. In most cases, it is more profitable to work according to the “Income” scheme, since this is a highly profitable business.
2. Be sure to buy a cash register that will help you keep records and stay out of the sight of the tax authorities. We recommend that you immediately open a current account so that you can receive payment by card or by bank transfer - today almost no one carries cash.
3. As of 2018, the license fornot required, but things may change in the future as the government is already considering ways to address this issue.
4. You will need interesting scenarios to work. They can be developed independently, bought from specialists or found on the Internet, finalized to suit your conditions. But coordination for scripts is not needed.
5. If you are renting a property, be sure to sign a formal contract. He will insure you against unexpected eviction and “whitewash” you before the regulatory authorities.

Quests are often visited by the whole family - create an appropriate plot

How to advertise

1. Be sure to create your own business card website with a description of the quests, schedule, cost, contact information, overview photos, etc.
2. Start groups on social networks Vkontakte, Facebook, Odnoklassniki, Instagram, etc. Be sure to post photos from quests, news, respond to comments and dialogues. It will be great if you involve users in the discussion of quests and start feedback.
3. Contextual advertising in social networks and on geotargeting sites in your city.
4. Classic types of advertising: local media, banners, streamers, billboards, leaflets, flyers, etc.
5. Launch a discount program for regular customers, arrange discounts for outdated quests that you already want to change.

Approximate business plan

Here is an exampleprofitability. Note that it cannot be taken as the last resort - it all depends on your capabilities, realities, chosen place, etc. It is more correct to use it as a basis.

In total, every month you will receive about 800 thousand rubles. Of course, this is not a permanent profit - everything will depend on how quickly you start and attract customers, how you organize work, etc., but the average income figure is just that.

Now let's calculate the costs. You will need to rent a room of four rooms, make repairs in them, order decorations, equip the premises with cameras, etc. You will also need to create an administrator’s desk, put a sofa and chairs for those who are waiting, buy a laptop, etc. Let’s calculate the available costs:

In total, for a year of work you will spend about one and a half million, while you will receive 800 thousand per month. Also, the amount of expenses should include the change of quests and scenery every 3-4 months, additional expenses, insurance premiums, etc. - this will take another 400 thousand rubles a year. In total, all the expenses you have made will pay off in one way or another in three months, after which the business will begin to bring a stable profit.

Try to change stories every 3-4 months

Possible risks

Finally, we will analyze what risks there are in this type of business. If you did everything right (registration, official lease, safety magazine), then you will not have any special problems, unless the state changes the rules of the game and introduces licensing.

Consider what you need to pay attention to so that your business does not fade away over time:

1. Available scenario for the quest room should be literate, interesting and thematic. You need to create a quest for parents with children, a quest for youth, a quest for adults. If you do not have experience and imagination, then hire screenwriters.
2. Do not save on decorations and decoration - this is immediately felt and reduces the satisfaction of visiting the room. Remember that your main advertising is word of mouth, and most of your clients should come back to you for new quests.
3. Train administrators, reward them for good work. It is advisable to take girls - guys are more likely to go to them, who will be your main clients.
4. Change quests after 3 months, arranging a promo week at the end. This will attract visitors who like to save money and buy services at discount prices.
5. Be loyal to your customers. The discount program perfectly binds people - they will come back to you again and again.
6. Try to maintain good relations with your competitors. You may well team up with them to exchange scenery or ideas, after all, you have a common cause and a common target audience. The more people you “get hooked” on quests, the more profitable it will be for everyone.
7. Try to think about the future, and not just receive dividends. The quest room often develops into something more - into an entertainment area, hostels, etc. It provides a steady income - think about how to use this money to develop and play it safe in case of trouble or a drop in demand.

In contact with

But not those quests that our older brothers used to play on the computer and the younger brothers on the iPhone, but real quests in real life: interesting, exciting and well switching brains from daytime worries.

Live quests are story role-playing games that can be played in a closed space, in an open area, and even in nature. And if initially quests were created and conducted mainly on the streets of the city (it's time to remember the same Watch or Encounter), today, in addition to them, you can open quest rooms, and just role-playing story rooms with costumed performances and certain goals in the game .

How business quests in reality also look interesting: the target audience is young people from 20 to 35 with an average income and above who prefer active types of recreation, as well as corporate clients who expect to make friends with the tech department with the help of quests “with those clowns from accounting ". It is most promising to go to regions where they already know about quests, but dominance has not yet been observed - this will help to reach payback in about 3-6 months.

Before we start

In the past few years, re-opening quests in reality and various quest rooms have won the title of one of the most developing areas of the event business - and no crises can stop them. Of course, marketers are a little cunning when they say that in difficult times it is these games with non-standard situations that allow you to forget about everyday life, come to the fore, but there is some truth in every joke. Moreover, this business has an interesting specificity - competitors here do not compete as much as help each other, even if reluctantly: a person is interested in playing the quest only once, and then he starts what else is interesting in the city.

The first step to create your quest is to decide on the format of the game. For example, in quests like escape the room, you need to get out of a locked room, solving various tasks - such quests require more investment in the room and can be both an intellectual game of a competitive nature, and transfer clients to an alternative reality. Another thing is role-playing games with tasks scattered around the city or detective stories when you need to solve a terrible mystery, unravel the case and find the killers, at the same time climbing through garbage dumps, trying to find NPCs, receiving text messages from above and independently determining the further course of the storyline.

By the way, in the growing market every now and then new offers of escape rooms for the franchise appear. Here are the notorious DozoR and Encounter, and the indoor "Claustrophobia", Rabbit Hole, Real Quest, Questime, "Room", "Exit the Room", in general, millions of them. They allow you to work under a well-known name and often not worry too much about script development and automated game systems. Despite the impressive entry fee, entrepreneurs do not complain: the development of the same scripts costs a lot of money and requires thorough testing, and website promotion eats up a lot of time.

Main risks: consider that your business is “for fun”, for rooms it’s a big investment, for city quests it’s dependent on weather conditions, a strong dependence on reputation (suppose you did everything cool for 10 years, and then someone got lost during quest and that's it, the outflow of customers is guaranteed).

“Step-by-step instructions on how to open your quest from scratch”

Location

With a room in order to create your own quest, everything is simple - you either need it or you don't need it. For example, to open a quest room, you need a decent place with an authentic renovation, which will cost a pretty penny, and in good transport accessibility, perhaps in the center. Role-playing games can be played in an anti-cafe like a common game library, where everyone comes - most often in this situation, you can not even pay rent, but find some kind of compromise that is interesting to both parties. But for city and search quests, as well as away quests, who themselves will come to a wedding, birthday or corporate party with pleasure, a room is not needed or not necessary at first.

Equipment

The basis of every quest, regardless of its type, is a scenario. Scenarios are made on a similar principle as for films and performances. In companies where conducting quests in reality is put on stream, their own team with directors, screenwriters, and editors usually works on creating the next script. You can entrust this work to individual people with experience: you can find such people either through friends or on the good old fl.ru. And if there is patronage from the franchisor, scripts can be provided to you for free or developed for an additional fee.

Usually the script should be based on some kind of mystery or mystery, and the denouement should be logical, but not entirely predictable. It is best when the organizers have several types of plot, which are selected depending on the age, interests of the audience, their experience in games or the presence of certain roles that would equalize the chances of the players.

Before the script goes to the masses, it must undergo thorough review and testing in the field, according to the results of which the last flaws are corrected, additional characters and storylines are added or removed. For testing, you can call your friends or attract volunteer companies on social networks.

In order to open a quest room, you will also have to invest in good repairs and furnishings. The main thing here is the entourage, so the room must be carefully equipped in a single style and for the tasks of the scenario, sound and visual special effects are also welcome, which add realism to what is happening.

For live quests, costumes and game props may be needed - they can be found in prank stores. And in city quests, first of all, you need to establish contact with the players: these can be traditional envelopes or SMS. By the way, when there are a lot of players, the process will have to be automated.

Personnel

Let's start with you. Since in order to open your quest, you can do without additional hiring of agents - 2-3 organizers are enough - you will need a keen interest. Experience in event companies and at least basic skills as an event leader are also desirable. Scenarios, as we have already said, can be ordered on freelance sites or, for example, arrange a competition on social networks.

In general, the more complex and interesting your quests are, the more non-player characters you will have to connect to them. At first, you can attract acquaintances and hire third-party people, for example, with payment for time. In the future, it is better to form a staff of your own agents, each of which can take part in several quests at once.

Documents and licenses

Well, for the simplest legalization of your activities, it is best to organize a banal IP. What else needs to be considered? Quest games are not always safe entertainment. If everything is more or less clear with quest rooms, then when playing on city streets, there are injuries and accidents. In order to protect both themselves and their players from unnecessary problems, the organizers either change the format of the game, completely abandoning all risk factors, or conduct safety briefings, and on paper completely waive responsibility for the actions of the players. One way or another, if doubt has crept into your soul, it is much better to seek legal advice.

Marketing

As a rule, potential clients look for quest makers on the Internet, so an optimized site with available quests, schedules and prices is a must have. In addition to promoting the site, also do not forget to connect social networks, context, banners on regional forums and city portals. And of course, word of mouth, the development of quests in your city and the reputation of your direct competitors will play a big role: if a person liked a quest from another company, then he will most likely contact you next time.

What else might work? Flyers and business cards in crowded places of potential players. An active blog with reports on the latest events. Discounts for regular customers, free games on certain days, contests for the best script. Do not be afraid to experiment - the sphere itself is conducive to this!

Summary

Quests in reality, whether they are story city quests or room quests, the business is definitely not boring, and it is growing at a rapid pace, especially in the regions. At the first stage, you can do with minimal investment: just a website, a good script and a couple of people to help. The only exception is the creation of a room quest - here you will have to spend a tidy sum on the premises, and on the selection of entourage, and special effects, due to which, however, a weaker scenario can also win. In any case, you will have to tinker well with the script and test it in the field at least a dozen times. However, if you turn to a franchise, you will not only be able to open your quest under a well-known name, but also solve the issue with the plots: some franchisees offer ready-made scenarios (their cost is included in the amount of the payroll), others are ready to develop them for free, while others can always order support or development of additional story scenes.