Welcome back, previous Brain Chase participants! We’ve listened to your suggestions over the years, and we have a few big changes coming your way. Introducing our new Brain Chase Escape Room Subscriptions! Here’s what you can expect as we move forward:

 

Things that will stay the same:

• The Summer Treasure Hunt is still on! It will be animation-based, with a real treasure somewhere on the planet. Everyone must complete learning electives, and the same eligibility requirements will apply. Winners will still win a trip to dig up a treasure and a scholarship (see specific contest rules for details).
• It’s still about Mae Merriweather, Tate Grayson, and the Academy of Antiquities. The escape rooms follow the same storyline – in fact, they might even reveal more details about Tate’s mysterious disappearance.
• It’s the same Dashboard and Parent Dashboard you’ve grown to know and love!
• You’ll have access to the same learning electives.
• You’ll have access to Adventure Tools.
• You’ll still need the map page. Escape Rooms are about more than advancing from week to week – you’ll also be tasked with solving a difficult puzzle, and placing your pin on the map. You’ll still get one guess every 24 hours.
• There are still cash prizes.

 

Things that are different:

• It’s subscription-based! That lets us get the prices way down, and lets you participate all year long.
• The challenges are shorter! Instead of 6-week challenges, each Escape Room will contain a Warm-up Week and three puzzle weeks. Keep in mind, your Dashboard will also refresh at the end of each month to make way for the new program – so stay on your toes!
• It’s not time-based. Finish your work, and you can move forward! There’s no longer a need to wait until Monday at 9am Eastern. Just move as fast as you like!
• Instead of videos, you’ll access interactive, clickable “rooms.” Each program follows a storyline, and you’ll need to solve each room in order to advance.
• The learning is optional! This one suprised us a bit – but many of you wanted to skip the learning and go right for the fun stuff! You win. If you don’t opt-in to the electives, you’ll still need to answer a few program-related questions to advance. But no more logging Khan Academy points if you’re not interested.
• No ‘Bonus Challenges.’ At least, not in the formal sense. The ‘Bonus Challenges’ are now woven directly into the rooms themselves! Try it – we think you’ll like it.
• New Leaderboard! Ever wondered where everyone else was guessing? Now you can see them right on your map! But careful – they can see your guesses as well. This is opening up a completely new dynamic to the game, and so far, the feedback has been wonderful.
• Some of the electives will go away… at least until the summertime. Programs like Code Combat, Typing Club, and Rosetta Stone (where we pay additional licenses) won’t fit in the new subscription model. But don’t worry – they’ll be back in June!
• Monthly packages. Instead of receiving mail every other week, you’ll now receive a package once per month (optional).
• Mix-and-match electives. If you opt to receive the learning electives, you can now change options as often as you wish! Want to do Engineering, Math, and Reading one week, but Service, Cooking, and Art the next? Go for it.
• More prizes. It’s true, no one will be flying anywhere to dig anything up (until the Summer Treasure Hunt), but we’ll now be sending out $100 checks every 30 days to the winner of each month’s program. No limits, no eligibility requirements.
• Monthly schedule: You’ll receive monthly Escape Rooms January – May and September – December. But June, July, and August are set aside for the Treasure Hunt. All monthly subscribers are automatically enrolled in the Summer Treasure Hunt at no extra charge. But please note – normal eligibility rules will apply, $19.99 Scout members won’t be eligible to win the Summer Treasure Hunt, and each membership tier (Scout, Explorer, Adventurer) will have automatic access to that tier of electives. Upselling is allowed, and Scout members can upsell to Explorer for summer eligibility – but they must do so before the Summer Program begins.
• You can pause, cancel, or change your subscription at any time.

 

We hope you’ll give the Escape Rooms a try and let us know what you think. Good luck!

(Are we missing anything? Email us at info@brainchase.com with any questions!)