Did you know that escape rooms started in Kyoto?
In 2007, Takao Kato and his company SCRAP took the digital point-and-click puzzle genre and made it into an immersive, real-world experience. They coined the term “Real Escape Game” (Real Dasshutsu Game), kicking off a global phenomenon that now spans thousands of venues and millions of players worldwide.
In Japan, the genre has evolved far beyond a weekend activity for adults. Puzzles are woven into Japanese education, competitions and high school cultural festivals. Celebrating this creative passion among youth, SCRAP hosts a national championship where high school and technical-college students design their own escape rooms from scratch.
Now in its 5th edition, this nationwide tournament is preparing to crown Japan’s ultimate teenage puzzle architects, and you’re invited to come test it out.
The Biggest Turnout Yet: The 5th Real Escape Game Koshien
Borrowing its name from “Koshien” (Japan’s legendary national high school baseball tournament) the Real Escape Game Koshien is the premier stage for student puzzle designers, testing participants’ mastery of story structure, spatial design, prop crafting, player psychology and game balance.
For this year’s 5th edition, SCRAP received entries from 38 student teams nationwide — ranging from Aomori in the north to Kagoshima in the south — marking the largest entry pool in the competition’s history. Half of the participating schools were first-time entrants.
After an intense preliminary round where SCRAP’s veteran puzzle creators evaluated detailed game proposals, eight finalist teams were selected.
The stakes are higher than ever, with a grand prize of ¥300,000 (~$2,000 USD) in creative support funding, alongside runner-up cash prizes for finalists. Beyond the trophy, SCRAP’s competition offers plenty of industry opportunity, regularly collaborating with student teams and occasionally publishing exceptional student creations as official, commercial games.
Play the Finals Live in Tokyo
Unlike a typical science fair or robotics competition, the Real Escape Game Koshien is entirely interactive. High school finalists build and operate fully functioning, 30-minute escape rooms on-site for real players.
The 5th edition finals will take place on August 29–30 at J.F. Oberlin University’s Shinjuku Campus in Tokyo.
Over the two-day tournament, student creators act as gamemasters: setting up custom props, briefing players and guiding teams through their original mystery worlds. A panel of professional judges and the general public play to evaluate story depth, puzzle logic, gimmick execution and hospitality.
Public tickets are on sale now. For puzzle enthusiasts, it’s a rare chance to play games created by the next generation of designers. Dedicated fans can even grab an “All-8 Supporter Pass” to play through every single finalist game across the weekend.
The House That SCRAP Built
To understand why a national high school escape room championship matters, you have to look at the company behind it.
Founded in 2007 by Takao Kato, SCRAP turned what was once a niche online video game trope into an international live-entertainment category. What started as small events in Kyoto rapidly expanded across Japan and overseas to cities like Shanghai, Taipei, Singapore and San Francisco.
To date, over 17 million participants have played SCRAP games globally. Their portfolio ranges from intimate room-scale puzzles to massive stadium-sized events hosted in venues like Tokyo Dome.
By running the Real Escape Game Koshien, SCRAP is actively cultivating the future pipeline of interactive game design talent in the country that invented the genre.
