"Maker of Unusual Things"
"If you've ever met him, he has probably handed you an unusual puzzle or curious object out of his Mary Poppins bag of puzzles." Brett Kuehner is THAT guy with the puzzles. Simply look for the large gathering of people all playing with what's collectively known as "cool stuff." You'll find Brett smack dab in the middle, dispensing puzzles and curios like Johnny Appleseed sowing his apples.
Besides being a puzzle pusher, Brett is a curator, connector, and general fount of knowledge. He started his website thatguywiththepuzzles.com after amassing a huge collection of escape room and puzzle design resources that he wanted to share with his community. This links to a massive google doc with 20 pages of links to articles about technology, audio and lighting design, immersion and storytelling, and general puzzle and escape room design.
Brett is a collector of the first order, and it isn't limited to design articles. As you can see from these "shelfies," his mechanical puzzle collection is also vast and varied. But what makes Brett's collection particularly special is how readily he shares it. His collections aren't just meant to sit on a pedestal. They're an invitation to explore, play, learn, and connect with other people who love puzzles.
In today's episode, Brett chats with us about what drives his fascination with puzzles, teaching escape room design, and his philosophy when it comes to the larger puzzling community. I especially loved hearing about designing for emotions in puzzles and thinking about what we want players to feel when they're solving a puzzle. Also, Brett has the coolest parents.
That Guy With the Puzzles is a fixture at most REA events. If you ever see a man with a large sack of puzzles and a twinkle in his eye, be sure to come up and say hi. You never know what inspiration you'll walk away with.
Full Show Notes
Episode Sponsors
We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: Buzzshot Bookings, Ubisoft VR Escape Games, Immersif, and Patreon supporters like you. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.
Buzzshot
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Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:
REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. FREE Trial Account with full features* including SMS messaging, and 'Buzzshot Bookings' trial upon request. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.
Ubisoft VR Escape Games
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- Games can accommodate anywhere from 2-8 players
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Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:
REPOD listeners get an extended free trial for an entire month of royalty-free operation. To hear more and claim your free offer, send a message via their contact page and be sure to use our code REPODxUBI26. Enter the code into the "description" field on the contact form.
Immersif Business Consulting
Are you looking to unlock more revenue and streamline efficiency? Sam Wai is helping creatives and suppliers in the immersive industry earn more with specialist accounting and mentorship.
Offering:
- Business Mentoring and Consulting:
- Growth focused
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- Analysis of your game booking performance
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- Customize your business based on player habits and booking preferences
Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:
REPOD listeners get a free one hour Business Mentoring Call. This is a focused one-to-one session to help you work through a challenge, make a difficult decision or bring more structure to your next stage of growth. We’ll explore what’s holding the business back, weigh up your options, and agree on practical next steps. You’ll leave with clearer thinking, renewed confidence and a written summary to keep you moving forward. Book through immersif.co/REPOD or email Sam hello@immersif.co and be sure to mention REPOD to claim your free business consultation.
Support Us On Patreon Today
Love escape rooms as much as we do? At Room Escape Artist, we’ve been analyzing, reviewing, and exploring the world of immersive games since 2014. We help players find the best experiences, and push the industry forward with well-researched, rational, and reasonably humorous escape room and immersive gaming content and events.
By becoming a Patreon supporter, you're not just backing a blog — you're fueling a mission to make the escape room and immersive gaming community stronger, more thoughtful, and more connected.
Access exclusive Patreon content such as:
- The Bonus Aftershow
- The Spoilers Club
- Early access to escape room Tour tickets and REA articles.
Your Patreon support goes toward our mission: paying our contributors, funding our infrastructure, and supporting deep research and industry advocacy.
Our Other Podcast
PG's Playhouse
If you love wordplay, puzzles, and trivia, this is the podcast for you! PG's Playhouse recreates a fun game night, all in a short, 30-minute format. Of course, what’s game night without making new friends? We bring on different guests for the different episodes.
Each episode features a puzzle packed with wordplay and trivia, a short chat with the guest, and a segment exploring an interesting topic. I hope you’ll take a listen and play along with us at PG’s Playhouse.
Production Credits
Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law
Produced by Sheena Vira
Supported by Lisa Spira
Edited by Steve Ewing
Music by Ryan Elder
Logo by Janine Pracht
