A few years ago I found myself celebrating the end of one career and the beginning of another with the team I’d built and worked with for half a decade. As escape room creators, only one celebration seemed fitting–playing someone else’s escape room, of course! Sounds like a fun evening with friends, but what I did not expect that evening was to have my idea of immersive gaming forever changed.

With the goal of preventing a global catastrophe, our team was escorted from the lobby of The Escape Game and into their game “Special Ops: Mysterious Market.” Now, escape rooms are some of the most immersive games you’ll find, and that makes total sense, but having played well over 70 of them at this point, I can honestly say this particular experience altered the way I set the stage for any gameplay experience.

The door opened and before us was an extravagantly-designed Moroccan spice market. The decor stood apart with incredible detail, from perfectly replicated architecture to hand-sewn leather bags and cloth tapestries all the way down to overhead sounds of a filled marketplace, carts moving past and people chatting in the streets. Perhaps the most stand-out part of this immersion? They actually filled half the room with spices of all types! It smelled truly phenomenal, and because of this, no other escape room has quite met the lofty bar the Escape Game set with this experience.

And of course I stole the idea for the games I run in my own home! One of the truest joys of being a game master is setting the stage for a truly spectacular game night for our friends. Scent is the most closely tied sense to forming lasting memories and is also one of the easiest tools to use in your story-telling arsenal when you’re looking to create immersion.

Taking the above example, you have a quick and easy way to DIY creating your own scents to set the stage. Check your kitchen cabinets for spices and fill small jars or bowls with an assortment to recreate the smells of an open-air marketplace. Use fresh cut grass, straw or even flowers and tree leaves from outside to evoke the environs of fields and groves. A simmer pot with fresh fruits and herbs is another fantastic way to create subtle scents associated with seasonal changes.

If you’re able, and want to spend a bit more when pooling your game resources together, the next option is a bit more refined and has a much wider range of possibilities. Candles and incense are readily available in stores everywhere and have scents ranging from pine forests to seaside cliffs, damp mossy stones to sulfuric lava pits. Now, each brand of candle is going to have its own interpretation of these scents, but you also have options geared towards TTRPGs specifically.

One of my local favorites for game candles comes in the form of a local pair of creators and their business, D20 Inspiration. Not only have they created scents for general settings, but they have candles specifically inspired by spells in D&D 5E. Their Aura of Vitality candle is crisp, clean and perfectly soothing. Plus, with candles, you have the advantage of setting it in the corner of the room and allowing the smells to fill the room subtly, rather than being in the center of the table and taking up focus.

Keep in mind, of course, that you don’t want to break the immersion of your storytelling by pausing to pass around a jar or candle from player to player. Your goal here is to accentuate the experience of your players, not hinder it. It may be worth noting that some scents are overwhelming and can create discomfort at your table. Perhaps avoid recreating the scents of a macabre murder scene or the sewer underbelly of your main city. Having a quick chat at session 0 of your game about any potential allergies is key here–especially as we continue to explore immersion and the senses in future editions.

TASTE

This is the most fun sense to explore with your players, especially if you can set up a thematic meal before the session and have everyone contribute!

TOUCH

Want to convey the age of old parchment or the luxurious silks and furs sold in the marketplace? We have tips on recreating these sensations too.

HEARING

Silence can create suspense, but so can a thrilling sting of strings. Creating the background ambiance of cities, ports and battlefields by using sound is the surest way to get the excitement amped up.

SIGHT

We gamers sure do love pushing little toys across the table. Beyond using miniatures and terrain to create visual appeal to your game, try adjusting your lighting or bringing maps and hidden messages in old tomes to the table.