Trying to escape from a locked room might sound like a scene from a horror movie, but people in the US are paying good money to live out this fantasy. What’s the appeal of ‘escape the room’ games, and how do they fit into an entertainment market soon to be dominated by virtual reality?

Immersive experiences are being used to entertain people in powerful new ways. With the appetite for event-based entertainment on the rise, UK-based group Fire Hazard is using fear to engage players in fictional worlds that’ll leave them with nightmares.

Macy's, Kohl's and J.C. Penney have all recorded weak sales in 2015. But while Americans might be spending less on clothes, homeware and televisions, people are still opening their wallets for a different kind of purchase – buying more experiences while cutting back on 'stuff'.

Board games conjure up images of a bygone era, the annual Christmas Monopoly tournament or family holidays spent playing Snakes & Ladders. But in 2013 more money was raised on Kickstarter for tabletop games than video games. How has the digital world instigated nostalgia for the past?