Posted by Updated November 2025
The Covid Vacation Creation
When COVID-19 froze the world in place, many companies hit pause. Venture Up hit “invent.” The COVID reset sent us on a long vacation with no end in sight. That’s when Escape the Case was born—a mobile, high-energy team challenge that delivers the fun and pressure of an escape room without leaving the room. Invented by two twenty-somethings about to take over the next generation of Venture Up. It all happened at Superstition Acres in Gold Canyon, Arizona, home of a ropes course built in 1995.
From the Mountains to the Meeting Room
Venture Up’s story began in 1983, when David and Teresa Lengyel began America’s first dedicated team building company. What started as an adventure travel service evolved quickly into a new kind of corporate training—one rooted in real-world experience, teamwork, and trust.
By the 1990s, the company’s mission was simple but radical: show organizations that leadership and collaboration can be taught not through lectures, but by experience, when small teams face shared obstacles together. Even when companies have a team of one hundred or more, teams are still separated into smaller teams to take on fun challenges together. What worked for cave dwellers, Harvard business consultants, works for Venture Up clients too.
The Pandemic Pivot
Fast-forward to 2020. As travel restrictions and social distancing rules brought live events to a halt, companies were eager for ways to connect remote and hybrid teams. The idea for Escape the Case was conceived months earlier, but now was the time for Venture Up’s new leaders, the founders sons, Mason and Miles, to bring it to life.
It comes in multiple themes, D.B. Cooper is the most popular one, with others tailored to medical and pharma companies and sales teams. All cases self-contained and portable, ideal for conference rooms, meeting spaces, outdoors or onsite at company facilities. The COVID reset made it urgent — and profitable.
Within months, our team designed a modular system of cases filled with clues, ciphers, locks, and tech-driven puzzles. The challenge was to bring the collaborative intensity of an escape room into a 90-minute format that could engage dozens—or hundreds—of players at once. It worked.
The first pilots proved that teams could experience the same excitement and problem-solving rush without leaving their table.
Serious Collaboration Disguised as Play
Each Escape the Case program features a distinct storyline. Some focus on classic corporate themes—communication, trust, and leadership—while others are tailored to specialized markets like healthcare, education, or CSR initiatives that tie puzzles to charitable outcomes.
The format looks like a game, but it’s really structured learning in disguise. Teams must think creatively, delegate effectively, and communicate clearly under time pressure. Facilitators observe and debrief in real time, helping groups recognize behaviors that drive—or block—collaboration.
A New Generation of Team Building
“Escape the Case captures what we’ve always done best—making people work together in the real world,” says Mason Lengyel, Venture Up program director. “It’s efficient, portable, and accessible. Teams can experience challenge, laughter, and learning without the logistics nightmare.”
That efficiency is the key. Venture Up’s entire history has been about finding better ways to connect people—whether through ropes courses, adventure challenges, or now, portable gamified experiences that fit inside a conference room.
Clients love it because it’s flexible: no travel, no downtime, no setup hassles. The energy builds fast, and the lessons stick long after the locks click open.
Venture Up’s Ongoing Mission
Since 1983, more than 500,000 participants have joined Venture Up programs in over 250 cities worldwide. Through economic cycles, tech revolutions, and even global lockdowns, one principle has stayed the same: people perform better when they feel connected.
Escape the Case is simply the next chapter in that story—a modern tool built on timeless principles. Because while technology changes, teamwork never goes out of style.
Venture Up (est. 1983) is the original team building company, helping organizations build trust and collaboration through real-world experiences.
© 2025 Venture Up Inc. | ventureup.com
Tags: team building, corporate training, employee engagement, escape room game, leadership development
