Finnish Railways Brings 'Murder On The Orient Express' To Life On A Moving Escape Train

Finnish Railways and TBWA\Helsinki are arranging the world’s longest-running escape room – on a moving train.

The world’s longest-running escape game, titled the Escape Train, departs from Helsinki on December 13th, and travels 1,000 kilometers to Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland. The game will take place on a 13-hour passenger train journey, and it is inspired by the new star-studded 20th Century Fox film, Murder on the Orient Express.

 

“As the premiere of Murder on the Orient Express draws near in Finland, we saw an opportunity to do something fun and different for movie buffs and escape room fans. The idea of an escape train seemed like the perfect fit”, says Outi Lahtinen, Marketing Manager for Finnish Railways.

 

The Escape Train continues a series of exceptional marketing stunts by Finnish Railways. In May, the company clad the famous Men of Rock statues at the Helsinki Central Station with the iconic KISS masks. The stunt was organized to welcome the band on the Finnish leg of their World Tour, and it gained widespread coverage in medias such as BBC and Lonely Planet.

“Modern marketing is at its best, when it is embedded into surrounding culture. Finnish Railways have been successful in utilizing current phenomena and people’s authentic interests in building their brand”, says Jyrki Poutanen, Executive Creative Director at TBWA\Helsinki.

 

Two entire passenger train carriages have been entirely reserved for the 13-hour game. It will be designed and built by seasoned experts from the Finnish escape room pioneer InsideOut Escape Games. The game-makers are also adding features for involving the audience through social media and live streaming.

 

“This is a rare opportunity to build a completely new type of game. It taking place on an actual train, with other passengers on board, adds a lot to the dynamics of an escape room experience. To my knowledge, it is the longest-running game ever made, and we are very excited to be able to design it in the spirit of the new hit movie. It’s a dream come true, both for us and the players!”, says Ágnes Kaszás from InsideOut Escape Games.

 

The players of the game will be recruited through an online competition. The winners will form two teams, each of which will be led by a celebrity captain.