Bitcoin education at an escape room in Lebanon

by · July 8, 2022

Bitcoin (BTC) sets people free. At least that was the story of Lebanon’s first Bitcoin-themed escape room in Beirut.

Lebanese Bitcoiners from the group Bitcoin du Liban took on the latest Bitcoin educational challenge – Bitcoin escape system. The best part? The team of four snuck out of the escape room in the fastest time so far.

For the uninitiated, an “escape game” or “escape room” is a team game where players work together to solve puzzles, clues and riddles, usually based on a theme such as spies, zombies, and now, Bitcoin. According to the name, the mission is to “escape” the side of the game within a certain time.

Sooly Kobayashi, MENA advisor for Swan Bitcoin and a moderator at Bitcoin du Liban, told Cointelegraph that “All of us (except one) had never played escape room before. We entered the room without relying on our Bitcoin knowledge.”

However, they probably had a small advantage over those new to Bitcoin. The themes of the escape game are fiat money, time chain technologies (often referred to as blockchain), SHA-256 (the Bitcoin hashing algorithm) and self-storage.

The escape artists: @marco_bdl @Sooly_Kobayashi @Thomssmn @ al3apodcast @BitcoinduLiban. Source: Kobayashi

Although the escape game is a bit fun, according to Kobayashi, it is another example of the Lebanese Bitcoin community’s creative approach to bringing more Bitcoiners. Kobayashi, who also moderates Bitcoin du Liban, told the Cointelegraph that “education is challenging in a country that has not invested much in this sector.”

“And with a history filled with instability, the Lebanese people have been preoccupied with surviving in economic turmoil. Therefore, Bitcoin education needed a creative modern approach.

As shown in the following graph, public education spending in Lebanon pales in comparison to Argentina; a country that also suffers from critical problems related to inflation and instability. It is therefore up to people to take financial education and creative orange peeling techniques into their own hands with grassroots activities.

Source: Kobayashi

In fact, Bitcoiners from Lebanon to Slovakia are taking Bitcoin education by the neck, trying to spread the word about healthy money. Bitcoin books, games and even family-friendly days out are places for Bitcoin veterans or those new to technology to learn in ways that suit them best.

The team solves one of the puzzles during the escape game. Source: Kobayashi

For the escape game, it is possible that the participants absorb information faster and retain it longer, due to the sometimes high stressful, adrenaline-filled nature of the escape game (if you know you know). As a result, a Bitcoin-themed escape game can be a whimsical, yet fast-paced way to educate people about Bitcoin. Kobayashi explains:

“It is scientifically proven that people learn better in two scenarios, only when we are emotionally driven. […] Second, when we are expected to pass on information to someone else, our mind tends to focus and remember knowledge better. ”

Related: Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z collaborate on Bitcoin Brooklyn education program

To date, escape room founder Said Nassar, an international business engineer, had only seen a few “few” Bitcoiners play the game. Despite the Bitcoin-friendly appeal, the game had been liked by newcomers to Bitcoin, or “no-coiners”, as they are sometimes called.

Kobayashi adds that some of the players are “shitcoiners”, including individuals interested in Ethereum (ETH):

No one would play this escape and not learn about Bitcoin. “

For some Bitcoiners, it is an irony to leave a Bitcoin escape room. To some, the whole world may already feel like an escape room, and Bitcoin is the only way out. The Bitcoin escape the system joins a new list of Bitcoin-themed escape rooms, including Bitcoin Heist in Macedonia, and DIY Bitcoin escape room, Badass Daddy’s Bitcoins.