Escape Room Games Master – Sundays & Mondays
Location: Escape Time St IvesPay: Set fee per game, typically equivalent to approximately £13–£20 per hourTypical average: Around £15 per hourMain availability required: Sundays and MondaysWorking arrangement: Part-time, booking-led, self-employed role Preferred start date: Late July or early August 2026
Your mission, should you choose to accept it…
Escape Time St Ives is looking for a friendly, reliable and slightly theatrical Games Master to help create brilliant escape-room experiences for our customers.
You will guide teams from the moment they arrive until their final dramatic escape—or their crushing defeat at the hands of the clock.
This is not a job where you simply press a button and wait. You will welcome customers, set the scene, monitor their adventure through CCTV, deliver well-timed hints, solve unexpected problems behind the scenes and make every team feel like the heroes of their own story.
We are particularly looking for someone who can provide reliable availability to cover customer bookings on Sundays and Mondays from September onwards.
What does a Games Master do?
For each booking, you will:
- Arrive in good time, unlock and prepare the venue.
- Complete the opening and safety checks.
- Welcome customers and help them feel relaxed and excited.
- Explain the rules clearly.
- Deliver an engaging and theatrical introduction to the game.
- Monitor players using CCTV and audio.
- Give carefully timed hints without simply handing over the answers.
- Stay alert to what is happening inside each room.
- Respond quickly if a puzzle, prop or piece of equipment causes a problem.
- Keep the experience running smoothly when something unexpected happens.
- Celebrate with teams when they escape.
- Offer suitably dramatic commiserations when the clock defeats them.
- Chat with customers after their game and finish their visit on a high.
- Reset every puzzle, lock and prop accurately for the next team.
- Keep the venue clean, organised and ready for action.
- Secure the venue when the bookings are finished.
Once fully trained, you may be able to supervise more than one game at the same time.
Escape rooms do not always follow the script. Props misbehave, players surprise us and puzzles occasionally appear to develop minds of their own.
A strong Games Master stays calm, adapts quickly and ensures that the customers continue to enjoy the experience.
The show must go on.
Who we are looking for
You do not need professional acting experience or an encyclopaedic knowledge of puzzles.
You do need to be:
- Friendly, warm and welcoming.
- Comfortable speaking to individuals, families and groups.
- Reliable and able to work independently.
- Responsive to booking notifications and messages.
- Able to provide dependable Sunday and Monday availability.
- Based locally enough to reach the St Ives venue reliably.
- Confident taking responsibility for opening and closing the venue.
- Calm and adaptable when something goes wrong.
- Professional while still bringing personality and fun to the role.
- Highly attentive to detail.
- Organised and able to manage your time.
- Comfortable monitoring customers through CCTV and audio.
- Able to judge when a team needs help and when they need another moment to solve something themselves.
- Happy working without a formal dress code while still presenting yourself appropriately to customers.
- Aged 18 or over.
Previous escape-room experience is not required.
Experience in customer service, hospitality, theatre, entertainment, tourism, attractions or practical maintenance would be useful, but the right attitude and personality matter more.
More than just Games Mastering
Games Mastering is the core responsibility, but there may also be opportunities to learn new skills and become involved in other parts of the business.
Depending on your interests, existing abilities and desire to learn, this could include:
- Escape-room maintenance and repairs.
- Marketing and social-media content.
- Set design.
- Painting and scenic decorating.
- Game and puzzle design.
- Prop making and restoration.
- Improving existing puzzles and experiences.
- Helping develop new escape rooms.
- General venue improvements.
- Finding new ways to improve the customer experience.
You will not be expected to know how to do everything.
The role can remain focused on Games Mastering, or you may be able to learn new skills and take on additional paid work where your interests match the needs of the business.
We particularly value people who notice opportunities, suggest solutions and are willing to have a go.
The amount earned can vary depending on:
- The number of bookings.
- The length of the games.
- Whether more than one game is being supervised at the same time.
Any additional maintenance, marketing, painting, game-development, prop-making or creative work would be agreed separately and paid at an hourly rate.
This is a self-employed, booking-led role, so hours are not guaranteed and will vary depending on customer bookings.
You will provide your availability in advance. We are specifically looking for someone able to offer reliable availability on Sundays and Mondays, although there may also be opportunities to cover additional days.
Start date and training
We are looking to appoint someone during July, with a preferred start date in late July or early August 2026.
Training and supported shifts will take place throughout August. This will include learning how to:
- Open and close the venue.
- Prepare and reset each escape room accurately.
- Welcome, brief and debrief customers.
- Monitor games and deliver well-timed hints.
- Manage more than one game where appropriate.
- Respond calmly to technical problems and unexpected situations.
- Deliver a consistent, friendly and memorable customer experience.
The aim is for the successful applicant to be fully trained and ready to cover Sundays and Mondays independently from September 2026, subject to completing the training and being signed off as confident in every part of the role.
Some flexibility to attend training or shadow bookings on other days during August would be helpful, as training opportunities will depend on when customer bookings take place.
What we offer
- Full training in running and resetting our escape rooms.
- A fun, unusual and creative working environment.
- No formal dress code.
- Staff events.
- The opportunity to work independently.
- Opportunities to learn practical, creative and marketing skills.
- The chance to contribute ideas to games and customer experiences.
- Additional paid work where your abilities and interests match the needs of the business.
- The satisfaction of being professionally allowed to watch confused people on CCTV.
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About Escape Time St Ives
Escape Time St Ives creates immersive, fun and award winning escape-room experiences for families, friends, visitors and local teams.
Our priorities are simple:
- Give every customer a friendly and warm welcome.
- Make the experience exciting, immersive and fun.
- Respond quickly when customers need help.
- Adapt when something does not go according to plan.
- Maintain professional standards throughout the visit.
- Create games and experiences that people want to talk about afterwards.
The Games Master is a major part of that experience. A brilliant escape room can still fall flat with poor hosting, while a confident and engaging Games Master can turn a good visit into a memorable one.
Job Type: Part-time
Pay: £13.00-£15.00 per hour
Benefits:
Application question(s):
Location:
- St Ives TR26 2DN (preferred)
Work Location: In person
