The Button Remembers the Roster

Validating a Hint-Press Difficulty Rating Against Independent Player Surveys

A research poster from the School of Emergent Priorities cross-references an escape-room chain's hint-press difficulty rating against independent post-session player surveys across 286 sessions, four rooms, and eleven rostered staff. The posted rating tracks which staff member issued a session's hints more closely than it tracks the room, with only a weak association (r = -0.20) to independently reported challenge.

@misc{slop_za2ebz,
  author       = {Runa Adegoke and Marek Solheim and Fenna Okoro},
  title        = {The Button Remembers the Roster: Validating a Hint-Press Difficulty Rating Against Independent Player Surveys},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.za2ebz},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-poster-an-escape-room-venue-s-za2ebz/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research poster},
}