7 billion neighbors

In the world of life-size games

Audio 48:30

Players playing "Jubensha" or "scripted murder" in Chinese.

Jubensha halls have multiplied in major cities in the past two years in China.

© Stephane Lagarde

By: Stéphane Lagarde Follow |

Amelie Beaucour

2 mins

“You have one hour to get out” is the well-known goal of escape game enthusiasts.

This escape game born in Japan in the early 2000s has since spread across the world 

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In France, there are more than 2000 rooms with ever more original universes and enigmas.

“Retrieve a magic sword”, stop a crazy metro” and even “get out of a coffin”... The inventors of escape games compete in imagination.

With family, friends or colleagues, these life-size games say a lot about his personality.

Some also go much further in the universe and become real characters with costume, text and make-up.

How to explain the success of life-size games?  

With :

Vincent Berry

, sociologist at the

, within the EXPERICE laboratory.

Specialist in games, players and fun activities.   

Alexandre Soltani

, General Manager of the

Solène Balezeaux

, President of the

A report by 

, RFI correspondent in Beijing, China, where Jubensha "scripted murder" in Chinese has become one of the most popular entertainments for Chinese youth.

Murders Parties where you meet up with colleagues or friends to solve puzzles in places offering settings adapted to the story.

Jubensha halls have multiplied in major cities in the past two years in China.

The success is such that the authorities intend to regulate the sector.

Stéphane Lagarde and Louise May went to one of these “Jubensha” clubs in Beijing.

The report by Stéphane Lagarde and Louise May in a "Jubensha" club in Beijing

3 questions to Zhang Yi Analyst at IIMedia Consulting in Guangzhou 

RFI: What explains the success of "Jubensha", a game inspired by the Murder Party in Europe?

ZY 

: The first explanation is related to the players.

Most of them belong to this new generation constantly in search of innovation.

It is Generation Z that makes the success of Jubensha, a youth in search of new ways to socialize and have fun.

The entertainment of the previous generation, such as Karaoke, is no longer enough for them.

Second, they are only children who lack connections in their environment.

Finally, it is obviously a generation that has the means to consume and be entertained.

It is therefore also linked to the increase in the standard of living of the middle class.  

RFI: What about the game mode particularly appeals to the younger generation?  

ZY 

: What changes in this game mode is the ability to think and deduce that is necessary to play.

This explains why a large number of Jubensha players are mostly from large cities with high levels of diplomas.

The game is popular among students and among white-collar office workers.

This year, there should be an increase in the number of Jubensha clubs in small and medium-sized towns, but it is still a megalopolis entertainment, in areas close to universities in particular.  

RFI: When did the craze for these “scripted murder” games begin?  

ZY

 : The game started to be popular from 2018, and then in 2020 there is a structural change in investments.

Over the past 20 years, most funding has been directed towards the digital economy, but in 2020 the number of Internet users has reached a ceiling.

It was therefore necessary to redirect investments to other forms of entertainment, off-screen.

The interest of Jubensha is that it is both a means of socialization and entertainment.

It's a kind of WeChat (Chinese WhatsApp) plus an interaction game.

In terms of entertainment, it is like KTV (karaoke) combined with role-playing, which explains its success.

And it's also an all-screen output.

As the costs of online stores are getting higher and higher,

there is again room for face-to-face interaction.

And even if the price of real estate has increased, buying internet traffic costs more than rent.

So the growth of Jubensha in China should continue.

Growth of 40% is expected this year, with profits approaching 3.4 billion euros.

An interview conducted by Stéphane Lagarde and Louise May

And at the end of the program, we find the World of Children.

Once a month, children discuss around a philosophical theme, such as love, the future, fear... and today, humiliation!

This week, there are 5 of them around

's microphone , from their CM2 class at the Jean-Jacques Rousseau school in Colombes in the Paris region.

The floor is with Vincent, Isma, Louna, Ashley and Nihel.

To listen to the episode devoted to humiliation, click here! 

Musical programming:

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, Axelle 

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- Future Pelo

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