Got an escape room planned this weeked but feeling a little anxious? Don’t worry, we got your back! These are the top 10 best tips to beat escape rooms.
Communicate Everything You Find
Remember that communication also involves listening to what others are saying. Encourage everyone in the group to describe what they are seeing and to be vocal about it. A clue might be meaningless to you but may help another person connect the dots.
Search and Explore Everywhere
Pick everything up and turn things over. Explore the room and look on all surfaces for potential clues. Remember to look low (floors) and also high (ceilings). Don’t be afraid to touch things or open items that you find. Although some props might be placed to distract, most items are probably there for a reason.
Delegate the Work
Since escape rooms are generally designed for groups, there will likely be multiple puzzles that can be worked on simultaneously. You can save time by splitting the group up to work on different puzzles. Or, if it’s a large room, you can start by searching different areas of the room for clues. If this doesn’t happen naturally, one person from your group will need to emerge as the leader.
Look for Patterns
Most escape rooms involve at least one or more instances where you’re looking for either numbers or letters to open a combination lock. What if you need four numbers to open a combo lock but you don’t see numbers anywhere? It’s possible that the other clues create some sort of pattern to help you arrive at a set of numbers.
Combine Clues
Another common tactic among escape room designers is combining two clues to arrive at an answer. This could be a legend instructing you how to read a map or there may be two separate images on different walls that when combined, create a third, more meaningful message. If there aren’t a lot of things on the walls, you probably should attach more importance to the things that are there.
No Idea is too Stupid
Stay positive and encourage all ideas. You never know what may or may not work. All rooms and designers are different and they all try to deliver a new and novel experience. Even if you’ve played a hundred escape rooms, this one may include elements you have never seen before. So it’s best not to assume that things work a certain way. Don’t shoot down someone else’s opinion because they’ll be less likely to speak up in the future. This may seem like basic people skills, but poor attitudes often get in the way of a successful escape.
Keep it Simple
If the answer seems way too complicated, it probably is. Clues are generally meant to lead you, not confuse you. If you need to write something down, the escape room will provide you with a tool to do so. If you’re not provided with any thing to write on, then you probably don’t need to memorize a super long string of numbers or characters either. If you see 50 different numbers, it’s extremely unlikely that you need to add them all together. There’s probably a bigger overall pattern at work. The best escape games are not trying to waste your time. Think of the most likely ways a puzzle could be interpreted and start from there.
Switch it Up
If you absolutely get stuck, don’t stick with the same thought process. Clear your mind and start fresh. Go back to the first clue you found, and go one-by-one through every single remaining clue. You might find something that you missed the first time around.
Ask for Help Sooner than Later
Sometimes it’s hard to tell how much more of a game is left. There could be a lot of puzzles left to solve, or the exit may be right around the corner. For those who are comfortable with asking for help, it’s better to ask as soon as you think you may need it. If everyone’s been standing around for more than a couple minutes with no progress, that’s a good time to ask for a hint.
Keep Calm and Have Fun
Remind yourself that it’s just a game and take a deep breath if you ever feel nervous. Stay positive and try not to get mad at anyone! Teams with great attitudes are the ones that finish. It’s very likely that you’ll forget everything you just read when you walk into the escape room. That’s okay. Excitement tends to do that to people. So, just remember to have fun.
Are you ready? Book your escape room now!