Our Gamemasters are passionate about escape games. From the excitement of solving a good puzzle to the exhilaration of seeing the exit open up, there’s a lot to love about escape rooms! Escape rooms are popular in part due to their perceived simplicity: solve puzzles and find hidden clues in order to get out of the room. But don’t be fooled— these games can be spectacularly difficult! That’s why our Gamemasters have compiled countless hours of escape game observations to come up with a list of easy tips that will help you beat any escape room!
1 – Survey the room
This is a basic and important tip, but it’s easy to forget as you’re scrambling around in the room bumping into all sorts of objects. One good way to do this is to go around in a zigzag pattern and try to remember where you’ve been. If you’re stuck, taking a break to relax and think is important. Use this introduction to the setting to create a mental map of the game space.
2 – Use teamwork
A lot of escape rooms are designed so that you can help your friends navigate the puzzle with you, and this tactic can be quite effective. Try alternating between short bursts of exploring the room and telling each other what you find. You may even want to take turns in different areas of the room so that if one person gets stuck they’re not alone without any help – a sure recipe for frustration!
3 – Don’t panic!
When you find yourself stuck, you may be tempted to start panicking. Remember that this is just a game and there are no stakes. Taking a break and trying a different puzzle may help inspire the solution or alternative path.
This tip may sound simple, but it’s often the one people forget to follow— especially with 4 or 5 team members creating additional chaos around you! Escape rooms are often designed with environmental distractions, so if you find yourself getting frustrated and stuck, take a breath and tune out any lights, timers, sound effects, or elements of other puzzles. Assess the progress you’ve made and take a moment to regroup if anyone on your team feels lost or overwhelmed.
4 – Work together to solve puzzles and find clues, but split off into pairs in order to cover more ground
Tip four is a good way to make sure you’re not missing anything in the escape room. This may mean that one member of your group has to navigate the puzzle while another person tries to find the clues. It could also work well if one person is better at solving puzzles and the other person is better at investigating and noticing small details.
5 – Don’t give up!
Tip five is a simple one: don’t give up! If you’re stuck on one puzzle point, try to come back to it later. Puzzles are often designed to be solved collaboratively, or over time as new clues are gathered, so this can really help you out! It’s always worth trying to think logically about what may have happened in the escape room and making deductions from that. In addition, make sure you explore any clues around the room – they’re not always obvious!
Puzzles aren’t always easy to solve and may need some trial-and-error before they’re solved correctly. If you’re stuck on the same puzzle for a few minutes without making any progress, don’t be afraid to ask someone nearby for help; there’s no shame in asking the other players for their opinion!
Conclusion
Escape rooms can be difficult to solve, but with these top tips from our escape room experts, you’ll soon find yourself beating any game. Memorize the layout of the room before trying anything else, use teamwork, don’t panic when stuck on a puzzle, and work together. If all else fails remember not to give up! Don’t forget there may be environmental distractions such as sound effects and lights which could help inspire your solution too- take some deep breaths if things get frustrating! Above all else, remember that this is a game and the purpose is to have fun!
