Are you feeling competitive and want to up your escape room skills? Perhaps you’ve never played an escape room before and are wondering what it takes to make your way out? We’ve put together our best tips and tricks that’ll help you lay the groundwork for success in your next escape experience. No matter how difficult the game is rated, or how experienced (or not?!) you are, these handy hints will help you get the most out of your upcoming adventure!
Ready to beat our escape room?
Constantly Communicate
If we could only give one tip for playing an escape room, it would be this one. Communication is the key to success in any game, but in our game A Knight To Escape, it’s essential! In our medieval adventure, you’ll be split into two sides of the game, with the clues and puzzles split between those sides too. If you don’t find ways to convey that crucial information between you, you’ll never be able to complete the challenges laid out ahead!
No matter which escape room or game you play, the basic principle still applies, if you see something, say something! It’s also one of the reasons we advocate for private experiences, because when you’re placed with other players who you don’t know, you’ll have a harder time maintaining the same level of communication that comes naturally between an already established friend group.
Delegate Tasks And Be Organized
It’s great to have a team leader when you’re playing an escape room, but you’ll want to make sure that person does not become overbearing or take over the experience. The team leader’s job is to delegate out tasks that set the team up for success. To start, you may want to assign each person an area of the game to search, so you can work your way around the room methodically, without worrying you’ll miss something. Not only will a good team leader help you stay focussed, but they’ll make sure everyone is working seamlessly together towards the end goal.
It’s also a good idea to have someone who keeps an eye on the clock, to ensure you are maintaining a good pace during your game. If you feel like you’re starting to get a little behind, there is no shame in asking for a hint to keep you on track. Alternatively, our hosts at The Escape Effect can ask if you need a nudge, rather than a full hint, just to get you back in the right direction, but letting you keep all of those feel-good ‘a-ha’ moments for yourself. We know that part of the fun of escape rooms is experiencing that perfect puzzle-solving satisfaction when you figure out the solution, so we’ll never just tell you the answer.
Don’t assume Anything
Scanned over an area but figured someone else already saw that one scrap of paper, or writing etched into the wall, so you end up keeping quiet about it? Big mistake! Don’t assume anything in an escape room! As you go through the room, start calling out everything you see, even if you think it might be insignificant. It could end up being a vital part of a clue elsewhere in the game. One of your team-mates may call out another clue in an opposite corner of the room, and you’ll see the missing link which unites them, and bam, it all clicks together! If neither of you had said anything, you’d still be at square one, none the wiser.
You’re also not going to want to assume that a seemingly unimportant prop has nothing to do with a puzzle, or passage of text written down is just ‘filler’ rather than important information. When we design escape rooms here at The Escape Effect, everything has been thought out and considered, and we don’t put red herrings into our games. When you see something written or placed in a particular area, there is probably a good reason for it!
Stay Positive And Have Fun
Nobody wants to play a game with someone grumpy and irritable, who constantly complains or gets angry about a tricky puzzle ruining their experience. When you have a team-mate like this, their volatile emotions and overreactions sour it for everyone else playing. In an escape room, the real goal isn’t to find the hidden treasure, unlock the safe, or figure out who the killer is…the goal is to have fun!
Escape rooms were made to entertain, and get people active and using their brains in a stimulating and exciting way. We know some enthusiasts like to take their puzzle solving seriously, and that’s ok, we can be guilty of that too, but at the end of the day just remember that you’re here to share amazing memories with your nearest and dearest. If you don’t escape the room in time, who cares, as long as you had fun in the process, that’s all that matters!
Think you can beat our games?
Prove it! Book one of our award-winning adventures at The Escape Effect, and you’ll have an incredible time even if you don’t escape!
