Are you putting together an escape room team and got that one friend who claims to be bad at puzzles? Maybe they are trying to back out of the experience, and wanting to sit it out. If they’re not just making excuses, and genuinely feel like they’ll hold the team back, firstly, give them some reassurance. Then, use the tips in our guide below during your experience. We hope that after they’ve played their first escape room, they’ll find they actually enjoyed it, and will want to come back for more!
Puzzle-packed fun for everyone
Utilize Their Strengths
Think about your friend or family member and what they’re good at in their day-to-day life. Maybe they are great at ordering things, and you’ll find the bookcases in their home have their contents sorted by color, genre, or are even just alphabetized. They could also be really efficient when it comes to planning out vacations with a jam-packed and meticulously detailed itinerary, or be excellent at budgeting and working with numbers.
All these skills are transferable when it comes to an escape room. Maybe a puzzle needs an array of items sorted by type, perhaps some paperwork needs organizing into date order, or there could be a tricky math problem within the game. You can see how all of these situations could be solved by someone who has skills in the above example.
Give Them A Task To Focus On
Once you’ve established their skill set, it’s time to delegate them a task. First-time players often feel overwhelmed, and for someone who doesn’t put solving as their strong suit, it’s going to be even more paralyzing for them when they’re faced with a room packed full of puzzles.
Take the pressure off them by directing them to one area of the game, and find something they can practically manage without feeling completely consumed by tasks. For instance, ask them to focus on searching a certain space in the room for clues. They’ll still be working towards the bigger picture, but in manageable chunks that won’t have them feeling snowed under.
Check In With Them
Even though they are off to one side doing their own task, don’t forget about them or assume they’re fine! Circle back to them and check in with how they are doing. If they are making good progress, or almost finished, it’s a good time to direct them to something new. You don’t want to wait too long and see them standing there awkwardly not knowing what to do next, keep the flow going, and they’ll feel like they are participating in a useful way.
Make sure they know they can shout out to you any time they have questions or need help, and likewise keep the communication going with them, so they don’t feel alone. You want them to feel like a valued and vital part of the team, and working towards the common goal with you, rather than excluded from the group.
The Hint Button Is Always There
If they’ve never played an escape room before, they may not even know about the concept of a hint system, so make sure they are aware of its existence, and how to trigger it. At The Escape Effect our hint buttons are themed to the games they reside in, and our hosts will always point them out to you. However, if your friend is feeling anxious, they may not absorb all the information in the game’s introduction, so it’s a great idea to check with them, just in case.
Make sure they know that if everyone else in the team appears busy with another task, they are free to press the button to alert a host for help at any time, to ensure their progress is not blocked. Someone who is not used to escape rooms might not feel comfortable asking for help, especially if you haven’t had a conversation as a group beforehand about being ok with hints, since we know some teams prefer to play without them.
Celebrate Together
When you get to the finale, ensure that you are all gathered together as a group, so they feel included in the last challenge. The final stage is the most momentous part of any escape game, and the one they will likely remember the most, so it’s important that you end on a high.
If there is a final code to input, or padlock to unlock, consider letting them do this, for maximum impact. Celebrate that sweet, sweet success together, with high fives and hugs all round. As all those endorphins release they’ll feel overwhelmed in a different way…from how much fun they’ve had. We guarantee that your friend who thought they were bad at games, will now be asking when you can all play your next escape room together.
Show them a good time
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