Playing an escape room game for the first time can be a bit overwhelming. We are asked time and time again, how do I play an escape room? What are the best practices when playing an escape room? While there are no hard and fast rules, there are strategies that seasoned escape room enthusiasts use to ensure that they conquer the challenges presented to them all while having a great time. It's easy to miss or overlook something when playing an escape room, and using these strategies will make sure you have the most success in your next game!
Here are 10 tactics and tips and procedures that will make your first, or next escape room experience as fun as possible.
Consider searching the room thoroughly and carefully
Consider that finding clues is just as important as solving puzzles
Consider that you might not have all the information you need and pieces to the puzzle are still missing.
Consider that some things are not immediately useful.
Consider everyone’s idea, there are no silly ideas.
Consider reading thoroughly and completely.
Consider focusing on what you can solve.
Consider that some things are just decoration.
Consider if there are connections between similar items
Consider there are No coincidences.
Consider searching the room thoroughly and completely.
Searching the Escape Room environment thoroughly is important because it could contain valuable clues that will help you escape. Find all of the items in an area before moving on. Often times there are related items and clues placed in the same area, there might be something else hidden nearby. Don't forget about any drawers, closets, cabinets, or doors either! You never know where some clever clue may be hiding. Many Escape Rooms have hidden doors and compartments. Subtle cues will help you find them.
Consider that finding clues is just as important as solving the puzzles.
It's easy to miss an important clue when players get too frustrated and fill their thinking with negative thoughts. If you're struggling with the puzzle there might be something right under your nose that will bring some clarity as well as help guide you to the answer. Stay on your toes. Sometimes you just need to look in the most obvious of places for a clue that will lead you down the right path. It's not uncommon for players to get caught up with one puzzle and forget about everything else around them. Remember, there might be other puzzles or clues hidden somewhere close by.
Tactical Tip: To avoid getting frustrated and restless, it is important to stay focused on the task at hand. It might be easy to focus too much on one puzzle while overlooking something else in your peripheral vision. Keep a level head by using these tactics when playing an escape room game.
-Break up into groups of two or three people per team so that everyone can help each other solve the puzzles as well as get clues from the other players' knowledge if they are stuck. Escape Rooms are designed to be challenging. There is no shame in looking for help from your team members. Sometimes two heads are better than one.
Consider reading everything thoroughly and completely
It's important to read through all clues and information you are given during the course of the game. Often times the game designer has concealed clever hints and information in notes and other written materials that will be crucial to helping you escape. You never know if you might miss a step or clue that could lead to solving one of the puzzles.
You might be able to save time and avoid frustration reading those clues critically but don't overthink it. Sometimes the answer is right there, you just need to interpret what it means. It's important to use your logic skills when trying to think through the puzzles that are presented in an escape room
New to Escape Rooms? Check out this post: Escape Rooms, The Most Exciting Thing You’ve Never Heard Of!
Consider that you might not have all the information you need and pieces to the puzzle are still missing.
It's easy to fall into the trap that everything is given to you at once to solve the puzzle, most times that isn't the case. The game designer will sometimes give you just enough information to start your thinking but not give you all of the pieces immediately. This serves the purpose of drawing out the tension of the game as well as give you time to think about how the item or information will be useful during the game.
In the case that you are missing pieces, it is important to discuss with your team what they have. Asking other players for additional information can be helpful as well.
Tactical Tip: If it seems like a puzzle is taking too long to solve, try using your logic or reasoning skills to get through it instead of brute force tactics such as guessing numbers randomly until you luck out. This will save time! Make sure there are no other possible solutions before resorting to guesswork though.
Learn More About Brute Forcing Locks In Escape Rooms from our friends at Room Escape Artist
Consider that some items are not immediately useful.
Sometimes the game is designed so that you are given critical items or bits of information that will need to be used at a later time. Not everything is immediately useful but its use will be revealed as the game progresses. For example, you may be given a piece of a tool such as a screwdriver handle with no bit until later in the game. After finding that screw bit you now have the tools and information to open that mysterious box on the wall.
Game designers like to pace games in terms of clues given out at a certain time so that players do not get frustrated or bored with too many clues being offered all at once. This can also help new escape room enthusiasts learn how puzzles work without feeling overwhelmed by too much information.
Tactical Tip: If you find an item that is not immediately useful, its true purpose may not have been revealed to you yet. Set it aside for now and come back to it when its use is more apparent. Don't waste precious time and energy trying to invent a use for it. All good things come to those who wait.
Consider everyone's ideas, there are no silly ideas.
“It’s so crazy, it just might work!”
Sure, the escape room designer has a vision of how a puzzle or challenge should be solved, but more often than not there is more than one way to solve a puzzle. As long as you aren't trying to intentionally damage or destroy something there is no stupid idea. If you think of something wacky or a creative solution call it out to your team. In the words of Pistachio Disguisey "It's so crazy, it just might work!" It's okay if people don't like your idea. The most important thing is that everybody remains open-minded about every possibility that they can think of however outlandish it may seem initially. The most important thing to remember is that there are no wrong answers, only different ones. If solving a puzzle seems too difficult for you on your own it is best to ask around and see if anyone else has any ideas as well before giving up completely.
Tactcal Tip: In the event that a puzzle seems too difficult, it is important to remember that there may be other puzzles with solutions linked together and completing one of them can lead players closer towards solving another.
Consider reading everything thoroughly and completely
It's important to read through all clues and information you are given during the course of the game. Often times the game designer has concealed clever hints and information in notes and other written materials that will be crucial to helping you escape. You never know if you might miss a step or clue that could lead to solving one of the puzzles.
You might be able to save time and avoid frustration reading those clues critically but don't overthink it. Sometimes the answer is right there, you just need to interpret what it means. It's important to use your logic skills when trying to think through the puzzles that are presented in an escape room
Consider focusing on what you can solve
Of course, nobody likes getting stuck on any given puzzle for too long without figuring anything else out which leads them down a dead-end path. This isn't usually because something's wrong with their solution - more likely they just have one piece missing from making sense of things around them. In these cases, you'll want to examine what you have already discovered and see if you can make connections between the information that you have and the information you may be missing.
A lot of people find it difficult to figure out how to approach a new escape room. There are so many puzzles and clues, but there isn't always an obvious order for players to follow or the path they might take. One way that can help is by focusing on smaller pieces in the puzzle-solving one small piece may lead you closer towards solving another larger part of the game.
For example, if you've been searching around looking for something specific without luck, try thinking about what other information you have available and see if any connections exist between those things and your missing item or clue; this will be more challenging than assuming everything connects together as even when playing with friends sometimes not everyone sees eye-to-eye on solutions!
Consider that some things are just decoration
"Is that a red herring, or just decoration? " This question can be asked of many puzzle items in escape rooms because they often look like something else at first glance.
A red herring in an escape room are items or information that is presented to intentionally distract you from the puzzle or mission of the game. These red herrings are usually easy to spot. They may even be set up in such a way as to appear important, but they typically lead you down the wrong path and waste your time.
As the escape room industry has matured the set design has become more and more detailed with some escape room interior designs rivalling those of Hollywood movies. It can be hard to tell sometimes what is decoration and what is meant to be a time waster and prevent you from a successful escape. Red Herrings are dressed up to look like important clues. Set design is dressed up to look like the environment to bring you into a new immersive world.
Consider if there are connections between similar things.
Many puzzles in escape rooms require multiple bits of information to figure out why they are important. For example, in a crime scene/whodunnit room there is evidence of the crime. A bloody footprint with the size clearly indicated, A torn out page from a mugshot book. A case file number with one of the numbers underlined, all clues to a larger solution. Using your powers of observation and critical thinking skills, you can make the connections between seemingly unconnected bits and pieces. There are few things as satisfying as making those connections.
Tactical Tip: Though most escape rooms don't require outside knowledge to solve, sometimes it helps to be familiar with the techniques of the great detectives. Use deductive reasoning skills like Sherlock Holmes, think outside-the-box like Dr. Watson, focus on finding one particular clue at a time, examine all possible options before making any moves, use your powers of observation, be observant and pay attention to detail (looking around is better than looking down), look for patterns among other things. And like the great Detective Columbo, don't be afraid to talk it out. It can be helpful if you verbalize your ideas and your team can work together to figure out what is important and why it's important.
Consider that there are no coincidences
When playing escape rooms it's easy to get distracted. It's best to realize that there are no coincidences. Most items will serve some purpose to either drive the story of the room or directly influence the outcome of the puzzle.
This holds true for every aspect of an escape room game whether they are puzzles or set design elements in a hidden object puzzle. Even seemingly random things like pictures on the wall will have relevance to your challenge that you must decipher with clues from other items found throughout the room. Always look at the item and ask yourself why is this here, what does it do, how can I use it. Only when you figure out the answers to those questions will you realize that there's no coincidence in escape rooms.
We hope this article has helped you understand how escape rooms work and what to expect when playing them. If you’re interested in trying one out for yourself, we recommend booking a game as soon as possible because they can fill up quickly! Escape room games are challenging but fun experiences that require lots of teamwork, problem-solving skills and critical thinking abilities. The more your group uses all their senses and the better they use logic, the higher chance there is of succeeding on an escape room challenge or puzzle. Give these new strategies a try in one of our amazing escape rooms.