Today a guest posting from the Houdini's Escape Room Blog. More great articles from Houdini's Escape Room can be read here .
Anyone who has ever experienced the thrill and exhilaration of an escape room will tell you that it’s certainly an adrenaline rush. While it is super-easy to get hooked on escape room adventures, it may not always be easy to round up a group of friends to take with you on your next challenge. These days, it seems like it takes nothing short of a miracle to pull everyone’s schedules together. So what happens when you don’t have enough people to get a full group? Before that question can be answered, it would be a good idea to learn more about how booking an escape room actually works.
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Booking an Escape Room: How It Works
Most escape rooms operate a similar process when it comes to booking. For example, Houdini’s Room Escape in Cincinnati practices a policy that is common in escape room booking protocol: All tickets for a particular time slot must be sold in order to reserve the room. Houdini’s rooms are designed for groups of 8-10 people, so if all tickets available for the room are not sold, the room can’t be reserved for one group. So what happens if you only have two people in your group? You’ll get paired up with another group of six people. While this may seem a little intimidating at first, it can actually enhance your gameplay experience; you just need to keep the following tips in mind:
“According to industry studies, roughly 70% of groups that fail to escape the room do so because they lacked leaders in the group ”
Communicate with your team members. It’s easy to “clam up” when you’re around a new group of people, but when the clock is ticking, you simply can’t afford to sit on a clue that may possibly lead to the whole group finding the key. Speak up and share what you’ve discovered, and don’t be afraid of saying something wrong or “dumb”; remember, nobody in the room has it all figured out anyway.
Don’t be afraid to take a leadership role. According to industry studies, roughly 70% of groups that fail to escape the room do so because they lacked leaders in the group who could suggest possible strategies, define paths to follow and motivate the group to work together towards a common outcome. While there is always a danger of having “too many cooks in the kitchen,” more groups fail to escape due to a lack of leadership in the group rather than having too much.
Keep an ear out for other people’s suggestions as well. It could be that there’s a shy or less vocal person in the group who may have a fantastic idea, but might not be comfortable being assertive about sharing it. Be willing to hone in on good suggestions from others, and champion their ideas where appropriate.
Maintain a positive attitude, even when the pressure is on. Contribute to the progress of the team, and avoid excessive complaining or defeatist statements. Have fun, keep a smile on your face, and work your rear end off towards a solution.
When approached with the right attitude and mindset, an escape room can be an amazing collaborative experience, whether you know the people in the room or not. Use the tips outlined above to enjoy your escape room adventure, and do your best to beat that clock!
This posting is originally published on the Houdini's Room Escape Blog. Read the full post Here
