10 Escape Room Tips That Increase Your Chances of Winning
Escape rooms are a great way to spend time with friends, co-workers, and family. The best part is that they are a blend of fun storytelling and competitive problem-solving with a time limit. Each room is a different challenge, and they all test your teamwork and problem-solving skills.
Most people think solving an escape room puzzle is the most important thing. The truth is that successful teams communicate and stay organized. The best part is that you do not need to be a puzzle master to escape the room. Developing some good habits will help you escape in time.
Many Hidden Hour guests have asked us how to better their chances of escaping our rooms. After noting our guests’ feedback, we compiled our top 10 tips for a successful escape.
1. Don’t Rush to Solve the First Puzzle
As soon as the time limit starts, many people rush to the first puzzle. This is not a great approach. Take a minute to look around the room. You may be surprised!
Examine everything around you, from the surfaces to the books, decorations, and all furniture, in whatever ways the game permits. Escape room clues are usually left out for players to find, rather than being hidden away in hard-to-reach spots. Since clues help put together the many puzzles that the escape room contains, the more your team collects, the better.
This also helps avoid the situation where your team has to waste more time looking for a clue that you already could have found.
2. Communication for better performance
Being able to communicate is what sets the better-performing teams apart from the rest.
If you find a clue in the form of a key, a note, a number, a symbol, or some other strange object, be the first to tell your team. Clues that might not mean anything to you could help out someone in the team who's trying to solve a puzzle.
Good communication shows the team that you're working toward the same goal, and it even decreases the chances of each team member solving a different puzzle at the same time.
Clues help to keep the game as a group moving forward toward accomplishing the same task along the way.
3. Split Work, Don't Overcrowd
You will only achieve it when each of you is working on different parts of the puzzle, and not just finishing the same small tasks.
You will need to change the way you work after the first big search of the room. Splitting the team up works best so that some of you continue hunting, while the rest of you can actually start working on some of the puzzles that are present.
That doesn't mean you should isolate yourselves completely. Make sure to communicate frequently and convey updates to avoid skipping over anything important.
Achieving the sweet spot between participating in group activities and doing your own activities often saves time.
4. Keep The Room Neat & Clean
Things begin to pile everywhere when the game progresses.
Without organisation, the room can become messy and it can be difficult to keep track of which items have already been used.
Many experienced players will keep a designated messy area for items that are no longer needed and a small area for important clues. This habit keeps the room neat and helps you be aware of what's been used.
Keeping the room organised helps players avoid checking the same items over and over.
5. Take The Time To Read Clues
It's easy to get caught up in the urgency of the game and start cutting corners with clues, but if you do that, you will almost definitely make a mistake.
When designing the game, the escape room designer took care to choose each clue for a reason. A small detail can totally shift the way a puzzle should be approached.
When you come across a clue, it is best to not make any assumptions and to take time to read the clue for its entirety and have a small discussion with your team to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Playing a little slower in the beginning can save you a lot of time in the end.
6. Keep Things Simple
Once a few difficult puzzles have been solved, it's easy to begin thinking that the puzzles have to have a similarly difficult answer when the answer may actually be quite simple.
Cracking the code of an Escape Room takes strategy and a great deal of detective work. However, sometimes the most plausible solution is the most obvious one that you may overlook. It is vital to keep an open mind.
Escape Rooms have a time limit, and staying on track is just as essential as the logic to work the puzzles. Staying focused is very important. If the group has worked a puzzle and is making no progress, consider moving on and tackling a different challenge. Something you discover in a different area may be the new information the group needs to solve the previous challenge.
7. Keep an Eye on the Clock
Time can work against you as well when you are distracted and lose track of time. You need to know how much time you have remaining. Keeping an eye on the time helps maintain the pace of the game. Stay focused on the time. For your group, and for the challenge, time is of the essence.
8. Use Hints Wisely
Many people think that asking for clues is a sign of defeat, but the opposite is true. Asking for help is expected and encouraged for the sake of keeping the game moving. If you are stuck for a long period of time, asking for a clue is a good idea. It is not a sign of defeat; rather, it is fun and expected in Escape Rooms.
The best way to get the most from the game is to reserve 1 to 2 hints rather than using the hints too liberally. Clues are commonly provided in short time increments and point players in the right direction rather than giving away the end solution of the puzzle. Using the hints correctly and reserving 1 to 2 helps you complete the escape room challenge in the allotted amount of time.
9. Make sure everyone participates
There are clues everywhere, and all players notice different things.
Some of us are better at spotting things that are hidden. Some people are better at solving number puzzles and spotting patterns, and some people are more creative.
The best teams make sure that everyone gets a chance to participate. If a new team member has a different idea, listen to it. Different ideas and perspectives can solve a problem that a bunch of people are confused about and can’t solve.
Escape rooms reward people who work together. Escape rooms are more fun when everyone participates.
10. Handle the heat
The panic rises, and the excitement turns into anticipation as the time to escape gets closer to zero.
Panic leads to bad decisions, to negative communication, and to missing clues.
If your team is feeling the heat, take a step back and look at the clues that you have. Decide together what the next step is going to be.
A calm team solves things better and quicker than a team that is arguing and rushing pulls together.
Escape rooms are designed to be challenging, but they are meant to be fun.
Habits that can waste much of your time
Some of the best players have developed bad habits that waste time. Knowing these bad habits can help prevent your team’s bad habits. Some of the bad habits include:
Ignoring a clue you think is unimportant.
Dismissing a suggestion a quiet player makes.
Concentrating on a single puzzle for too long.
Misplacing a clue.
Skipping over instructions.
Assuming every item in a room is part of a puzzle.
Getting annoyed when making less progress.
If you struggle to remain focused, you may lose the best opportunities to remain productive as a group.
The reality of escape rooms compared to what most think is that solving them has little to do with outsmarting others and more to do with collaboration.
A well-coordinated group, even when that group is less smart than the next, will always perform better. Different skill sets help create new ways to look at and then solve a problem.
Escape rooms are perfect for larger groups as you work together to solve the room and come away with a fun and memorable experience.
You won't escape a room every single time since every room is custom-designed differently with its own challenges. You can improve your odds of escaping with some basic room strategies.
Search the room to find all the clues, keep talking to others, be organised, keep an eye on the clock, and stay calm. Don't forget to work as a group. Celebrate all the small wins and have fun working together.
A visit to The Hidden Hour is sure to offer you a unique experience! Their escape rooms are perfect for large, team-building activities. They really make you put your thinking skills to the test. Whether you are a seasoned escape room expert or you are going for your very first time, take a look at some of these tips to make the most of the experience you get! Maybe you will even get the thrill of escaping from the room with seconds to spare!
