For many years now, so-called escape rooms are the latest trend. The idea of escape rooms is that a team of people has a certain amount of time to solve a mission consisting of lots of small riddles, to eventually escape. For that you need logic, concentration and team spirit. In the whole of Switzerland hundreds of different locations emerged in the last decades. The themes and riddles of the different locations are as diverse as the teams who come to play them. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, if you’re experinced or a newbie — there is something for everyone. Normally the rooms are distinguished by difficulty level. But it is evident that some groups struggle more than others, and for various reasons. Now, how does one become a top-notch escape room player? Are there useful strategies one can aquire, and what are the things not to do? In this blog, we will tell you some Top-Tips for playing escape rooms.
Practice makes perfect?
Having experience with playing escape certainly helps for your future sucesses in the game. If one has done several rooms, one knows where to direct their attention to. If you’re playing it for the first time, you might be a little overwhelmed by the nature of some of the riddles, since many are quite unconventional. Thus, here are some tips for beginners, that help you play like a pro!
- Communication is key! For being successful in solving the riddles and for having fun, effective communication among the team members is essential. If you have any idea on how to solve a riddle, communicate it to your teammates, no matter how silly the idea might sounds in your head. The more ideas you guys can collect, the bigger is the chance that the right solution is among them. It is important though to let everyone finish speaking and not to end up with chaotic chatter.
- There is reason behind every riddle! If a team does not know how to procede in a riddle, there is the tendency to just do it by trial and error. Sometimes you get lucky and you find the right solution. Most of the time though, it is a waste of time. Remember that every riddle and puzzle has been constructed with reason, and it has to make sense for people to be able solve it in the first place. So if a riddle doesn’t make sense to you at all, you can be sure you have to approach it differently. And trial and error is certainly not the most effective approach.
- Use your eagle eyes! In some escape rooms there are clues or codes that are hidden on objects or even on the room walls itself. Thats why it is important also to analyze the less obvious corners and angles of the room and also to look at every object closely. Imagine if you spent 20 minutes racking your brains about something, just to find out that the code was on the back side of the object you were holding the whole time.. 😉
- The game masters are here to help! In the majority of escape rooms there are so-called game masters, that can be contacted during the game to give you a tip. If you and your teammates don’t know any further and have already tried out all of your ideas, it is advised to get a tip from your game master. Normally we don’t solve whole riddles for you, but give you leads on how to proceed in your approach, so you can further solve it yourselves. This way you stay in the flow experience, without being completely stuck. So it’s completely fine to ask! Only very few groups can do a room in time without any tips. If you’re hardcore players who want to solve the rooms without any help, this tip is of course to be ignored.
- Explore! Take the objects into your hands, press the buttons, feel the walls… It is up to you guys to be active and to explore. Active players, who use their hands while thinking, are more successful than passive players, who only stand and observe. Just remember to not use any violence and not to perform spectacular acrobatic maneuvers.
- Keep an overview! A game can quickly become confusing, especially if there are multiple tasks to be solved simultaneously. It is important that all the team members know more or less which tasks have to be solved in that moment, and what the tools are that they have in their inventory. This of course has to do with effective communication. If you find or solve something, don’t hesitate telling everyone!
- Don’t take it too serious! It can be very frustrating if you don’t know how to solve a riddle immediately or only with help. Remember: only because you have a hard time solving a riddle, it doesn’t mean that you’re stupid. Everyone has different strenghts — a math genius will also have his struggles solving a word puzzle. The most important thing while playing escape rooms is having fun, and as long as you’re having fun, being fast in solving everything is not so important anymore.
So, these are the most important tips and tricks for having a pleasant first escape room experience and for already playing like a pro. As already mentioned, ofcourse all teams are different, and these 7 tips are not exclusive. The most important things for all teams are that you work in a team, communicate effectively and, most importantly, have fun — that’s that! Now, are you ready for your first escape room adventure? Yes? Then gather your team, come to one of our locations and take on the challenge!
