Escape rooms are such a new and unique form of entertainment that we often get asked about tips and tricks on how to beat the clock and escape in time. If you have never visited an escape room, or need a little more information on what to expect, take a look at our top escape room tips on how to win an escape game.
Escape rooms have taken the world by storm since the first game center opened in Japan back in 2014. There are now about 2,224 escape rooms in the United States and more are opening each week. We opened Enchambered in the heart of Sacramento way back in 2015 and it has been the best 5 year of our lives. We absolutely love what we do.
We’ve compiled a few escape room tips to help your group devise a successful game plan. Keep reading to find out what to expect and get some escape tips that definitely won't get you killed. Escape rooms are a safe form of entertainment. It is the most fun you can have in a locked room, with other people. So I have been told.
What Is it Like to Play an Escape Room Game?
Do you enjoy being transported to another world where you are surrounded by a totally interactive immersive environment? Are you the type of person that loves to solve challenging puzzles? Highly immersive escape room games are different than most other forms of entertainment. In one game, you and your co workers can play out a secret spy mission tasked with finding clues about an evil organization. In the next, your party may be searching an abandoned haunted house for signs of a ghostly presence. First time players may find escape games a little confusing in the beginning.
The first challenge is to find two to ten people to join your team. The second challenge is to find what theme that most interests every person on your team. Does your team prefer scary experiences or are they more excited about action and adventure. An escape room is a kind of real life adventure game and finding the right one for your team can help you succeed. You will only have one hour to solve the challenging puzzles and find your way to the exit so be prepared.
How to prepare for an escape room
Use the restroom. It is best to make sure everyone has used the restroom in advance of the safety briefing. Playing an escape room with a full bladder is not a comfortable experience. Our escape game rooms are always unlocked for fire safety and your bladder pressure relieving needs.
Eat a good meal and keep hydrated before the game. For the next hour you will be using the most calorie munching organ you have: YOUR BRAIN. When we are hungry, our higher functioning parts of our brain are not optimally stimulated and it may slow your progress in finding clues and working in a limited time frame.
Limit alcohol consumption before the game. "Liquid courage" does not mean "liquid genius" and most of the time can make the room way more challenging and not in the fun way. There is plenty time to imbibe at the post game celebration after your team successfully beats the challenge and escapes the room.
Escape Room Tips
How can your team successfully solve this challenge? Follow these escape room game tips and you will be well equipped to escape the room.
1. Listen Carefully
Before you begin, you will be given a briefing by your game master. The game master is your lifeline and biggest fan while you embark on your mission. We provide a full safety run down and also provide helpful tips and tricks that are game specific so be sure to make a mental note on what special rules your escape game may have.
Each of our escape rooms are highly unique and may have special ways to tell the time or may require a special way to communicate with the game master while in the room. The game master will offer hints if you are stalled on an aspect of the game room and knowing how to contact them is a key to success. Our escape games allow unlimited hints with no penalty to use.
Listening is a major part in effective communication skills. That is why escape rooms make for a great team building exercise. Friends and family can also benefit from upping their listening game.
2. Search Thoroughly
Escape rooms are weird. Most hands on forms of entertainment including theme parks and museums have engrained in us one simple rule: Don't touch anything. At least don't touch things that are not obviously built to be touched and interacted with. These interactive elements are usually designed to pull our attention and sign posted on how to use them. Escape rooms are built around the principal that everything is built to be touched and everyone is encourages to explore. The games are built to be interacted with in ways that may not be instantly obvious.
The sink in the corner of the room has a tap that does not work and the drain stop is stuck open. Looking down the drain hole, you can see something shiny and reflective. In most entertainment establishments this may warrant a call to facilities but in an escape room, this is a time to play amateur plumber. Investigating the pipe below the sink, you find that the pipe can be disconnected and the shiny object can be retrieved. You have just found the key to the locker you have been looking for for 10 minutes Huzzah!
Doing something like that in Disneyland may get you a misdemeanor or worse; missing your time window to ride haunted mansion using the fast pass line.
Escape Room Pro Tip
The best escape rooms never need outside knowledge. For example: if you find clues that look like sheet music or something similar, you will not be required to understand something as complicated as reading sheet music. The ability to read the music should be provided in the escape room. There is no need to remember american history or do complex math in an escape room.
If a team member finds a lock, it is good practice to announce that they have found it to the group. If someone hears you found a lock, they may have the key to open it. There are many types of locks in escape rooms. Remember to let teammates know if you find any padlocks, dead bolts, or even digital keypads that require a complex code to access.
3. Organize Clues
Uncovering clues is exciting and in that excitement, it is easy to misplace items. Make sure to designate a predefined location to place items and clues when found. Everyone should inspect the objects because someone may see something others missed.
Make sure to inspect every clue you find. You’ll be surprised what’s hidden in plain sight. Some hidden clues have more than one purpose in a room.
Escape Room Pro Tip
Puzzle pieces may be used more than once, keys and codes are almost never user more than once. If a code worked in one lock, do not waste your time entering it into every other lock scattered throughout the adventure.
4. Look for Patterns in Escape Rooms
After gathering items, look for patterns. For example, in a laboratory, the test tubes might be colored slightly different. A painting on the wall may show a color pattern, this pattern may be related to the test tubes and may be used to find the right order. Watch out for hidden symbols and letters that look like gibberish but may be able to deciphered using a tool found later in the game.
5. It May Take Teamwork to Solve Puzzles
Some puzzles simply cannot be solved by one person. Some puzzles may need more than two hands or need to be solved by using separate game elements in locations far from each other. There are many different types of puzzles but the ones that are the most enjoyable are the ones that need teamwork to accomplish your goals.
If your team reaches a point where you may need to ask for a clue, be sure to check with everyone and see if any team member can offer any ideas on how to proceed before contacting your game master for help.
Want to Try a Real Life Escape Room Game?
The rush of solving all the puzzles and escaping the room before the time runs out is amazing. Give us a call or check our booking schedule on our website below. A Real life escape game can be just what you were looking for to bring a little adventure into your life.
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