9 Strategies for Winning in an Escape Room

Escape Room Tips 9 Strategies for Winning in an Escape Room
Young friends looking at wooden rosary while solving conundrum as detectives in quest room with old furnitures

Are you ready to have some fun? If so, we’ve got the perfect activity for you and your friends.

Escape rooms have become one of the most popular group games in recent years. They are challenging, require teamwork, and are more fun than you might imagine.

But if you’ve never experienced this type of adventure before, there are some escape room tips that you should know. In this article, we take a look at some helpful escape room strategies that will help you get the most out of this experience.

Keep reading to learn some important strategies that will take your escape room skills to the next level.

1. Pick Your Team Wisely

Being successful in an escape room requires a team effort. Thus the stronger your team is, the better. That means that every member of your team needs to contribute to the success of the group.

You need smart players. But more than this, you also need the type of players who will be willing to cooperate, work together with the other members of the team, and who everyone else will be comfortable with.

Ideally, you will need between 4 and 10 players, depending on the size of the room. Obviously the more minds you have working on clues, the quicker you’ll be able to solve the problems and move on. And yet you don’t want so many people involved that you end up stepping on each other. That’s why picking the right team is vital.

2. Get Organized and Arrive on Time

A smart team will want to meet ahead of time and get focused. Another of the keys to success in this game is to have the right energy going into it. After all, you are going to be working together. So you don’t want people arriving late and going into the room stressed or frazzled.

Make your reservations a few days ahead of time, and then plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early. This will give you time to get organized, get excited, and get your game faces on.

3. Be Focused and Stay Positive

Remember, attitude is everything. Thus the collective attitude of the team is of utmost importance.

With escape rooms, the difficult level can become frustrating, and this frustration can turn to aggravation. And yet it’s important for each member of the team to maintain a positive attitude and remain focused on the mission.

Another reason to stay positive is that it will help conserve mental energy. Remember, the clock is always ticking. Every minute counts. So you don’t want to waste valuable time arguing or flooding the team with negative energy.

4. Work Together

Teamwork is the key. Yes, you’ll have individual strengths, but if one of you tries to take over and run the show, things could fall apart in a hurry and turn messy. 

Again, it’s hard to overstate the importance of choosing the right team. You’ll be working in tight quarters, and the riddle is challenging, so tempers might flare. The best advice is for everyone on the team to park your egos at the door and go in with a cooperative spirit. This way you will have more fun and have a better chance of being successful.

5. Keep an Eye on the Clock

Each escape room will have a timer. You need to pay very close attention to it. Be prepared for time to go by quickly. Because you’re going to get so involved in trying to solve the riddles that you likely will be amazed at how fast an hour goes.

The last thing you want to happen is to get behind schedule and find your team facing a time crunch. So keep an eye on the clock and budget your clues accordingly. 

6. Make the Most of Your Clues

Asking for clues can be a touchy subject for some people. After all, you want to feel smart. Thus many people will attempt to solve the riddles without any help. That’s just your ego talking.

The clues are there to help get you unstuck. And chances are that you will find yourself stuck at some point. Keep in mind that escape rooms are tricky. This isn’t a walk in the park. So don’t let your ego get the best of you. 

Remember, the worst thing you can do is waste time. And trying to complete the game without the use of clues might be one of the biggest wastes of time you can commit. In other words, be smart rather than acting smart.

7. Work Smart

This goes back to teamwork. You’re not going to be successful at an escape room without working together and working smart. 

This might sound obvious, and yet you’d be surprised how many people resist behaving as a member of a team. This might be human nature, but it’s also counterproductive. 

8. Keep It Simple Stupid

Don’t overcomplicate things. Again, this might be contrary to human nature, but often the simplest solution is the best. Give everyone a chance to offer input, but don’t assume that the answer to the riddle is always going to be something obtuse or impossibly complex. Remember K.I.S.S., keep it simple stupid. 

9. Think Like a Writer

One of the keys to completing an escape room successfully is to approach each riddle as creatively as possible. That’s why it helps to think like a writer. After all, writers are natural problem solvers.

This means that writers tend to think outside the box, allowing them to approach a problem from a unique perspective that will help solve riddles that tend to keep more logically minded people perplexed longer.

Helpful Escape Room Tips

Escape rooms are a fun group activity that can either serve as an effective team-building exercise or simply be a fun activity for friends. Make no mistake, escape rooms aren’t easy. Fortunately, the escape room tips contained in this article can help your next escape room experience be as fun and successful as possible.

Be sure to check out our website for information on booking your next escape room reservation.