Tips for your next escape room adventure

Escape rooms are thrilling adventures perfect for lovers of puzzles and secret codes. Together with teammates, you may be escaping from prison, solving a crime or challenging evil spirits – the range of themes will suit every taste. But is there a universal key to success?

There are many tips and tricks you could employ. Escape rooms are opening on all continents, and plots vary, but there are basic commonalities. The following recommendations are useful for komnata in London and escape rooms elsewhere. Learn on the escape room blunders of others and avoid the typical errors committed all too often.

1. Play with people you know

Effective collaboration requires knowledge of your partners’ strengths and weaknesses. Friends, coworkers, or even relatives are better teammates than strangers, as you already know their personalities and skills. Among you, there may be an effective commander, code-breaker or item seeker, and it is best to understand this beforehand. Make sure there is a common context for communication, and play styles are similar. According to experts, the optimal number of participants is six.

2. Pass the baton

If you get stuck with a certain task, do not hesitate to involve your groupmates. Escape room puzzles can not possibly be solved by a single player. The more brains are working on a code, the sooner it will be cracked. However, if several players are still unable to break a code, you may be missing some important clues.

3. Communicate effectively

Be a good listener and never withhold information. A little brainstorming – when you consider unusual ideas – can be useful. Try anything your partners suggest, as long as it is reversible. If it doesn’t get you closer to the goal, it will still be fun.

On the other hand, feel free to yell out loud when you find any new item, as it may be a clue. Escape rooms include objects that must be matched together, such as a lock and a key. 

4. Manage items wisely

Here are a few tips concerning puzzle pieces and other items in the room.

• Leave keys in their locks.

Remember that keys are rarely used more than once, so leave them in their right places to avoid further confusion.

• Stack discarded pieces together.

You may organize the items in two groups – “used” and “unused”. This way, you will not waste time examining the same object multiple times. Besides, when unused pieces are laid out together, you may spot some overlooked matches between them.

• Tidy up.

Keeping the space tidy is no trivial matter. It lets you find what you are looking for. It is useful to keep similar items together, e.g., stack related books or lay out unused keys in one place.

5. Make your search thorough

Valuable clues may be hidden in any dark corner or exotic spot, so be meticulous in your searching. Items may be put into a book or a coat pocket, or even a special floor compartment. Leave no stone unturned.