Greetings again fair readers! After some time we have decided that writing about baby unicorn raising is just not practical as none of us will really utilize it and we have no frame of reference to advise you. Instead, let’s focus on some advice about what you should NOT do while playing an escape room. We already addressed everything you should know but there are some things you just shouldn’t do to be successful while playing. None of these things involve bribery or any sort of mind control devices. If you have mind control devices you should turn them over to the proper authorities. Let’s continue our definitive noob’s guide to playing escape rooms.
Never Assume Anything
See that? Life lessons too! While this applies to most everything in your life including a belief that your spouse knows what type of peanut butter to get at the grocer’s, it’s a different but same inside an escape room. Don’t assume that the clock is just a clock. Don’t assume that the drawer with a keyhole on it actually needs a key to open. It’s tough to get into this mode but really do TRY EVERYTHING. Unless your introduction said not to you are probably ok as long as you aren’t breaking something or tossing it around the room. These rooms are built on surprises so you should be ready for some. Like a ball pit with oatmeal on the bottom (but less gross).
Don’t Overthink
I can feel you doing it already. You are analyzing that statement now and how many different ways you do this in everyday life. Many times, in escape rooms it’s the easiest answer that solves the issue. Don’t try to get overly complicated with something. In most cases, the designers have made things challenging but without having to build a Rube Goldberg machine to solve it. That is unless the puzzle is to build a Rube Goldberg machine. If that happens you are in a very dastardly room and we wish you the best of luck.
Don’t Hyper-focus
Concentrate on the task at hand and don’t get distracted. Yeah, yeah… blah blah blah, we get it. You may get that, but please pay attention to this. Not too much though, just enough. Ready? Ok, stop paying attention so much. It’s confusing, right? Here’s what we mean: Sometimes in a room, you will be presented with a puzzle and you begin trying to solve it. That puzzle doesn’t make sense and you keep at it, trying to make an answer out of what you have in front of you. Then you get frustrated because it seems too hard and you start to feel dumb. Then a couple of minutes after you finally give up someone finds the thing you needed to make sense of it. And you missed a bunch of other things in the room because you were stuck on that.
The translation here is that sometimes there are puzzles or tasks that you can’t do right away. It’s a good idea to step away if it seems too complicated or switch with someone to get a second opinion. That’s not admitting defeat, just asking for help. Everyone asks for help. Even the Beach Boys asked for help but you may or may not know someone named Rhonda. Point is, don’t get overly consumed with one thing because chances are decent if you can’t solve it now you will later or you may need an extra set of eyes.
Pride Does Not Exist in this Dojo
That’s a Karate Kid reference (suggestion: watch “Cobra Kai.” It’s amazingly good. End interruption). Many escape rooms give you the option of pushing a button or somehow asking for clues. This is the main way you get assistance during your game. If you are playing in this type of atmosphere do not feel ashamed for asking when you need it. Now, some places limit the number of hints you can get, and in those cases, it’s certainly understandable not wanting to waste them. Outside of that do not feel dumb or embarrassed by asking. Be assured, the vast majority of groups that play rooms don’t get out without at least one clue and most without getting a couple. Remember, even The Beach Boys asked for help.
That concludes our little talk for today. As with all of our blogs, we hope that this has been helpful for you and gets you excited about the entertainment genre. We could go on for some time about this but then there wouldn’t be anything else to write about later. Just remember, no matter where you choose to escape, have fun and enjoy the time with your friends and family. Until next time, we wish you all successful escapes.