Maintain a structure throughout your search to make sure that you leave no stone unturned! By doing this you are setting yourself up in the best possible way.
When it comes to escape games, you will tend to find everyone brings different things to the team. Following this, there are things to learn from the kids in the group.
Kids shine on the simpler puzzles, they see obvious patterns, well, obviously. Adults on the other hand like to make easy things complex and see patterns where they don’t exist – for example, if a hint tells you to check the clock – the answer’s probably the time on the clock and not the registration number of the manufacturer.
Sometimes the simplest tips are the most effective. Make sure everyone is in the loop at all times. You don’t want to be frustrated and stuck on a puzzle for five minutes only to find out that Dave solved it ages ago but didn’t tell anyone. Save time and save friendships by being verbal at every step of the way!
An hour can seem like a long time, but when the clock is ticking down it’s incredibly easy to forget how long you have been in the room. As you rush around, working your way through the games and challenges remember to keep track of where you are time-wise.
Try to bear in mind looks can be deceiving, what may look like a single room may have a hidden door where you least expect it. With this in mind remember that a relaxed pace may all turn into a blind panic when you realise a secret room exits with only a few minutes left on the clock.
A good tip to remember is that everything has been placed inside of the room for a reason. Props and clues are carefully selected to fit in with the theme of the game. If something seems to be just for decoration, remember it may have a hidden secret!
Sometimes you may find an answer but completely overlook it just because you did not yet know the question. This does work both ways! Red herrings are placed throughout to trip you up but keep all potential clues together in case they are needed later. It will become clear what is useful as more puzzles are discovered!
As the games you play get more difficult, you may find the order of the puzzles becomes less straightforward. This doesn’t have to be daunting. If one puzzle is being completed by a couple of members of the team, look around and see if any other path is open to you.
If a large team all gathers around one puzzle it may cause more problems than it is worth! The best tip for this is to split into smaller groups and work on different things. When one group gets stuck swap over! Never underestimate the value of a pair of fresh eyes!
