About Escape Rooms
What are escape rooms all about? Who plays them and where can I find one?
Overview. An escape room is a game for teams or groups of players. The competition is not against each other, it is against the clock. Participants are locked in a room and must search, find, decipher, connect the dots of clues to solve a series of puzzles which lead to the means of escape. Escape rooms are similar to the online version, except these games are physical, real rooms in which the players are locked. The escape room experience is unique, engaging and fun for families, co-workers or a group of friends.
What to expect. An escape room is usually designed in a theme and made to look like any normal room. There are a lot of very creative variations in approach and theme. YOu can read more about escape room themes but basically players must solve puzzles to escape. Usually a group begins by searching the room. The more they find clues and begin to piece together a puzzle, the more iexciting it becomes. The solution to any one puzzle may be a clue or piece of information needed to solve another puzzle. Most escape room adventures only give you an hour, it varies with each business. If you work quickly, work together, and solve the puzzles before your time is up you will be rewarded with a gratifying feeling and sense of accomplishment. There is a definite strategy to winning escape rooms. Seasoned and future escapists will improve their game and enjoyment by learning some of the basic escape room tips for winning.
Who plays escape rooms? It is very interesting to study the diversity and experience make up of team that do well or do not do well in an escape room attempt. Take a look at the escape room demographics survey and contribute your experience to the data.
How an escape room works.
First your group will receive a briefing by the "gamemaster". The briefing covers the particular of how the room works. He/she will go over the goal and set the backstory or scenario up for you. You will also receive house rules, ie what to touch, what not to pull off the wall, etc. If the room has a theme the gamemaster will discuss it. Pay attention because usually the clues will be related to the theme. Sometimes the room is a continuation of a story or set within a story or famous historical event. Everything related to understanding the room and how to proceed will be explained by the Gamemaster. Following the briefing you and your group will be led into the room. Sometimes the briefing is held in the room.
When the briefing is finished, the game begins. The gamemaster leaves the room and locks the door behind him, however your group is monitored by security cameras and microphones. This is for the purposes of making sure everyone is ok (emotionally and physically) in the locked room, making sure exhuberant players don't do damage to the themed decorations in an attempt to find clues, and also so your gamemaster can track your progress for the debriefing, and offer hints if your team gets stuck or off track. The gamemaster may offer outright directive hints, like "try looking in the ___", but may also provide hints like "how old is the singer of this song?" ... He/she's not making conversation - that's a hint!
As your group continues to explore and link (group / categorize) information you will begin to solve some riddles and unravel some of the room's mysteries. One solution leads to another.
At the end of the game, either by successfully escaping, or when the time runs out, the Gamemaster talks them through the clues and thought process needed to unlock the final key to escape. He or she answers questions and explains the meaning of any symbols or objects the team didn't decypher. High-fives are given, and pictures are taken.