Escape Rooms are themed rooms where you and your team have to find clues and solve puzzles to either escape the room or complete a goal within the allotted time (usually 60 minutes).
Choosing an Escape Room
If you’re lucky, there are a few options already available to you in your town or city. Sites like TripAdvisor or Yelp may give you an idea of some of the most popular escape room companies in your area, and this is a good place to start. Take a look at the various themes and stories, and pick one that sounds interesting or exciting to you. Feel like attempting to rob a bank? How about trying to halt the launch of nuclear missiles before time runs out? Maybe escaping the clutches of a serial killer is more your bag! Take into account who might be in your team, as certain themes and physical requirements may not be suitable for everyone.
Companies are usually pretty good at listing what is expected of players, and if there are any fear factors. Not all rooms require you to be literally locked inside, and most don’t have horror themes, so don’t let that put you off.
Picking Your Team and Making a Booking
You’ll ideally want people who know each other well enough to communicate effectively, and who know each other’s’ strengths and weaknesses. Diversity is not a bad thing either, as different approaches and mindsets will contribute to a stronger team overall.
Escape room games are a great alternative for team building exercises, and strengthen and improve communication and teamwork skills. They also make for a great social activity between friends and family, and can bridge the gap between young and old!
Some escape rooms take bookings until the room capacity is reached, meaning you may end up playing with strangers if you do not book all available slots. Other escape room companies will give you the entire room as a private booking. It’s important to check this when you are booking to avoid potential disappointment. Playing with strangers is not always as bad as its sounds, but for your first time it’s probably preferable to stick with people you know!
The capacity of escape rooms can vary wildly; most have a minimum requirement of 2, and maximum can be anywhere between 4 and 10+. When playing for the first time it doesn’t hurt to have a lot of helping hands, but you will probably find that the more you play, the more you want to see everything yourself. A large team runs the risk of meaning you do not get to solve or participate as much as you’d like, or even missing out on entire puzzles whilst you are in another part of the room. After a couple of games under your belt, it might be worth calling an escape room to get their advice on optimal team sizes for specific rooms of theirs if you’re not sure.
Once you have booked, make sure you get a confirmation email and start getting excited!
