A lot of people are intimidated by the idea of playing an escape room for the first time. Naturally, first time players have a lot of questions; what if they don’t get out? What if they feel stupid? What if it’s too scary, or not scary enough? Since Escape Games Canada is an expert on the escape room experience, we thought we’d put together a short list of the things that every new escape room player needs to know.
Anytime you try something new, there’s a learning curve. For escape rooms, the more often you play, the easier it’ll get. When you start your first game, the room will probably be full of information. You might find numbers, letters, and maybe even symbols. It can be challenging to know how to apply the things you’ve found, especially since some games give you pieces of information before you need them. Don’t worry if it seems overwhelming, start your game by figuring out what information might be helpful; for example, check for locks and keypads to determine if you need letters or numbers then look around for those. This will help give you direction and sort through everything in the room before it becomes confusing.
It’s important to remember that escape rooms are not solved by one person; there’s a reason you’re playing as a team. You need your friends and they need you. The trick to maximizing your teamwork is making sure you’re communicating: tell your group what you see and what you think and make sure you’re listening to and considering their ideas too. Working together, your team can take advantage of your various perspectives and skillsets. Maximizing what makes each member of your team unique is sure to help you navigate the challenging puzzles you’ll find in your first escape room.
The last thing to remember is that you might get stuck and that’s ok. Your first room will be confusing, so use the resources provided by the business to help you out. Whether it’s a way to call the staff for a hint, or an automated system that offers you support as you play, those resources are there for you to use. But even before your game starts, your Game Master is a great source of support. They work with these games all day, every day, they’ve seen hundreds of groups play, they know what they’re talking about. Listen to them when they’re helping you prepare, everything they tell you comes from their experience, and they want to help you out. Yes, the safety stuff may seem boring, but trust us when we say there’s valuable gameplay information in there!
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