Spooky season is here, and if you’re thinking of doing a scary activity this October then Escape Games Canada has some tips to solve a scary escape room for you. Each person has a differing tolerance for scary things, and if you like horror but are still a bit of a chicken, then you can find yourself in a dilemma. Escape Games Canada staff are experts on how to survive scary escape rooms, so here are our top three tips.

Keep moving forward

The lights just went off, it’s dark, it’s scary, and all you want to do is stay huddled with your friend and stay perfectly still. But that’s wrong! You chose to do the scary room, so do it! Hold on to each other, put your hand against the wall, and move forward. Just like in life: nothing ventured, nothing gained! If you’re stuck early in the game it’s because you haven’t explored the room enough. The first of EGC’s tips to solve a scary escape room is to press onward and explore your space.

Work in teams

Horror movies are best enjoyed with other people, and the same goes for horror activities. It’s much easier to move through a scary space if you have someone right there suffering with you. Two heads are always better than one anyway, and having an extra person means you have someone to watch your back for any sudden changes in the game. We’re not telling you to tow every person in the room with you at all times–it’s more beneficial to divide and conquer–but hold tight to your buddy and rest easy in the knowledge that they’re holding tight to you, too. Unless you think they’ll trip you and leave you for dead; then just bring them with you so you have canon fodder.

You are safe

Always remember–with an escape room worth its salt, at no point are you in any real danger. If your room has an actor, the actor is more likely to get injured than you (by the way, be nice to your actors!) In fact, in Ontario actors are not allowed to touch you on purpose without your permission–and the same goes the other way, too (again, be nice to your actors!) That means that if a man with a hoodie and chainsaw comes barreling down a hallway at you, you can close your eyes and block your ears and absolutely nothing will happen to you–they can’t touch you! Nothing in the room is real, and when the time is up you are free to return to a life of relative normalcy.

So hopefully these tips to solve a scary escape room are helpful, and assist you with successfully making it through your next horror game. Remember, if you don’t explore then you won’t solve anything, and being alone makes you a target. Escape rooms are built with safety in mind, so as long as you play safely, then the room is safe.