Escape rooms are an experience. It is an hour where you can let go of your reality, challenge yourself, have some fun with friends, test your teamwork and your communication. But what if people you don’t know are playing along with you? Here are a few reasons why private escape rooms are better, and why you shouldn’t pay to share your game with someone you don’t know.
Can you imagine being thrown into a confined space with a couple of strangers and having to coordinate with them? If you’ve never seen these people before, but now you’re in a position where you have to trust them. They might hold onto information you need, or you might need their help to physically interact with something. Maybe you don’t get along? Or maybe they aren’t very talkative? Why subject yourself to a scenario where so many things can go wrong? It can be so awkward to have to cooperate with someone you’ve never spoken to. Granted, things could go amazingly, and you could make new life-long friends! But it’s far more likely that someone will be shy, and it will make your escape experience inescapably awkward.
Sure, it can be cool to meet new people, but this is YOUR escape room experience. When you play somewhere that only books private rooms, you get to keep control of your own experience. Privacy gives you the option to be the leader, or follow your friend’s lead, to split up or stay together. You control how the game progresses. When the game is private, you and your friends can make the choices that best suit you. It can be difficult to take strangers into account. You don’t know them, or their preferences. Maybe you might disagree with how they want to do things, that would certainly put a damper on your game. Private escape rooms are better because they let you play the game the way you want to.
You have to ask why a business wants to pair you up with people you don’t know? Apart from the obvious drive to maximize their capacity for more profit, there are a few other red flags related to pairing you with strangers. A facility that has this policy isn’t concerned about your experience. They can’t ensure that you’ll be able to interact with every puzzle, or that you’ll get to choose when to call a hint. Ultimately, they are just facilitating the game and letting you work the details (no matter how awkward that might get). If you and your friends are paired with strangers and are outnumbered, there is a good chance that you will lose control. It can be hard to communicate with people you don’t know to begin with; but if you are outnumbered, you are unlikely to have any say at all. So why spend your hard-earned money on a game that may not go your way?
We think we’ve proven that private escape rooms are better. Booking privately allows you to control the game, it mitigates awkwardness and tells companies that you are more than just a dollar. Playing escape rooms is supposed to be fun and you play them to solve puzzles. You want to make memories with your friends. Make sure that you are able to do all of these things when you book your next escape room. Guarantee that your game is private and reserved just for you and your friends so you can maximize your fun!
Image by rawpixel.com