COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR TEAM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you take one thing away from this post, please let it be this. Open communication with your entire team is INCREDIBLY important. This is often the difference between a winning team and a team that needs to be scrapped off the walls. Especially for larger groups, the whole team needs to be on the same page while in the escape room game. It\u2019s important that every player on your team has all the information available to them. Hiding stuff and keeping secrets is our job, so stay organized and keep a keen eye. When you find a clue, unused objects, or something that seems relevant to the task at hand, alert your entire team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DIVIDE THE WORKLOAD<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Listen to your other teammates! If someone is struggling to solve a puzzle or figure out a directional lock, it\u2019s possible they need a fresh pair of eyes or hands on it. Sometimes it can be helpful to have a different team member try a key in a lock, placing puzzle pieces, or having a different person enter a safe combination. It never hurts to double check logistical things like that, after all, it’s not ALL about problem solving skills. Similarly, if you\u2019re stuck on a puzzle, bring in another group member to work on it with you. And hey, try not to get frustrated with your team. Remember, we\u2019re here to have fun puzzle solving and playing a game with friends or family. It\u2019s not actually<\/em> life or death, even if we hype it up to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s nothing worse than searching for 40 minutes for a key, only for your friend to say, \u201cOh I found that in like, the first five minutes. It\u2019s been in my pocket the whole time.\u201d Establish a table or area of the room to collect your clues, puzzle pieces, or related objects. If you\u2019ve used a key on a lock, leave the key in said lock so your team knows where it is. Leaving the lock on the thing you\u2019ve just opened is a great way for you to keep track of what puzzle unlocked which thing. This can be super helpful in saving precious time and moving your team forward, after all – you only have one hour to solve all the puzzles, collect all the clues, and escape with your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good escape room<\/a> enthusiasts will tell you to create a discard pile on the floor, some place that you can stash items you have already used. I would like to put a little spin on this idea. Irrelevant things can be set aside this way, but anything that could be connected to a puzzle, I would advise bringing to your solving table. If there\u2019s a prop inside the room, one of many loose objects to provide theming, sure, you can go ahead and set that aside. Don\u2019t waste time thinking about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At The Basement Escape Room<\/a>, we will never present you with Red Herrings \u2013 things that will take you down a rabbit hole, a puzzle path to nothing. We do however, populate the escape rooms with items to give character and realism to the spaces we create. Additionally, our keys are single use. This means that one key will go to one lock and will not open any other locks inside the room. There might be useful objects that have multiple uses but not keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listen carefully to the clues provided for you, they might not always be the most obvious. You couldn\u2019t ask, \u201cHey Mister Serial Killer, how do we get out of your house?\u201d So you can\u2019t ask for help at our location. You may receive help, however, but it will come at the will of the cannibalistic killer who captured you. We\u2019ll just see if he wants to play with his food. When playing an escape room at The Basement, we carefully and artfully fold our clues into the storytelling of the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might learn some important information in the intro video you watch before your game. Or perhaps the actor inside the room is walking back and forth past the same object. Maybe they have all their focus on an specific area of the room. It\u2019s all about striking a balance between paying attention to things that could be a potential clue, and becoming paranoid about the number of times your actor has blinked in the last minute. I promise it\u2019s never going to be that deep. We want you to achieve your final objective. The staff isn\u2019t there to get in your way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve found yourself in a strange environment, one where you need to meticulously manage your time and hone your strategy in order to escape within the hour. (Or 45 minutes at The Basement!) Sometimes the greatest challenge comes with the search. Finding clues is just the beginning, but is often the first step in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Open everything, turn things over, look under and over the whole room: you don\u2019t want to miss anything! Don\u2019t be afraid to go in the dark, it might just be the way forward. Don\u2019t forget to share with your team the things you find during your exploration! It\u2019s a collaborative effort from the moment your timer starts; success comes from combining all these tips together!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside an escape game, there will almost never be a reason to use physical force. If there is, your game masters will more than likely tell you before you begin. Keep your focus and don\u2019t get too sidetracked with deeply complex possible solves. We\u2019re never going to make you decode Morse Code from memory, or translate A=1 style codes. Anytime I hear a guest say, A=1, B=2, I know they\u2019re wildly overthinking the challenge presented to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a concept in the world of escape rooms called, \u201cOutside Knowledge.\u201d In game design, this is necessary knowledge needed to solve a puzzle, that is assumed a guest would have going into the game. This is to be used incredibly sparingly, and very generally. The game designers operate under the impression that most guests know the months of the year, but not how to read binary code. If something seems weird or confusing, you probably just haven\u2019t found all the pieces or tools that you need yet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all escape rooms are created equal. That\u2019s the fun of trying out a ton of different rooms, you can experience a wide variety of games and solve your way through a plethora of stories<\/a>. These tips and little hints will hopefully help bulk up your escape room strategy, but it\u2019s not a guaranteed guide to \u201cbeat any escape room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take what you\u2019ve learned here and apply these ideas to the games you play, listen to your game master, and stare that time limit dead in the face! You\u2019re not afraid of a clock, that would be crazy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Escape games<\/a> are a fabulous way to test your fortitude and the dynamic of any group. We provide a fun way for you to escape your everyday life and slither down into something a little murkier. If you and your team are searching for a way to get un-stuck from routine, escape rooms are a great place to start. So chart your course, plan your game, and don\u2019t stress too hard about winning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/basementescaperoom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_4614-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nKEEP THINGS ORGANIZED<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
IT\u2019S NOT A RED HERRING, IT\u2019S JUST A PROP<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
STAY SHARP \u2013 PAY ATTENTION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/basementescaperoom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/VvoV2rLQ-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nEXPLORE!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
DON\u2019T PUSH IT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/basementescaperoom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/xp5G-B8w-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSO, HOW DO I BEAT AN ESCAPE ROOM GAME?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
FROM YOUR GAME MASTER WITH LOVE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n