How to Beat a Virtual Escape Game
Online Escape Room Hints
In the last year, escapes rooms have undergone a lot of changes. However, one of these changes has led to a new wild west of sorts, and that is the virtual or online escape room. These experiences are by no means standardized yet, and so it can be daunting to even book such a room, let alone actually play it. Today we will attempt to alleviate those fears, and hopefully get you and your team ready for one of these amazing adventures. With these online escape room hints, you’ll be on the path to escaping a virtual escape room in no time.
Do Your Research
No amount of internet searching is likely to tell you how to get out of an escape room, let alone a virtual escape room. However, research before booking your online escape room is vital. Since this form of escape room is new, much like in the early days of brick-and-mortar stores, no two companies are giving the exact same experience.
Some have a game guide in a room with a camera, taking your place in the brick-and-mortar store. Others are creating virtual games more akin to the mystery games of the ’90s and 2,000s, think a central point camera that rotates 360 degrees and which you can then click on things to interact with them. Some are building virtual escape room experiences with wholly unique styles.
So, before you book, make sure to explore videos, descriptions, and FAQs to make sure you understand how the game operates, if there are time zone limitations, 3rd party software needed, etc.
Prepare For The Online Escape Game
Since each style of an online escape game is unique, the style of preparation will also be different. Should you have everyone playing from the same system? How will you communicate with each other? The answer to these questions is that each experience will vary. During your research, you should have gotten some answers about how the game is played.
If you are following a game guide with a camera, limited instructions and actions can be given at any one time. So, shouting over other players while the game guide is trying to follow the actions previously given to them is unlikely to be an enjoyable experience. In this case, having multiple people in the same virtual escape room may be advantageous as you can speak to each other without giving too many instructions to the game guide at once. A workaround for this if playing over something like Zoom from multiple locations could be using things like the chat feature and having one person give instructions when group consensus on action has been reached. In more digitally created escape games, you may find having one system limits the player’s ability to explore and interact quickly, so multiple systems may be more advantageous in this example. Just make sure you understand what type of virtual escape game you will be playing, and prepare accordingly.
Playing the Online Escape Game
If the previous steps have been followed, you should be more than set up and prepared to beat the online virtual escape game. Like in a normal escape room, make sure to coordinate both eye and thinking caps to give yourself the best advantage while playing the game.
Also, don’t forget to use hints when stuck. In digital formats, it is much easier to forget this when you don’t have a nearby screen reminding you of time and clues remaining. Additionally, if your online escape game is being played on multiple systems and is an escape room done in the style of a video game, make sure to verify if the game updates between players. If it does not, make sure that players are talking about what they find and how to solve things so that way all players on the same page.
After The Game
Unlike most in-person escape games, most online virtual escape games have a much quicker wrap up. Often there may be a screen capture of the players to recreate the post-game photo that occurs in brick-and-mortar stores. Just make sure you don’t close windows, clear timers, etc. before the game guide tells you too. Often these are added to finishing photos of online escape rooms.
Hopefully these virtual escape room hints will alleviate the fears of your team, and prepare you for your next online escape experience. Remember each experience is unique, and these hints serve more as a foundation to prepare you for your next virtual escape room. With plenty of research and preparation your next event will be a lot less daunting, and then all you will have to worry about is the puzzles themselves!
