The Ultimate Escape Room Experience
Part 5: The Aftermath
It’s done now, what do I do next?
Well, first off, if you completed your game and made it out on time, congratulations! However, even if you didn’t, don’t feel too bad. The truth is most escape rooms have escape rates well under 50%, and depending on the company and room you may find that escape rates barely hit the double digits. So if you didn’t win, don’t feel too bad as you are most likely in the majority. Depending on how far you got, or if you got the post-game walk-through, you may find you want to give the room a second chance down the road with different players or a bigger team. You’ll often find that putting a handful of rooms between you and the escape experience will often muddy the memory of many of the puzzles and make it a fairly new experience.
That said, there are some things you can do to prepare for next time. If you escaped, look for the things you did right. Puzzles people solved quicker versus the ones they struggled on. Familiarizing yourself with these puzzle types can help speed that time up more next time. If you failed, the above advice still holds true, but also think about the things that tripped you up. Did you spend too long on a specific puzzle? Familiarizing yourself with that puzzle type may help in the future. Another option is to decide if perhaps this puzzle type is one that you should use a clue on if stuck on the puzzle for more than a few moments. Did you lose track of time? Were you able to keep track of what puzzles were solved/ codes or keys had been used? If you see a lot of problems like this occurring then working a bit on the organization may help. There are many different things you can do in order to help with organizing. Often groups will designate a spot to create a pile of solved puzzles. Other times groups can function well by simply leaving locks open on what they were attached to and announcing to the group the combination has been used and the puzzle has been solved. In the end, take time to look at what were issues for your group, and correct them as necessary in order to give your team that much of an edge for your next escape room experience.
Now if you did win, especially with a good time, feel free to ask the staff if they have a record board and how you placed on the board. Many companies keep track of these times and can tell you how you have placed for the week, month, year, or all-time placements. Nothing beats having bragging rights on a top time for a room, even if it’s just the top time for that month. Not only did you place during that time period, but you also beat out all the people that could not complete the room. Sometimes companies will even have success rates for their rooms, and so even if you did not set a record time, you can still feel proud in completing a room eighty percent of others were unable to finish.
On a final note, I would like to discuss something I’ve seen happen just a few times in my time running escape rooms. Occasionally some people let the tension of the room really get to them, leading to outbursts of anger that can remain post the game experience. Touching back on a subject mentioned earlier, sometimes it is best to take a step back, breathe, and decompress. In the end, escape rooms are just a game, meant for entertainment and not frustration. If you have a player that is finding the games more frustrating than fun, then perhaps replace this team member in future games, or work with them to approach the game in a more healthy and reasonable manner. If you find the participant in this room is holding the anger/grudge well past the escape room experience, then perhaps sitting down and discussing the core of the issue. Surprisingly escape rooms can really bring to the surface long-standing interactive issues in a low-stakes environment.
So we have reached the end of the escape room overview. Hopefully, this guide has alleviated some fears and made you excited about your future escape room events. The information here is provided as a primer, as no amount of words can truly express the uniqueness and magic of every escape room in existence. In the end, just approach each room with an open mind, an outlook of being prepared for a challenge, and most of all a fun and can-do attitude. Additionally, after your experience is over feel free to discuss with friends and family about the experience and what an escape room was like for you, but make sure not to spoil any puzzles or cool surprises. Keeping the AH-HA moment or wow factor alive for future players is part of the fun.
