Some people simply have no idea how you should behave in an escape room. This can lead to them ruining the experience for their entire group. That’s a fast way to get your friends and family upset with you. If you want to avoid accidentally doing this and are worried you might, or you simply want to know the ground rules ahead of time, we’ve compiled a list of all the things you must not do when in an escape room.
While every escape room company has different rules and regulations, you may find some differences between our list and another. Almost all of these points are transferable between premises.
These are common mistakes, so beware if you do behave like this. The consequences for these actions can be severe, including being ejected or banned from the premises. D
Ignore Your Game Master
The most important rule when partaking in an Escape Room, is not to ignore your Game Master. They are there to make sure you have fun and are safe, so deviating from their instructions isn’t a smart move.
Instead, you should make sure you’re paying attention when the Game Master is talking, they may even hint at a clue to help you find your way out sooner.
Interact with Do Not Touch Items
There may be several items which you’re not supposed to touch while you’re in the escape room. Typically, they’re clearly marked with a sticker to alert you to the fact that they shouldn’t be touched.
If you do spot something with a sticker, then simply don’t touch it. If someone’s gone to the effort of applying the sticker, it means that it almost certainly has nothing to do with the game you’re playing.
Interacting with out of bounds items can have consequences, and doing it repeatedly can even result in ejection from the game. Whether it’s for your safety, or an integral part of the building itself (such as a light switch, security camera, etc), if something says don’t touch, there’s a reason behind it.
Be Destructive
Perhaps one of the worst things you can do (and an easy way to get kicked out, pronto) is to start breaking things and being destructive. If an item in an escape room is meant to move, it will. If it doesn’t, there may be another way for you to interact with it, or it could just be a red herring.
That extends to furniture and decor too. Under no circumstances should you try climbing on the furniture, or deliberately trying to break something in the room. Not only does it ruin the experience for your team, but it will ruin the experience for other teams waiting to play the room too.
Use Your Phone
This one is obvious, but you should never use your phone during an escape room. Not only is even having your phone in the room banned in most places, but there’s very little point using it in the room.
If you need a hint for the room, you’re better off asking the Game Master than Google. Plus photo opportunities are reserved for when you’ve left the room. Anything else could spoil the game for future players.
Put Things In Your Pocket
This one should be common sense, but in case it isn’t, you should never put any escape room objects in your pockets. At the very least, if an item is in your pocket, it means that nobody is thinking about it. If it’s vital to solving a puzzle, your team is going to be looking around for a clue that has been in your pocket the entire time. This could even end up ruining your chances at winning the game.
On the other hand, if you forget something’s in your pocket and take it home, you’re essentially ruining the game for future visitors. The company may have spares to replace anything that gets misplaced or damaged, but that isn’t a given. It’s usually best practice to create a pile of all the clues on a table, and then separate them by if they’ve been used or not.
Refuse to Communicate or Share your Information
The whole point of you playing a team game, is to be part of that team. Why then, should you keep any information to yourself?
It can be incredibly satisfying when you’re the first one to solve a puzzle, but you’re meant to be in this together. It doesn’t matter if you solved all the puzzles, if your group doesn’t manage to escape – and that is the far sweeter victory.
With that in mind, remember to play as a team. It’s not just you trying to escape, and you stand a much better chase of success if you all work together.
Have the Entire Group Focus on One Thing
The beauty of playing with multiple people is that they can all tackle a different puzzle or challenge at the same time. If you’ve got everyone focusing on one minor puzzle, then you’re essentially just wasting time.
There is an exception to this, however. If there’s one singular puzzle halting your progress, then having almost everyone focus on it could help you crack it and move on to the next segment. It can still be a good idea to have one member of your group looking for additional clues which could point you to the solution faster.
Argue with your Teammates
This one should be obvious, but if you’re arguing with your team, then you’re not figuring out how to escape, and killing your clock in the meantime. Every minute is crucial in an escape room, and wasting even one by arguing can stop you from escaping in time.
Of course, another reason why you shouldn’t argue is that it can ruin your enjoyment of the experience. Escape rooms are meant to be fun, and so by having an argument with other players, you end up changing the entire mood of the room. While you’re in the room, try to focus on having good clear communication, and if you feel things getting heated take a minute to yourself to calm down.
Cheat Yourself or Your Team
One of the worst things you can do with an escape room experience is ruin it for others. Whether it’s a room you’re planning to do again, or you’re tempted to search for some clues on the internet, remember that the point of escape rooms is to enjoy solving the puzzle.
That simply cannot be done if you know the answers and share them with the other people in your group. If you do happen to know any of the answers from a source other than your current escape room experience, it might be better to keep the information to yourself.
And that’s our list! If you can avoid doing all of these things, you should have the best escape room experience possible. Remember, it’s about having fun, not winning. But winning does greatly improve the experience, as long as you’ve earned it.