If you’ve never completed an escape room or haven’t even tried one, you may not fully understand the appeal. For those from the outside looking in, escape rooms may seem stressful, complicated, and convoluted. However, once you step inside an escape room for the first time and have your anticipation build as the door closes behind you, you’ll get it.
Escape rooms are an addictive form of fun. The rush of figuring out a series of puzzles will keep pulling you back for more. As a newbie, you just need to take the plunge and give it a go, and you’ll soon see why escape rooms have gotten so popular in recent years.
If you’re sceptical and need more encouragement about why you should spend time trying an escape room, here are some reasons to convince you. There’s no other activity or experience like an escape room, so stop missing out and take the first step today.
There are many great reasons to try an escape room for the first time. Here are some of the benefits and positives of an escape room:
1. Builds relationships
An escape room is a great activity that can bring you closer to your friends. Unlike other activities, escape rooms are much more involved and engaging, forcing you to come together with your friends and communicate to beat a challenge.
Far too many other pastimes are passive, such as watching a film, and even though you may have had a good time, you wouldn’t have connected with your friends. In escape rooms, the need to think together and collaborate will help you build a tighter bond, helping you get more out of the experience.
Plus, beating an escape room with friends creates an incredible feeling of mutual satisfaction. Achieving things and overcoming challenges together can make your friendship group even closer.
2. Try a screen-free activity
In the modern day, most of our time is spent on screens. Be it on the computer at work or school, on the phone during the day, or through watching the television, screens surround us, and it can be good to do something that can give you a break from them.
Escape rooms are a fun way to get away from screens, and furthermore, the activity is far more engaging than just scrolling through reels and videos mindlessly. Escape rooms are a tactile experience. You’re physically touching, grabbing, and opening items and equipment while immersed in a well-designed set.
It may sound small, but an hour from your screen in an escape room will give you a world of good.
3. Tests your problem-solving skills
Escape rooms are just one big, complicated problem you must solve with your group. As a result, escape rooms provide a fun test for your problem-solving skills, forcing you to think creatively and differently to find solutions and answers.
It is fun to have your mind tested in this way, but it can also be beneficial and help you become a better problem solver in real life. If you love a quiz or enjoy doing puzzles at home, then an escape room is an experience you will surely enjoy.
4. Enter a fun and immersive experience
Escape rooms tap into the imaginative side of your brain. Not only do the challenges themselves force you to think outside the box occasionally, but the whole premise and theme of your escape room may be something based on fantasy or thriller, and it’s fun to buy into that setting.
Escape rooms are often beautifully designed, with props and sometimes even actors to help you stay immersed in a new world. You can be anything in an escape room, from detectives to Arctic explorers and wizards; the possibilities are endless. These different themes and immersive settings help make escape rooms unique and memorable, and they will leave a lasting memory on anyone who plays them.
What to expect with your first escape room?
Starting new things can be difficult, and not knowing what to expect with an escape room can lead to apprehension that puts people off. Here’s a quick rundown of what your first escape room will be like so that you can better prepare for it and fully understand what you’re getting yourself in for:
Before starting your escape room, you’ll get a briefing from the game’s master. This individual will be watching you via video link from another room. They’re there to ensure there’s no cheating and that you play the game correctly, but they can also provide hints and tips if you’re stuck.
In this briefing, they’ll tell you more about the escape room, set the scene and introduce the theme, make you aware of your end goal, and list the rules you need to follow. This briefing should ensure that you’re comfortable and know what to expect.
After the briefing, you’ll be introduced to the escape room. You won’t have to start immediately; instead, you’ll have a few moments to inspect the room and get your bearings. Your game’s master will then leave, and a timer will start. This is the amount of time you have to escape, and for most escape rooms, it’s an hour.
You’ll have to find solutions and beat many puzzles and challenges in the escape room. At the start, there’s often no direction on where to begin, so you’ll need to explore and piece things together to help guide you. In most escape rooms, you’ll have to open locks, uncover secret areas, crack open chests, and more, using answers from previous puzzles and riddles to help you along.
Escape rooms are a special activity, and many people who try the unique experience for the first time become obsessed. As they test your brainpower, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, escape rooms are beneficial activities that can help you develop skills for everyday life while still being fun.
I’ve you’ve never done an escape before, take the plunge and get a group together. Open up a new world of puzzles and challenges; you’ll wish you had done so earlier.