7 Escape Room Secrets

What’s the secret to a great escape? What tactics work the best? Are there any strategies or approaches that can launch a team to success?

We get these questions a lot, and it’s something we discuss often here at Perplexity!

To answer them, we asked the Perplexity community for their TOP escape room tips, tricks, and secrets and compiled them here for you! We hope they can help you and your team sharpen your game and make your next escape attempt successful. 

1. Communicate

Escape rooms are a team sport. You can’t go it alone, you have to work together to beat the clock. A well oiled team depends on great communication!

“Communication is key. Always let people in your group know if you find something. It may be a missing piece of a puzzle someone else is working on.” – Becky

“Speak things out loud as you discover them. For example, if you find a lock with letters or one that needs a physical key, share that out loud specifically.” – Keridwyn

“Talk to each other! Shout out everything you see, it might make sense to someone else who can see a different part of the picture” – Caroline

2. Delegate

As a team sport, it doesn’t help if everyone is doing the same thing (imagine a team full of goalies or a team full of strikers.) An underrated escape room secret is PREP! Talk to your team ahead of time, get to know what kind of puzzles they’re good at and any other skills they have that could be useful. 

“When you’re in the room, make sure to spread out to cover more ground. You don’t need more than one or two people working on a puzzle, the rest of the team can be looking for more clues.” – Roy

“If you particularly rock at a certain type of puzzle, let your team know in advance in case someone discovers that style.” – Keridwyn

3. Celebrate wins 

Don’t forget to celebrate wins as they happen! Celebrating wins and encouraging each other along the way can keep everyone excited, invested in the game, and energized. Happy teams escape rooms! 

“Tiny moments of celebrating (a quick “awesome” or “nice job”) makes the experience more fun and connected but also because celebrating small wins leads to more small wins!” – Keridwyn

4. Don’t get stuck 

In escape rooms, every minute counts. You don’t have time to get stuck in a rut. If you find yourself stuck or frustrated, move on to something else! Focusing your energy elsewhere or switching with a teammate could be the missing key. 

“If you are stuck, enlist someone for help or switch puzzles with someone else. Sometimes a fresh perspective is all you need!” – EscapeThisBlog (ETB)

5. Listen up!

A great and underrated escape room tip! Listen more than you speak, you don’t want to miss key information from your teammates or any pre-recorded clues.  

“Be ready to pause all talking and action if the room has an audio or video recording start.” – Keridwyn 

6. Think outside the box

When it comes to escape rooms, things are hardly ever what they seem! It’s important to think outside the box, and to really push the bounds of your creativity. Instead of trying to solve a puzzle linearly, try to look at it from all angles. Game designers always want to keep you on your toes!

“Always nudge things (nothing forceful). You never know when something may be a tool or prop for something else!” – Kwest Club

“Always assume anything you come across means something. Got a book with a crooked page? Put the page number in every lock. You never know!!” – Jennifer

7. Keep calm

We all know the feeling! The adrenaline is pumping, the energy is heightened, volume and blood pressure rise as your team races against the clock. It’s so important to stay calm! Don’t let your excitement run away with you, or it could take your escape with it! 

 “Let yourself be alert and energized without being frantic.” – Keridwyn

Big thanks to the Perplexity Community for these amazing escape room tips, tricks, and secrets! We hope this expert advice can help you make some great escapes, as well as fun moments and lasting memories with your games gang. 

Ready to test out your new found knowledge? Book an adventure here at Perplexity games today! We have five incredible escape rooms for you to explore!