18 Great Escape Room Hacks for Teams

Team Building Resources
Team Building Resources February 01, 2023 18 Great Escape Room Hacks for Teams

Here is our list of the best escape room hacks.

Escape room hacks are tricks and hints you can use to solve escape room activities. These tips are beneficial for beginners and first-time players as they help them solve the puzzles quickly. Examples include choosing the right team, asking for help, and organizing puzzles. The purpose of these activities is to enhance problem-solving skills and help teams communicate effectively in high-stakes situations. Escape room hacks also help to plan a strategy to solve the game efficiently.

This list includes:

  • escape room hacks for beginners
  • escape room hints
  • escape room hacks
  • escape room tricks

Let’s get started.

List of escape room hacks

Participating in an escape room game becomes more fun with a developed strategy. Whether you are a beginner or professional, some challenges of escape rooms require tricks and hacks. Here are our best escape room hacks for beginners and professionals.

1. Build the Right Team

Winning an escape room game starts with choosing the right people to play with. It is best to include players with different expertise and knowledge is best because each group member will bring unique ideas and skills to the table.

Escape rooms do not come with specific knowledge that only a few individuals can solve. The puzzles in escape rooms welcome a diversity of ideas.

Ensure your team has passionate players with problem-solving skills. The ideal team should consist of two to six members. While many folks think that playing with people you know is better, playing with strangers can be exciting and can sometimes lead to less conflict!

2. Be on Time

Being on time is necessary whether you are participating in a virtual or in-person escape room. If you are late, then you miss communicating with your team beforehand. Traffic jams and internet issues should not make you late for the game, so plan to arrive with a ten-minute buffer.

When you are present to play the game on time, you have enough time to relax your mind and talk to your teammates. If you are late, then you might also miss some parts of the story the narrator explains.

3. Understand the Rules

Understanding the rules is one of the most crucial escape room hacks for beginners. You need to know the game’s basic rules to solve the puzzle and reach your destination.

An essential step in starting the game is listening to and interpreting the rules. Only then will you be able to use your escape room hacks and finish the game as a winner.

Some folks find game rules to be boring. However, these rules provide safety tips and save time on objects that are outside the puzzle. The narrators may also hide the escape room hints within these guidelines. Some escape rooms allow you to see the puzzle from the perspective of the characters through a story or video, which makes it easy to solve.

4. Have A Quick Look Around the Room

Most escape room games have a short introduction before the actual game starts. This intro is the best time to do a quick survey of the escape room and look for any hints. Although you will not be allowed to touch things, you can look at the setting of the escape room.

A quick look through the room will help you keep a picture in mind of what you need to look at first.

5. Look Everywhere

Escape room games are challenging, yet the complexity makes them more interesting and fun. Looking closely at the smallest details is important when solving an escape room puzzle.

The ideal escape room hack is to look everywhere. Escape rooms have clues and hints lying in the most uncommon places. Ignoring that cabinet covered with spider webs or not looking under the table for clues may make you lose the game.

A great escape room hack is to look under the rugs. The gamemasters put effort into looking for unknown places to hide the clues. However, if the game rules tell you that you do not need to apply physical force to solve puzzles, then you should not look for clues in hard-to-move places.

6. Let Your Teammates Know About Every Clue

Communicating with other members is essential as you work in teams in an escape room. This practice also ensures team building and improves the communication skills of participants.

One of the best escape room hacks is to shout out all clues. While this practice may cause confusion or chaos, it helps uncover clues faster. Because most clues are related, finding one can make it easier to solve the other clues.

For example, finding a key in the escape room will give a hint that you need to find a lock too.

Then, when you inform your teammates, they will start searching for the lock, which will help find clues faster.

7. Spread Out the Team

Making the whole team look for clues in one spot is not the right decision. Instead, a better idea is to disperse your team and ask them to move in different directions.

You can assign different areas of the escape room to the group members and ask them to look for hints in their specific areas.

This strategy will help you find clues faster, and the teammates can discuss what they found to solve the puzzle.

8. Ask For Help

Escape rooms usually have a time limit. Obsessing over one puzzle is unwise. When playing, a better idea is to ask for help from fellow teammates if you cannot solve a clue. This step is among the best escape room hacks.

If you cannot solve the puzzle after some tries, then ask for help from a team member you think might be capable of solving it. Your teammates may also have a clue you need to solve the puzzle. In such cases, asking for help can lead to solving the puzzle quickly.

However, if none of you can solve the puzzle after multiple tries, it is better to move on to the next challenge. You may find other clues that will help with that unsolved puzzle.

9. Keep the Puzzles Organized

Among many escape room hacks, keeping things organized is an unwritten and untold trick that can help you win the game. Professionals usually use one clue for one specific puzzle when designing an escape room. Going off the track to associate one clue with several puzzles is rare in escape room games.

However, a general trick is to keep the clues organized. You should keep these pieces separate when you have solved one puzzle using its clues. Mostly, these clues will not appear in other puzzles.

Keeping the solved and unsolved puzzles separate will allow you to focus on unsolved puzzles and avoid double work. Instead of wasting time on completed challenges, you can put all your mindpower towards unresolved puzzles.

10. Avoid Overthinking

Participants usually try to think out of the box when solving puzzles. Although escape room puzzles are tricky, game masters do not make impossible puzzles. Thus, you do not have to think about complicated systems or need prior knowledge. The puzzles often have the answers inside the room. In this way, most players can solve the game.

11. Ask for Hints

An effective escape room hack for beginners is to ask for help from game masters. While many folks believe getting help is cheating, it is not against the rules. The game masters want you to solve the puzzle and reach the end. If you face any difficulty, then the game masters will only guide you in the right direction and not help you solve the puzzle.

In case of any confusion, do not hesitate to ask for help from the game masters.

12. Be a Contributor

A team can solve an escape room game when all the members contribute. Everyone has different perspectives and thinking capabilities. Therefore, it is better to engage every team member when solving puzzles and assign them roles. If you are the leader, then it is up to you to split the team so that everyone gets a role.

However, your decision depends on the situation. If there is only one puzzle to solve, the whole team can take part. But, if you have divided multiple puzzles among different people, they should solve the puzzle assigned to them. If you get involved in another person’s puzzle, then they might lose focus.

13. Know What to Ignore

While you must search thoroughly in an escape room, certain objects do not need consideration. Spending time on these items is useless, and may be unsafe.

Here are a few examples of things you might need to ignore in an escape room:

  • Do not mess with the electrical components or switchboards. These features can pose a safety hazard, and you will not likely find any clues here.
  • The serial numbers on tools and furniture will rarely be a part of the clues.
  • Do not look for clues on the ceiling. Most clues to the puzzles do not need you to touch the ceiling. However, you should still look high and low.

The game masters will also specify in the rules if you should avoid touching particular objects or areas. For example, the game master might tell you not to lift the rugs or look under the bed. Apart from the general tricks, you should also follow the game’s rules.

14. Do Not Break Anything

Escape rooms usually involve much movement to solve the puzzles quickly. However,  you must be careful while moving around to avoid causing damage.

Be patient and do not intentionally or unintentionally break any objects. Escape rooms will almost never make destruction part of the game, as taking risks and liabilities is not worth finding an unexpected hiding spot for clues.

You may want to touch the ceiling to look for clues. Participants might also want to rip things off the wall to find clues beneath. However, there is no use for such behavior and excessive physical forces.

If you do so, you may destroy the property, face extra charges, and get kicked out of the escape room. Worse still, you might get hurt or harm one of your fellow players.

In general, escape rooms have hidden clues, but you do not have to apply physical force or tear the wallpaper to find them. Most of these clues will not require you to ruin the furniture and other permanent decorations. Make sure you do not waste time breaking things around the escape room.

15. Watch The Clock

One of the best escape room hacks for beginners is to keep an eye on the clock. When playing an escape room game for the first time, you usually do not have enough experience to manage time.

A great hack is to look at the number of puzzles and how much estimated time each would take. Then, you can divide these puzzles according to time constraints. For example, one puzzle might take five minutes to solve, while another one might take ten minutes. Depending on the complexity of the puzzles, you can divide the time. But, watch the clock to avoid being late.

16. Dress Properly

A sharp mind and proper dressing go hand in hand in an escape room. Therefore, it is a good idea to wear comfortable clothing that you can move in, and avoid any garments that might get stuck on props.

You can wear appropriate costumes if you have a specific theme for the escape room game. If there is no theme, you should wear comfortable clothes. Women should avoid wearing long and flowy dresses, and men should wear pants and shirts.

Although escape rooms have a clean environment, you might have to dig mud to find a clue. In some escape rooms, you might also have to climb a ladder. In such cases, it is better to wear clothes that feel comfortable and stay in place.

17. Do Not Waste Time on the Last Digits or Letters

Solving puzzles with ciphers and codes takes time. Completing the phrase becomes easier when you can guess the first few digits or letters.

It is better to guess the complete word by knowing the first few digits because decoding takes time.

An escape room puzzle might also consist of a four-digit password, and you will have to find the digits separately. In such a case, you should look for clues and guess the first three digits. Then, try all the numbers instead of looking for another clue in the escape room.

18. Do Not Be Afraid To Lose

Winning and losing is a part of the game, but participation is part of the fun. While it is true that we try our best to win the escape room games, the results need not be in our favor every time.

You must talk with your team before starting the game. Being the leader, you must motivate them. Tell your team their participation is important, and even if they lose, they will still learn a lot.

Conclusion

Escape rooms have puzzles that are tricky to solve. However, you can use escape room hacks and hacks to come up with the best solution in the shortest time. While escape rooms have difficult puzzles, you should understand that these games are for team-building and enhancing your critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Escape room hacks and hacks can improve your game experience. Remember however, that the fun of these challenges is in the experience and not the outcome!

FAQ: Escape room hacks

Here are answers to questions about escape room hacks.

What are escape room hacks?

Escape room hacks are hacks and tricks you can use while solving puzzles. Using different strategies and critical thinking will help you work smart and solve puzzles on time. Escape room puzzles usually do not involve prior knowledge or experience. Therefore, you can use simple tips and tricks to complete the game on time.

What are some good tips for escape rooms?

Some good escape room tips are:

  • Play with the right people
  • Be a contributor
  • Look everywhere so that you do not miss any clue
  • Ask your teammates for help
  • Do not break things while moving around
  • Keep an eye on the clock, and do not spend too much time on one puzzle.

These tips will help you plan your escape room game and solve puzzles efficiently.

How do you beat an escape room?

Smart work can help you beat an escape room. Instead of the whole team working on one puzzle, you should divide tasks and areas among players. The team members should also stay in touch during the game. If one member finds a clue, then he should match it with the clues of the other members. This strategy makes it easy to solve the puzzle.

Some little tricks and tips like asking for hints, looking around the room, and communicating with other members will help you beat the escape room.

written with 💖 by Tasia Duske

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