5 Common Escape Room Mistakes

Escape rooms aren’t designed to be easy, but you will have a better chance of emerging victorious if you avoid these common escape room mistakes!

We’ve got a number of great tips on how to beat any escape room, but it is also helpful to know what not to do. Here at AIM Escape Rooms in London, we have experienced a number of players both succeed and fail in attempting to escape from our rooms. Whether you are an escape room pro or novice, it is always useful to polish your skills and make sure you are doing all of the right things to maximise, not only your chances of success, but also the enjoyment of your group.

In this article, you will find the five most common mistakes people make when in an escape room, starting with; 

Failing to Communicate

Without doubt, the most common mistake we see in escape rooms is a failure to communicate well. Teamwork is key when it comes to escape rooms and a failure to communicate properly will set you up for failure. Good communication skills can save you valuable time in an escape room and will help you solve even the most challenging of puzzles.

Communication is key in delegating tasks, sharing relevant information and ensuring that valuable time isn’t wasted working on puzzles which have already been solved.

Not Asking for Clues

Clues are there for a reason; to help you succeed! When you are in an escape room, chances are that you do not know how many puzzles you have left to solve or how many rooms you have left to do. Would you rather ask for a clue or two and solve all of the puzzles and escape the room, or not ask for a clue and be stuck on a puzzle for so long that it stops you from getting to experience all of the puzzles in the game?

It can also be worth deciding upon your clue strategy before you enter the room. You don’t want to waste your precious time in the room arguing over the positives and negatives of asking for a clue when you can just decide between each other beforehand.

All of our clues work on a sliding scale, so the first clue will give you a gentle nudge in the right direction without giving much away, then there will be four or five further clues for each puzzle which will increasingly push you towards the correct solution.

Not Searching Thoroughly Enough

When you enter an escape room, it is important to search every corner of the room for potential clues. Don’t expect everything to be right in front of you, you will need to examine every inch of the room to get all of the clues you need to solve the puzzles.

Don’t worry about looking silly or thinking, “Oh no, they wouldn’t put something there.” Trust us, we would! All we ask is that you don’t use excessive force, or break/dismantle anything in the room.

Keeping One Puzzle to Yourself

It is important to split up and work on different puzzles whilst in an escape room, but it is also important than one person doesn’t hog all of the puzzles and try to solve them on their own. There is nothing worse than one person being determined to solve a particular puzzle or game and not letting anyone else have a go. You will waste valuable time doing this, so step aside, let someone else have a go and move on to work on something else.

Not Paying Attention to Videos

We know that you’re excited to get started in the escape room and that you just want to get exploring the room, but it is important to pay attention to the introductory videos in the room as well as any other videos which may play during your gaming session. If you don’t pay attention, you might miss something! Everything that takes place in the room, whether it is a video, or a pre-game briefing from your games master, may well contain important clues or inside information which can help you escape.

If you think you've got what it takes to beat one of our escape rooms, head over to our booking page now!