Rule 2 is going to sound a lot like Rule 1, and that's fine - Rule 1 is super super important.
Escape rooms can get a little hectic, I should warn you if you've never been in one. Creating a single room with enough puzzles to involve 12 people at once is going to involve several different things going on at once. Add in counting down clocks and any other environment distractions (see: roaming zombie from last post) and you have a recipe for post-apocalyptic chaos. So here's something you may forget in the babble of 12 voices all yelling questions and answers at each other at once:
RULE #2: COMMUNICATE EVERYTHING
It seems obvious in hindsight, and when you're looking forward to participating, you don't think to yourself, "I'm going to find the answers and then just keep my mouth shut." But when many people are all talking urgently to one another, you might find yourself forgetting to contribute what you know, or not knowing who to communicate it to. Here are several ideas to make sure all info is spread to all parties.
General Tip: Just Keep Talking
If your mouth isn't flapping, I'm going to go ahead and say you're probably playing this game wrong. Sorry to all those strong-and-silent types, but silence isn't going to get anyone out of a locked room with 11 other people. Don't got anything to say about the puzzle at hand? Feel free to make commentary about the room at large, or ask if anyone's solved this bit or that bit, or announce you're going to search something else again. Silence is tantamount to sabotage in a situation like this.
Example: My friends and I are running around the room grabbing items, opening drawers, solving puzzles, and whatnot. We were solving a room where the majority of people were in my group, and one small group of strangers got stuck with us. Most of those strangers didn't want to step outside their comfort zone and interrupt a group that chattering among themselves, but thank goodness one of them did. She tapped me on the shoulder and said, "did you notice that the sign over there has some stuff on the back?" And that was exactly what I needed.
Specific Tip: The Secretary
At least one person must be the focus of all this information - that's just the most efficient way to play it. Two is fine. If you really want, tell your information to every single person in the room one at a time, but it doesn't seem like the most efficient way. In all of the escape room's I've played, they provide a clipboard and a scratch piece of paper, as well as a few pens. Whoever has a clipboard has nominated themselves as the repository for all the information in the room. If no one has picked up that clipboard, go ahead and nominate yourself (as long as your handwriting is legible to at least you). Note down everything you see or hear as neatly as possible, especially codes. Long hints don't need to be written down verbatim, but it might be helpful to note down where they are, so you don't forget to look at them again.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
Escape Rooms: Rule #1
So you've gotten yourself signed up for a In-Real-Life Room Escape game, eh? Don't panic. I'll tell you exactly what to do if you want to be helpful and escape. If... you somehow don't want to be helpful in escaping a room, maybe you should reconsider paying money to be locked in a room?
RULE #1: DO SOMETHING, GODDAMMIT
This is the ultimate rule of room escape in a collaborative environment. Please, please, please. Do not think to yourself "well I'm not very smart I'll just sit here in the corner and hope we escape." No. For the love of all that is holy, NO. The people who make these puzzle rooms literally do so to entertain a certain number of people, and usually make it challenging enough for that number. If they let in 12 people at once, you can be sure they expect all 12 people to be doing something at all times, and if they are not, you cannot win. Trust me, a handful of people utterly cannot win these events alone - there's simply too much to do in too little time for that to be possible. Look, you don't even need to solve anything, just don't stand there helpless-like. Look around, turn things over, open drawers, read signs, take down paintings, look behind dressers, try to lift things, flip through books, talk out loud about clues. (I will accept inane side commentary like: "I wonder what this clock is for.") Absolutely anything is better than a carbonite version of you, taking up the space of a person who could have been helping instead.
Bad example: We played a game recently where we had to escape a room, but the the twist was: there was also a zombie in the room, trying to eat us. The zombie had a limited range (dictated by some shackles) but there were plenty of clues and puzzles within its reach. We had to jury-rig this or that, or fish something out of a cage, and had no other option but to drop the rod and run away when the zombie started to come our direction (you can't fight the zombie, and any touch is game over). I asked the people on the other side of the room to distract the zombie, but they chose instead to cower in a corner out of its reach, not doing (or solving) anything at all, so it was forced to keep coming for us. Distracting the zombie didn't take any special skills or smarts or athletic prowess. Just a will to help out. Don't be these people. They could have literally been eaten by the zombie and been more helpful. At least it would have been kept busy for a few seconds. As it was, we had to sacrifice one of our own friends, an actively helping person, to stop puzzling and take the responsibility of distracting the zombie. Out of the recommended 12 people, there were 3 useless statues, 1-2 people for zombie distracting, and only 4-5 people at any time actually solving puzzles. It made it needlessly difficult.
Good example: Friend #1 had solved a piece of paper which referenced, let's say in this case (to avoid spoilers) a yellow house. I had no idea what yellow house was supposed to mean. No one we showed the paper to had any idea. But we kept showing the paper to every single person in the room while they were running around, and eventually, Friend #2 knew what we were talking about. Because while we had been heads down over the paper, Friend #2 wasn't idle. He was surveying all the photos and newspaper clippings and books. He remembered that there was a yellow house pictured in one of the photo frames, and that was the key to unlocking the puzzle. None of us would have caught that if he hadn't been active and kept his eyes and ears open.
TO REITERATE: Do not stand by and think you're useless. You are only useless if you're standing by. It's better to ask a total stranger: "did you see the numbers written here?" or "did you already solve this puzzle?" or "did you already use this clue?" than to sit on that information, thinking the other people in the room already know about it. Your fellow escapers won't be offended if you bring them repeat information, and it doesn't take them almost any time to answer these kinds of questions. They won't be offended if you poke your head in on them looking at a puzzle, and they won't be offended if you re-search a drawer or cabinet again. People miss things, the atmosphere can be a little hectic, don't be afraid to participate in any way you can. Trust me, it's MUCH more offensive to sit around and waste a space inside the room.
RULE #1: DO SOMETHING, GODDAMMIT
This is the ultimate rule of room escape in a collaborative environment. Please, please, please. Do not think to yourself "well I'm not very smart I'll just sit here in the corner and hope we escape." No. For the love of all that is holy, NO. The people who make these puzzle rooms literally do so to entertain a certain number of people, and usually make it challenging enough for that number. If they let in 12 people at once, you can be sure they expect all 12 people to be doing something at all times, and if they are not, you cannot win. Trust me, a handful of people utterly cannot win these events alone - there's simply too much to do in too little time for that to be possible. Look, you don't even need to solve anything, just don't stand there helpless-like. Look around, turn things over, open drawers, read signs, take down paintings, look behind dressers, try to lift things, flip through books, talk out loud about clues. (I will accept inane side commentary like: "I wonder what this clock is for.") Absolutely anything is better than a carbonite version of you, taking up the space of a person who could have been helping instead.
Bad example: We played a game recently where we had to escape a room, but the the twist was: there was also a zombie in the room, trying to eat us. The zombie had a limited range (dictated by some shackles) but there were plenty of clues and puzzles within its reach. We had to jury-rig this or that, or fish something out of a cage, and had no other option but to drop the rod and run away when the zombie started to come our direction (you can't fight the zombie, and any touch is game over). I asked the people on the other side of the room to distract the zombie, but they chose instead to cower in a corner out of its reach, not doing (or solving) anything at all, so it was forced to keep coming for us. Distracting the zombie didn't take any special skills or smarts or athletic prowess. Just a will to help out. Don't be these people. They could have literally been eaten by the zombie and been more helpful. At least it would have been kept busy for a few seconds. As it was, we had to sacrifice one of our own friends, an actively helping person, to stop puzzling and take the responsibility of distracting the zombie. Out of the recommended 12 people, there were 3 useless statues, 1-2 people for zombie distracting, and only 4-5 people at any time actually solving puzzles. It made it needlessly difficult.
Good example: Friend #1 had solved a piece of paper which referenced, let's say in this case (to avoid spoilers) a yellow house. I had no idea what yellow house was supposed to mean. No one we showed the paper to had any idea. But we kept showing the paper to every single person in the room while they were running around, and eventually, Friend #2 knew what we were talking about. Because while we had been heads down over the paper, Friend #2 wasn't idle. He was surveying all the photos and newspaper clippings and books. He remembered that there was a yellow house pictured in one of the photo frames, and that was the key to unlocking the puzzle. None of us would have caught that if he hadn't been active and kept his eyes and ears open.
TO REITERATE: Do not stand by and think you're useless. You are only useless if you're standing by. It's better to ask a total stranger: "did you see the numbers written here?" or "did you already solve this puzzle?" or "did you already use this clue?" than to sit on that information, thinking the other people in the room already know about it. Your fellow escapers won't be offended if you bring them repeat information, and it doesn't take them almost any time to answer these kinds of questions. They won't be offended if you poke your head in on them looking at a puzzle, and they won't be offended if you re-search a drawer or cabinet again. People miss things, the atmosphere can be a little hectic, don't be afraid to participate in any way you can. Trust me, it's MUCH more offensive to sit around and waste a space inside the room.
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