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.
