u/NearbyPineapple7905

I have been working as a game master in PanIQ Wes Hollywood for a while now and every week I see teams make the same mistakes, no matter their experience levels. These mistakes could cost you a couple of minute or, worse, get you stumped on a simple puzzle for over 10 minutes. Here are a few mistakes you need to avoid:

1. Look EVERYWHERE. This seems sort of obvious but we all fall for it. How many times have you not been able to progress on a puzzle because there was a piece missing either under the table, a coat jacket, behind a door, or in a drawer, which is the worst one to miss. No matter your level of experience, I would always recommend trying to find everything before zeroing in on a puzzle to avoid missing obvious details that would help that puzzle. Once you have done a few rounds of searching, try to solve the puzzles.
2. Use things as intended. This one is a little weird to say, but it is worth saying. The best example is a chair. If there is a chair in the room, sit on it and there is a 10% chance something will activate in the room. If there is a drawer, try to open it. If there are clothing items, especially eyewear, put them on. If something is in the room, it is for the a reason and the designer probably assumed you would try to use it how it is normally used.
3. Double check every solution. I see it everyday. There is a team that has the solution to a puzzle but cannot get past it because they pressed a wrong button or the puzzle need to reset for a new input. If you are certain of a solution, always try to put it in the lock or whatever the input may be 2 or three times. If you notice that it goes red or makes a weird noise in the middle of your input, try pressing random buttons until you hear the noise again and then input your solution. If that does not work, go back to the drawing board.

What’s the worst mistake you have made in an escape room?

I am a game master at PanIQ West Hollywood and every time I game master a team, I see a similar trends that start to appear. Here are some stereotypes that I see all the time.

1. Quarterback: This is the person who is the most experience (or thinks that they are the smartest). They usually just stand in the middle of the room and shout at everybody, sort of like a director. They don't solve a lot of puzzles but feel the most accomplished after.
2. Hunter/gatherer: This is the person who spends the whole time looking for stuff. They look under all the tables, inside all the drawers, and they try climbing and crawling just to see if there is something hiding somewhere unreachable.
3. Silent but deadly: Probably the real MVP, this person can just see a puzzle and solve it quietly. This causes everyone else to be confused about what happened. Not the best way to be a team player, but very good at solving the puzzles.
4. Vibe captain: The wild card of the group. They don't know what an escape room is, they probably got dragged into doing it, so they are just vibing, making jokes, and just overall confused as to what is happening. They will stumble into solving a puzzle sometimes, which becomes the highlight of the experience.

Which one do you think you are when you play escape rooms?