Tips to ace your first escape room

A few habits separate teams that finish comfortably from teams that spend the whole hour talking over each other. None of them require any special skill.

Listen closely during the briefing. Your game master will usually tell you what's off-limits — if they say the paintings aren't part of the game, that's one less place to search, and skipping the briefing costs you time later.

Say what you find, out loud, immediately. The single biggest time-waster in escape rooms is someone sitting on a clue because they're not sure it matters yet.

Play to your strengths. If someone's quick with numbers, let them take the math puzzle; if someone's good with wordplay, point them at the cipher. You don't need to plan this — it usually sorts itself out within the first few minutes.

Split up if the room allows it. If puzzles don't have to be solved in a strict order, working two problems at once gets you out faster — just report back the moment either group finds something.

A few more things worth knowing

Don't rule out an odd idea just because it sounds unlikely — let the person try it. It either works or rules out a dead end quickly.
Ask for a hint if you're stuck. Most venues allow one or two without penalty, and hints are usually written to nudge you rather than hand you the answer outright.
Don't overthink it. There's rarely anything hidden under the rug or inside a wall socket — if a solution requires damaging something, you're on the wrong track.
Dress for movement. Closed-toe shoes and clothes you can crawl or crouch in, just in case.

And the obvious one that's easy to forget under time pressure: it's a game, not an exam. Teams that don't escape usually still have a good time — the goal is the hour, not just the outcome. Still deciding which room to book? See how to choose an escape room.