Everyone likes going on adventures because they’re so fun and challenging. In our regular day-to-day lives, it’s not really possible to just go out on a quest at a whim, which is why we have to make it happen.
Escape rooms have solved that problem and made it possible for people to participate in mysteries, work through tough puzzles, and go on cool escapades while still being in a safe place. People try different strategies to get out, and some of their techniques have made an impression on employees. Here are their stories.
More info: Reddit
#1
This was our group, we were having trouble with the last puzzle to get out which in involved pressing multiple buttons, we couldn’t figure out the sequences and finally asked for a hint. The employee just said “all together” so now instead of pushing all the buttons at the same time we all put our hands on the doorknob assuming the power of friendship was what was needed to get out. The employee just went “no the buttons” cue helpless embarrassed laughter for the next half hour.
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66points
#2
"alright!! we found the number, its 3+4. Thats 11!!""
none of his 3 teamates questioned him, they kept trying the wrong number, i even teased them repeating it back to them.
I love my job.
none of his 3 teamates questioned him, they kept trying the wrong number, i even teased them repeating it back to them.
I love my job.
51points
#3
Something my group did. The scenario of the room was we were captured and they had us all handcuffed to a cot in the room. We could move around a little bit with the chain attached to the cuffs and since it was a small room with a light on the desk we could grab most of the puzzles and bring it to the cot. We solved a lot of the puzzles still not finding the key to the cuffs to get free. With only a small desk lamp for light it was hard to see most of the writing but we made do and continued to solve things. About 20 minutes of solving things still cuffed to the cot the GM sends us a message saying "You know you can turn on the lights" next to the door was a light switch and after turning on the room lights on the black wall right next to us was a black key hanging on a nail...the key to the cuffs. We escaped the room shortly after that.
50points
It might seem like escape rooms just appeared one day out of nowhere, but that’s not true. The idea for them came about due to different adventure and puzzle games in the ’80s and ’90s. Games like “Myst,” which had interactive environments for players to work together to solve mysteries, laid the foundation for this experience.
Collaborative video games also showed how much fun it was for party members to figure out puzzles together. It was Takao Kato, a Japanese businessman, who organized the first real-life escape room, based on an interactive adventure book series. This idea became so popular that it led to the creation of today’s riddle rooms.
#4
Some dude tried to jam a small iron bar into an electrical socket.
Not sure if he was trying to escape the room, or life in general.
My collegue managed to get to the main electrical switch before the idiot could elektrocute himself.
Not sure if he was trying to escape the room, or life in general.
My collegue managed to get to the main electrical switch before the idiot could elektrocute himself.
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50points
#5
My wife likes to tell a story on how a *previous* male friend of hers was introduced to escape rooms; however, someone, either a friend or the employee, failed to explain that "not all things in the room are meant to be taken apart/broken to receive a clue/key."
As soon as the employee started the clock, the friend, thinking a wicker chair had a clue, walked over and stomped his foot right through the seat--like a foot falling through a thin sheet of ice.
Immediately, the employee on the intercom stutters: "Uh... umm... yo- you didn't have to break the chair. Props shouldn't need to be broken to get a clue."
My wife mentions this story every now and then and I still get a kick out of the thought of someone just shoving their foot through someone's old wicker chair.
As soon as the employee started the clock, the friend, thinking a wicker chair had a clue, walked over and stomped his foot right through the seat--like a foot falling through a thin sheet of ice.
Immediately, the employee on the intercom stutters: "Uh... umm... yo- you didn't have to break the chair. Props shouldn't need to be broken to get a clue."
My wife mentions this story every now and then and I still get a kick out of the thought of someone just shoving their foot through someone's old wicker chair.
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41points
#6
Someone else posted this story where at some point you find a screwdriver, the point was to unscrew a clock you found previously to get a key, instead one guy started taking apart all the furniture, started unscrewing fixtures off the wall, he was a little bit over zealous.
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39points
The global escape room market seems to be growing rapidly, with nearly 50,000 such places set up worldwide. There’s still a lot of room for expansion because many people don’t even know about the existence of these spaces. They might also not take part if they feel that this experience is for children.
Escape rooms draw in such a crowd because they always have an interactive storyline or theme. This helps people take a break from reality and really immerse themselves in the experience. Apart from that, the puzzles are quite engaging and force folks to think in a more creative way.
#7
Not an employee but a participant
My group went to a pirate ship themed escape room. One of the puzzles involved pressing lit up labeled buttons on a wall in a particular sequence to unlock a door. A common theme (to me) in this room was water. There were exposed water pipes that had cartoonish signs on them reading "do not touch", and one of the lights on the wall read "water" and the light behind it was out. I had to have fixated on this for a good 30 minutes; I tried unscrewing parts of the water pipes, pressing the water button while trying to open parts of the pipe, everything. After we finally moved on and finished the GM told us that the room had nothing to do with water, I was actually just messing with their water system.
My group went to a pirate ship themed escape room. One of the puzzles involved pressing lit up labeled buttons on a wall in a particular sequence to unlock a door. A common theme (to me) in this room was water. There were exposed water pipes that had cartoonish signs on them reading "do not touch", and one of the lights on the wall read "water" and the light behind it was out. I had to have fixated on this for a good 30 minutes; I tried unscrewing parts of the water pipes, pressing the water button while trying to open parts of the pipe, everything. After we finally moved on and finished the GM told us that the room had nothing to do with water, I was actually just messing with their water system.
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37points
#8
One of the benefits of going to new escape rooms is listening to the opening spiel about what you can't do in the room. I think my first ever escape room, the the operator specifically told us we couldn't pull off the electrical outlet covers. I figured someone had been watching too much Breaking Bad.
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35points
#9
I did the stupidest thing I've heard of. There was a row of chairs, just regular chairs you might see at a conference. I noticed that only one of them had the label with a barcode and serial number stuck to the bottom so I assumed it was intentional and started trying to apply the 10+ digit serial number to everything in the room. The game master told me I wasn't the first one. Makes me wonder why they didn't just remove the label like they did on the other chairs..
33points
Although these adventure rooms might just seem like a way to pass time, they actually have a ton of benefits that most people don’t seem to realize. One of the most important ones is how they bring folks together to collaborate, share ideas, and rely on each other for support. This kind of teamwork can really strengthen bonds.
Another surprising benefit is how it enhances critical thinking. When people actively set aside time to solve a problem like this, they are forced to be creative, remember multiple clues, manage time, and work through different solutions. This helps individuals become better thinkers and problem solvers.
#10
Turning this on its head, I went to an escape room once that had a ridiculously impossible puzzle. Basically you were supposed to pick up this one chair and place it in a very specific spot on the floor, and then when you sit in it, look in 3 mirrors. If you had the chair set up just right, you could see three pictures on the walls in the reflections. Then you were supposed to count the number of people in each picture from right to left, and that was the combination to a lock.
But who the f**k can accurately count 32 people in a class photo, THROUGH A MIRROR, from ten feet away? Not to mention there was no indication that the chair was supposed to be moved to that spot, or that the photographs were a clue. After we spent like 40 minutes completely stuck the host straight up told us over the intercom how to solve that part of the puzzle, and we were all standing around dumbfounded. Who the hell came up with that one? The host's explanation after it was over was "Well you should have known the mirrors were a clue." Yeah ok sure, maybe if that chair was bolted to the floor and obviously suspicious. But who's going to think to pick up a random chair in the corner, and move it to that one very specific, unmarked spot? Never went back to that place, it's not fun when the puzzles are impossible.
But who the f**k can accurately count 32 people in a class photo, THROUGH A MIRROR, from ten feet away? Not to mention there was no indication that the chair was supposed to be moved to that spot, or that the photographs were a clue. After we spent like 40 minutes completely stuck the host straight up told us over the intercom how to solve that part of the puzzle, and we were all standing around dumbfounded. Who the hell came up with that one? The host's explanation after it was over was "Well you should have known the mirrors were a clue." Yeah ok sure, maybe if that chair was bolted to the floor and obviously suspicious. But who's going to think to pick up a random chair in the corner, and move it to that one very specific, unmarked spot? Never went back to that place, it's not fun when the puzzles are impossible.
31points
#11
On the flip side, this reminded me of the stupidest puzzle I ever did. The theme of the room was to make as much money as possible by “stealing” fake cash, gold, sports memorabilia, etc. before you escaped the room. At one point there was a huge fake diamond raised on a stand in a clear plastic box with small holes in the side, and a larger hole at the top. Earlier in the puzzle there was a box we unlocked that contained sticks, the idea was to put the sticks through the small holes and use them to carefully lift the diamond out of the box through the hole at the top. If you dropped it, you wouldn’t be able to pick it up again. I just reached through the hole in the top and grabbed the diamond by hand. The hole was way too big and the box way too short. One of my buddies got mad saying I was cheating, I defaulted back to my 6th grade math teacher’s motto: “work smarter, not harder.”.
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30points
#12
My husband and I were going through one and I gave the person watching a good laugh. The theme was the Cuban Missile Crisis, so everything was related to the White House. We got to one of the clues and my husband says the answer was POTUS. I never hearing that term before gave him a weird look, so he said the president. Still not understanding I said there wasn't a president POTUS. He then says president of the United States and I said ok but there was no president named POTUS. We go back and forth like a comedy skit for a solid 5 minutes while I'm signing the names of the presidents (elementary teacher here) and he keeps yelling at me the president of the United States!! Finally the guy comes over the speaker to spell it out for me and then tells us we were his favorite people. Not my brightest moments.
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30points
Some folks feel nervous about visiting escape rooms because they don’t know if they’ll be able to solve the puzzles. Others fear embarrassment or coming up with the wrong solution in front of a group of people. The most important thing about such adventures is simply having fun and forgetting everything else for a little while.
Experts agree that the best way to play the game in an escape room is to thoroughly search the place. Don’t dismiss something as insignificant; instead, seek out as many options as possible in order to figure out the clues. Bounce ideas off the other players and come up with a solution together.
#13
My big brother works at an escape room
the room the people were in was quite large and full of stuff but only few hints to get through
they talked for a bit and then nodded and went around the place and threw everything in the center of the room and when they were done they were done with throwing the went to the pile and looked through and they found the hints effective but messy
my brother said it was annoying to clean it up there was so much stuff.
the room the people were in was quite large and full of stuff but only few hints to get through
they talked for a bit and then nodded and went around the place and threw everything in the center of the room and when they were done they were done with throwing the went to the pile and looked through and they found the hints effective but messy
my brother said it was annoying to clean it up there was so much stuff.
29points
#14
To repeat what ive said in this sort of thread before:
If it would take an apathetic employee more than 5-10minutes to reset, then *no* it is not the solution (no kicking a hole in the drywall wont reveal a special chest unless you paid a heck of a lot for your hour and there is a freshly plastered and painted patch of wall right at shin height).
If it would take an apathetic employee more than 5-10minutes to reset, then *no* it is not the solution (no kicking a hole in the drywall wont reveal a special chest unless you paid a heck of a lot for your hour and there is a freshly plastered and painted patch of wall right at shin height).
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29points
#15
Escape Room employee here! The owner of our competitors came in and did our most difficult room. We warned him that it was a tough one but he just shrugged us off with "I'm good with these". Well when the time was up, we went into the room and noticed that every single padlock and combination lock was off. Weirdly, the easier puzzles were left unsolved. When asked about it, he complained that this room was too difficult and that he had picked the locks. Which of course in our rooms, messes up the order of the puzzles. He then complained to management about the room. We just shook our heads and wondered how they handled things at his escape room...
26points
The best part about escape rooms is that they allow people to go on incredible adventures with their friends as many times as they want. This is an awesome bonding experience, which is why so many people love trying these puzzle rooms multiple times.
Have you ever been to an escape room, and what stood out to you about the experience? Do share your story in the comments.
#17
My ex-family owned an escape room, and one of their rooms had a old fashioned tape recorder. After only one group they had to remove it as no one knew how to put in the tape and press play. The group were in their 20s. Its crazy to think such a simple device can be so hard to use.
Also, off subject, I work at a cellphone store. We had an old rotary for display. a late teen picked it up and asked, "How can you even walk around with this? and where is the screen?" thinking it was a cellphone.
Also, off subject, I work at a cellphone store. We had an old rotary for display. a late teen picked it up and asked, "How can you even walk around with this? and where is the screen?" thinking it was a cellphone.
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25points
#18
Had a group of engineers from Google doing a room, and this guy tried using trigonometry to solve a puzzle.
24points
#19
Posted this in an older thread:
I worked in an escape game that ran out of a historic castle-esque landmark in Toronto. Because we were set up in a tourist attraction, there was some stuff in the room that we couldn't get rid of that needed to be there (light switches, fire alarms, etc.). So what we did is we just put stickers on everything that wasn't "part of the game". The stickers were bright red, and depicted a hand with a cross through it (i.e. Do Not Touch)
We would always give players a short spiel in the lobby at the start where we would tell them the rules, and every time we would show them the sticker and say "if you see this, it means the thing is not part of the game, but rather a real functioning thing, it will not do anything in the game, please do not touch." We never had a problem with it until one day....
Bachelor party comes in all happy and a little tipsy (nothing too bad). We give them the spiel, they seem nice and eager, and we take them into the Tower where the game space is located. They enter the tower, the door shuts behind them, and the warning goes off that their time has begun.
Literally as the first thing that happens, maybe two seconds after time starts, one of the dudes bee-lines towards the fire alarm plastered with a bright red Do Not Touch sticker and pulls it.
There was a function going on at the attraction that evening too, and the whole castle had to be evacuated. Five fire trucks came.
I worked in an escape game that ran out of a historic castle-esque landmark in Toronto. Because we were set up in a tourist attraction, there was some stuff in the room that we couldn't get rid of that needed to be there (light switches, fire alarms, etc.). So what we did is we just put stickers on everything that wasn't "part of the game". The stickers were bright red, and depicted a hand with a cross through it (i.e. Do Not Touch)
We would always give players a short spiel in the lobby at the start where we would tell them the rules, and every time we would show them the sticker and say "if you see this, it means the thing is not part of the game, but rather a real functioning thing, it will not do anything in the game, please do not touch." We never had a problem with it until one day....
Bachelor party comes in all happy and a little tipsy (nothing too bad). We give them the spiel, they seem nice and eager, and we take them into the Tower where the game space is located. They enter the tower, the door shuts behind them, and the warning goes off that their time has begun.
Literally as the first thing that happens, maybe two seconds after time starts, one of the dudes bee-lines towards the fire alarm plastered with a bright red Do Not Touch sticker and pulls it.
There was a function going on at the attraction that evening too, and the whole castle had to be evacuated. Five fire trucks came.
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24points
#20
There is a note in one of our rooms that specifies that teams cant put anything electrical on a hook.
This group came in and rewired one of the RFID sensors (which was hidden underneath a painting which is SCREWED to the WALL) because "the note mentioned something about Electrical stuff and it was hanging off".
Thankfully it wasnt hard to fix but g*****n that was stupid.
This group came in and rewired one of the RFID sensors (which was hidden underneath a painting which is SCREWED to the WALL) because "the note mentioned something about Electrical stuff and it was hanging off".
Thankfully it wasnt hard to fix but g*****n that was stupid.
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22points