Clue IQ’s Top 7 Tips for Your Escape Room Adventure
COMMUNICATION & THE POWER OF FRESH EYES
This is the most important part of the game. You must share information with your team. If you find a new item or notice something like a symbol or a pattern, get everyone’s attention and share it with the group. Along the same lines, make sure to listen! Take a moment to stop what you are doing to pay attention to someone else’s findings. When you are feeling stuck on a puzzle, a different perspective can be incredibly valuable. A simple but effective strategy is for a player who has been working on the same thing for too long to show a teammate what they are doing and let them take a fresh look at it. This simple act of switching can often lead to a breakthrough.
Details Matter
Things are not in the game by accident and often small details will be the difference between being confused and solving. Make sure to read carefully and thoroughly and always have someone else double-check your work. This includes reading new materials and attempting solves. If a code you figured out makes sense but a lock doesn’t work, have another player double-check. Human error is common, especially in an environment where you are racing the clock.
Organization Helps!
If you have loose items, try to move them to a central location where all players will be able to see them and no one will forget about them. Never put something in a pocket where you might forget it exists or behind anything that closes if you can help it. Don’t walk around the room holding items, you want to make sure it stays visible to all players as much as possible. No one can solve a puzzle that is in your hands.
EXPLORE AND INVESTIGATE
When you first start the game or gain access to a new area, it is a great idea to take a moment to fully explore and investigate your surroundings. This thorough, initial search is the best way to ensure you find all the available items and clues. As you explore, remember to share every piece of information you find with your team and organize your findings in a central location.
As you are doing this, please remember basic safety. The game is designed to be fully interactive without the need for force. Anything that is meant to move or open will do so with little to no effort. The answer is never to pull harder, climb, or jump. All clues and puzzles are designed to be easily accessible to everyone.
Hints Are Part of the Game
The reality is most teams will need at least a little bit of help along the way. This is not a bad thing. While all puzzles are designed to have a logical conclusion that can be solved using only the clues built into the game, sometimes because of the time limit and pressure, you might get stuck and need help to move forward. All of our games have customized systems in place to give teams a way to interact with the game or a character to get back on track. Hints will often be very small pieces of information that simply got overlooked or something to help clarify and get you moving again. We strongly suggest using hints as a resource, they are a normal part of the game. At Clue IQ, we never limit the amount of help you can receive, so whether you need a tiny nudge or enjoy a guided tour, we are always happy to help. Our general advice on when to ask for a hint is this: if you are feeling stuck and out of ideas, get everyone together and have them explain any idea they have. Everyone can compare notes and revisit these together and see if there is anything new to add. If you have exhausted everyone’s ideas or no one has anything left, it is now time to ask for a hint.
Puzzles are logical – Avoid guessing
If a puzzle doesn’t make sense, you are probably missing information or need to look at it differently. All puzzles are designed to have a logical conclusion that can be solved using only the clues and materials built into the game. If you find yourself using advanced historical knowledge or engineering skills, you are likely overcomplicating the puzzle.
For this reason, guessing is generally a waste of time. It is much faster to solve the puzzle than to guess a lock. Even if you are successful at guessing, it will inevitably lead to confusion later, as you won’t know what items or information were meant to lead you to that answer. All puzzles are designed to have a logical conclusion, and if you feel the need to guess, you are much better off asking for a hint.
Slow down & have fun
It may sound counterintuitive, but you will progress faster by working slower. Rushing through the game will cause you to miss items, miss details as you read, and make mistakes with order, placement, and inputs. A tense or overly competitive team will often make more mistakes. Remember that the goal is to have an exciting, memorable experience. If you slow down, communicate clearly, and have fun, you will inevitably progress faster and enjoy the adventure more.