Let's Take a look at 5 most common mistakes in escape rooms Design or experience, that may ruin it for people! We will not be listing them at any particular sequence , as they are all (very ) bad for escape room experience, and it actually depends to what extent that they appear in the room.
POOR PUZZLES DESIGN
Poor puzzles layout can represent many things and could be present In an escape room in different forms. The final result is usually similar -- the customer is confused, annoyed and unsure what the hell just happened.
· Reusing the identical information or hints for over 1 puzzle could be extremely confusing for people. When you figure out that you shouldn't just figure out what book to use in a puzzle from a collection of bits of paper you found scattered all across the room, but also who's the murderer, what's his shoe size and exactly what he had for breakfast last January, which is the password for his computer account (yes, I am exaggerating:-RRB-), it leaves far from a fantastic impression.
· Involving props which shouldn't be moved. That is probably just the worst mystery design flaw out there. Obviously players can touch and move everything in the area -- it's a part of the experience and what they're used to perform. If them moving props in the area makes a puzzle wracking (without signs ), it's just bad design.
· (too well) hidden things can be really annoying. We seen a room where we could not find the initial key for nearly 15 minutes -- and we weren't even the only ones, when speaking to the proprietor, he said majority of people have problems with this. To make things worse, finding things was a huge part of the rest of the video game too -- and was there due to the lack of real puzzles. Searching for items =/= puzzles!
· Non-working puzzles is the danger that becomes higher and higher when more technology is utilized in the puzzles. It is not really limited to the high-tech puzzles however it may happen with padlocks and low tech puzzles aswell. Technologically advanced puzzles can be great, and will definitely increase the"wow" factor of the room. But when something goes wrong, it is only a bad experience.
A BAD INTRODUCTION AND DEBRIEFING
Introduction and the debriefing Might Not Be a Part of the space itself, but it's surely a part of the escape room encounter. A poor debut and debriefing can truly harm the overall experience when seeing an escape room. No matter how good the room is, it may only feel like something is missing when you're promptly requested to pay and depart after you resolve it.
As bad introductions go, we've seen all kinds -- from room master only reading the instructions from a piece of paper to not even mentioning read more the story of the room. A good introduction is the first step towards immersion, and it can really put you in the mood and set the atmosphere of the story behind the escape room.
It's even easier to Pinpoint a bad debriefing -- and those are not hard to come by. To be completely honest, we've probably had more mediocre or bad debriefings overall, than the really great ones. Too many occasions it happens, which you're only escorted beyond the room back to the entrance hall, asked to cover, possibly provided a chance to get a photograph or a couple of minutes of chat, and then asked to leave (or just stand there awkwardly).
The few awesome debriefings we've had included Going through the room , answering any questions that you might have, commenting and debating the puzzles, possibly explaining a little more how a few puzzles are connected to the narrative of this space . Some rooms also provide refreshments after the room has been finished, that's not crucial but it surely does not hurt.
TOO MANY DISTRACTIONS
Whatever The reason might be -- some room simply use it to cover up the absence of real puzzles and prolong your escape room encounter, some may overdo the story components -- some escape rooms simply contain waaaay to many distractions. By distractions, I suggest things of no significance to the game itself. A typical detective office, with heaps, and that I mean, LOADS of paperwork, pictures, notes all round the room. Not only does it require a lengthy time to make it through all of them, it turned out they were of very little worth to us ultimately. Many rooms solve the issue with a special marker that are used for items that aren't a part of this game. Though it has a bit of a negative effect on immersion, it's fantastic for preventing individuals from wasting their time on parts of the scenery.
Tick, In regards to preparing the room, there is no room for sloppiness. Each of the puzzles have to be reset, all the locks locked, all the keys in the ideal places. We have had it happen a couple of times that some locks weren't locked -- largely even the important locks such as the doors to another room. When you're politely asked that you go back to the first room since the doors were not supposed to be opened yet (and they will inform you as soon as you're able to visit the second area ), it just demolishes the immersion.
BADLY TIMED HINTS
Timing Hints properly may have a fantastic effect on escape room experience. Knowledgeable groups maybe do not even need tips, but in regards to beginners and visitors with a couple rooms under their belt, hints are still an important part of their expertise. Give clues too late, and they will not be able to address the space in time , not a fantastic option. We've experienced both extremes happen to us.
In a single Room, we were given hints before we can even attempt anything ourselves -- and they lead us out of the space in about 40 minutes, with numerous hints one after another.
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In our view, the Perfect hint system should help a group come out of this space just in time, or in a couple of minutes.
Typical mistakes we stumbled upon in escape rooms. Most of Them could be readily avoided -- and it is really worth It, as it'll tremendously increase the visitor's satisfaction. What about you? Do you want to add something, make a comment about something? Let us know in the comments!