Escape rooms
About
I'm not an expert on escape rooms. I'm supposedly smart (a PhD in neuroscience sounds fancy), but I'm terrible at trivia and probably about average with puzzles to be honest! I do love strategy though, and so my first two escape room experiences made me realize good teamwork is half the battle. Obviously the real objective should be more about having fun than actually getting out.... winning is great, but it's the sense of adventure that makes escape rooms great!
Strategy
Unlike other articles, where I've dreamt up my own strategy, this one is done for me already, thanks to this fabulous video. I haven't put it into action yet, but here's his principles:
- Think simple -
- Searching -
- Organize your stuff -
- Focus on what is stopping you -
- Team roles -
- Lock types -
- Code types -
- Written clues -
- Look for patterns -
- Your guide is your friend -
Video: BEAT ANY ESCAPE ROOM: 10 proven tricks and tips - which I discovered by accident. The author of this video, Mark Rober, does some fantastic stuff.
Escape Rooms I've Tried
- Palace Games (San Francisco) - actually inside the (famous) The Palace Of Fine Arts (or kind of out the back), makes it extra legit. I did the Roosevelt Escape Room as a team offsite for Google. We had a group of 10 smart engineers and yet we failed to get out in 90 minutes. Still, it was a whole heap of fun. Wow! This place has lights, bells, whistles, electronic contraptions, and a tunnel. Seriously well done. :)
- Beat The Lock Escape Room (San Jose) - my first escape room was "The Spy Room" in San Jose. It was lots of fun, although I have to say this venue feels like it was one an old doctor's office, so it's on the lower budget side. Still the puzzles were fun and although there were only 5 of us, 3 were neuroscience postdocs with escape room experience, so we made it out with a minute to spare. Nice!
- The Escape Game San Francisco - haven't been yet, but looks incredible and their website even shows you a 3D view, so you know it's high budget!
