Today I wanted to write about an amazing experience I’ve had the joy to partake in. Let’s be clear, I’ve never played an escape room at home in my life up until this moment. I never had particular interest in finding out what the hype was all about. But in hindsight, I have to admit, an escape room at home is more fun than I ever thought it would be.
But what is an escape room at home? Well, you get shipped a huge box with all sorts of attributes and way more stuff right to your doorstep. I’m not going to lie, the box was way bigger than you or me would’ve guessed. When you open the box, you get greeted by the Manuel. It’s a simple and very clear step to step instruction guide with all the steps you’ll need to take before playing. When you’re done with the setup, it’s clear that you need some sort of guiding video with a little introduction to the story you’re about to play.
Right after the introduction, the video continues with a timer counting down from one hour until the hour is finished. I’m remembering thinking to myself “damn we’ve already started. Let’s get to it” For clarification, you can play the escape rooms from Codekrakers with four to six players. We had four players, and we were set on beating the escape room with the minimum amount of people required.
Let me say this right now. The hour flew past. In the beginning, you might get tricked by the clock. You’ll start to think stuff like “ohh we’ve got 45 minutes left, easy”. And the next time you look at the clock, all of a sudden you’ve only got 20 minutes left. That’s the point where stress starts to kick in. there are a variety of puzzles, riddles, locks, secret messages and items for the players to solve, crack and stress about.
Sometimes it’s all about distributing and splitting tasks up between your team. Some people are really straightforward and think logically about solutions. Where others have a very different and creative approach. Also, don’t forget to switch up tasks when you’re stuck. It’s okay to ask for help or try your luck on another puzzle.