How Do Escape Rooms Work?

Escape rooms offer an exciting and challenging space for players of all ages and abilities, transporting them to an immersive room filled with puzzles and giving them a clear time limit to achieve their goals. Escape rooms work so well with players because they are governed by clear rules, meaning they can be enjoyed by newcomers and experts alike.

What is an Escape Room and How Do They Work?

Escape rooms task teams of players with accomplishing a specific goal within a window of time, typically 60 minutes, inside an immersive decorated space. While in their original designs, the goal was typically escaping the room itself, modern rooms will task players with everything from solving a murder, stopping a missile launch, breaking into a vault, and more.

Escape rooms are designed within an immersive room or series of rooms, helping to transport players into the world of the game. At Enigma Quests our room themes take players to a magical school, a deep-sea submarine, and a criminal bank vault. This will be achieved through decorations, layouts, items, and special effects, and it will also be tied directly into each of the puzzles.

Within an escape room, everything can be a clue. You’ll encounter a variety of interconnected puzzles, which will fold in every item and decoration in a room over time. In order to reach the goal before your time runs out, you’ll need to demonstrate logic, memory, and fantastic communication among your team.

Why Do People Enjoy Escape Rooms?

Offering a fun, physical, and collaborative space for teams, escape rooms work as a fantastic social activity for friends, families, or colleagues. They are an experience that can’t be found anywhere else, letting teams explore a detailed space, combine items, and solve a range of puzzles. As they take place within an hour they can also be easily combined with other activities.

Escape rooms are also designed so they can be enjoyed by those at all levels of ability. While we would only recommend them for older children of 9 and up, the sheer variety of puzzles means that everyone will be able to understand how escape rooms work and contribute. In addition, you’ll always be guided through an escape room by a gamemaster, who’ll introduce you to the world of the game, and will be available throughout, typically via radio. Gamemasters will be able to give quick pointers to teams who need them, ensuring they stay on the right track.

Here are just some of the people who’ve enjoyed our escape rooms:

• Friends: Put the communication between you and your friends to the test within an escape room, where you’ll need to work together to emerge victorious. Whether looking for a great birthday party or simply a fun night out together, escape rooms will offer a unique and memorable time.
• Families: Escape rooms are a great way to bring families together, getting children, teens, and adults involved. Our rooms can be a great addition to a family day out in London.
• Colleagues: For a fantastic team-building activity, escape rooms give colleagues an engaging and intense hour to work together, showcasing and building inter-team communication as you find clues and solve puzzles.
• Gamers: Many gamers look to test their puzzle-solving and teamwork skills in real life, with escape games offering a great way to bond with online friends. 

Top Escape Room Tips For Beginners

Even though you now understand how escape rooms work, they can still be a little daunting for many players. To help you, here are some tips to ensure you have a fantastic time:

• Arrive early: While escape rooms will give you a precise time, usually 1 hour, to complete all puzzles, they will typically begin with an introduction from your gamemaster, who’ll talk you through the specifics of the room and introduce you to the story. Arrive early to make sure this all unfolds smoothly.
• Survey the room: Once your timer starts you should first explore the room together, making note of various elements, items, and any locked containers or doors. As the puzzles in an escape room will often involve combining different elements of a room, it’s crucial to understand every aspect of the room before you start solving a puzzle.
• Everything is there for a reason: Escape rooms are designed to immerse you in a different world, but you should always keep in mind that every element is placed carefully. If anything strikes you as odd, from lights to decorations to floorboards, there is a high chance this element will be involved in a puzzle.
• Ask for help if you need it: Gamemasters are there to help you have a great experience, and will be able to point you in the right direction without undermining your puzzle-solving. Especially if you are a beginner, don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.
• Call ahead with any needs: Whether you need a chair in the room for a player with limited mobility, to know in advance whether the room contains scary elements, or any other issues, contact an escape room in advance. Escape rooms are run by enthusiasts, who want to offer every player the best possible experience.

Fantastic Escape Rooms in Shoreditch, London

Enigma Quests offers three stellar escape rooms designed to offer a fantastic experience to players at all experience levels. Located in Shoreditch East London, a short walk from tube and train stations, our 3 rooms showcase varied puzzles, exciting designs, and surprising effects:

• School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: This magical room takes players to the prestigious School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where you’ll need to ace tests across classes like potions, charms, and defence against the dark arts to achieve the “Outstanding” grade on your final exams.
• Submarine Mission Wavebreak: At the bottom of the ocean a rogue submarine is set to cause a global disaster, and your team is the only thing standing in the way. This room immerses you in a submarine environment, with just one attempt at the final puzzle.
• The Million Pound Heist: This unique room takes players to the vault of a dangerous London gang, where you’ll need to crack a state-of-the-art security system. Once inside, you’ll have the rest of your hour to get as much loot as possible, with only a few teams each year reaching the full million.

Our rooms each run 7 days a week, with evening slots available, designed around 3-5 players. Book your escape room experience through our website today.