5 Escape From The Room Emotions You Need To Guard Against

Escape from the room games are so much fun. Actually, they’re exhilarating. Gets your adrenaline pumping and emotions on a rollercoaster. At times you experience the high of solving a puzzle that gets you closer to your goal. Then comes the panic of watching the timer inching towards the deadline. While all these ranges of emotion are what makes the game so much fun, there are some emotions that only slow down your team.

1. Panic Attacks

We all suffer from a measure of claustrophobia, some of us more than others. Being locked up in a room with no immediate escape hatch can be frightening to some people. If you suffer from extreme claustrophobia, this is not the game for you.

Apart from being claustrophobic, there are many other scenarios that may induce panic in even the bravest of us. Watching the timer clock down to zero can have the effect of inducing panic. The trick is to just have fun and enjoy each moment. The clock will tick down whether you have your eye on it or not. So why not maximize on each moment without worrying about the inevitable?

2. Hard-Easy Effect

Almost every group has a Mr/Ms. Know-It-All who tends to misjudge the difficulty of every task. We also have the over-thinkers who over-complicate every situation. Of course, the puzzles can get mind-boggling, especially when the whole group is shouting out ideas. Take it easy and stay calm. Approach each puzzle and clue with a sober mind. If you’re prone to panic, start with escape from the room games with a higher success rate. They may have easier to crack codes and obvious clues to prepare you for the more challenging rooms.

3. The Cortisol Effect

Cortisol is a stress hormone responsible that’s responsible for self-control, reasoning, memory recall, and impulse control. When the game gets intense, your body naturally responds by producing higher levels of cortisol. This can negatively impact your chances of attaining the goal by affecting your reasoning abilities.

To combat the negative effects of cortisol, take your mind off the pressure. Take a deep breath, indulge in a few seconds of meditation, or do a yoga pose to relax your mind. If none of that works for you, strike up a conversation with one of your team mates unrelated to the task at hand. After all, this is a bonding game, so get to know each other better.

4. Selective Perception

Humans have a natural tendency to dismiss new information if it’s in direct contradiction to past beliefs. It happens to all of us. But that’s the beauty of working as a team. You get different types of personalities who all excel in different skill sets. This broadens the whole group’s powers of perception. Try and be tolerant to others with diverse or even eccentric ideas. You might just learn something new or acquire a new way of looking at things.

5. Premature Celebration

Most escapes from the room hosts are familiar with the common behavior of team members celebrating at two points. When the team cracks the first code, and when the team thinks they have attained the goal. Cracking that first code takes away the tension you all had when you got into the room, so obviously, people will celebrate with relief. Keep the celebration modest and short lived, you still have a few more puzzles to solve.

It’s more prudent to celebrate when you’re outside the room than at the moment when you find the key. This is because most challenging escape from the room locations has games designed to have a second room. They may or may not tell you in advance, but getting one key might only take you to that secondary room and another set of puzzles.

Keep Calm and Escape From the Room

Taking control of your emotional state can determine your success rate when attempting to escape a locked room. This does not mean you should take too many precautions to guard against all emotions. It is okay to be exuberant, to cheer, and even a little panic. It’s what makes these games so attractive and such a great bonding tool. In fact, the varying emotions that you never show in the office environment are what makes for team building.

Above all, remember to have fun and to make it fun for all team members. But when you’re overridden with emotions, calm yourself so you can more rationally approach the puzzles and clues.