Prisons are damn scary. You’re in a small space. Hygiene is lackluster. Food is scarce. It gets even scarier if lighting is poor, you’re shackled to the bed or wall, and you have mean-looking cell mates. Escape prison games offer you the chance to experience all this for an hour, with no risk of getting shivved/shanked or worse…
The beauty of escape prison games is they give you the opportunity to role play as almost anyone you want to be. You can be Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, the soft-spoken Michael Scofield from Prison Break, the calculating genius Clyde Shelton from Law Abiding Citizen.
To be as successful as these heroes, there are a few tips that can mean the difference between being freedom and ‘a lifetime prison sentence’.
Tip 1: Keep It Simple
For most escape prison games, even the very challenging ones with very high difficulty ratings, the puzzles and clues are surprisingly simple. They are just cleverly hidden and worded to make them appear difficult to crack. Don’t over complicate things by looking for intricate solutions. More often than not, the answer is right there staring you in the face.
Tip 2: Don’t Ignore Escape Prison Games Puzzles
Sometimes, the escape prison game creators add a puzzle to confuse players, but this is a rare occurrence. The norm is, every puzzle counts and each clue has the potential for revealing the key.
Carefully scrutinize every puzzle you come across. Avoid dismissing any, as it may be central to achieving your goal of breaking out. If a puzzle appears too difficult to solve, involve your team members and explore all options. If worse comes to worst, ask for a clue from the game master.
Tip 3: Think Like A 4th Grader
Escape prison games can get really challenging. To break out, you need to totally immerse yourself in the game. Think outside the box and summon up all your creative juices.
Remember when you were a kid and you would think up all these imaginative stories and situations? You need to bring out the 10-year-old in you. Think like a 4th grader and you’ll find the game more enjoyable and the puzzles easier to crack.
Tip 4: Experiment With Functionality
Is the honey bucket just a metal thing filled with human waste or is there a clue under it? Or maybe, it can be turned upside down to use as a simple ladder. We get so stuck on how things are normally used that our minds refuse to think of alternative ways of using them. And just to ease your fears, no escape prison game will put you in a room with a bucket full of human waste. Like I mentioned earlier, use your imagination and think outside the box.
Tip 5: Keep High Morale
Keep the excitement levels high. This encourages the team to get more involved and makes the whole experience fun. Whether you beat the clock or not, what you’ll remember most is the positive attitude everyone had (or the negative if that was the case).
By keeping morale high, you encourage even the quietest or introverted players to come together as a team. No one wants to miss out on the fun.
How To Excel At Escape Prison Games
No two prison games are the same. But you use the same attitude to realize your goal on time. These 5 tips will work with any escape the room game, no matter the difficulty level. Teamwork is paramount and most of the time, it’s the real objective of the game – aside from breaking out.
Keep an open mind, carefully analyze all options, and keep your team motivated. Above all, have memorable fun with all your team members.