6 Secrets to Successfully Solving Escape Rooms

September 5th, 2026

By Gina Smith

I remember my first escape room. I was terrified. I can be claustrophobic and the idea of being locked in a room was one of the scariest things I could think of. Then this opportunity to beta test a brand new escape room came up and we put up our hands, thinking that this might be a great way to give one a try. Alice in Wonderland at Confined Escape Rooms was a visual marvel: all done in black light reactive colours with a myriad of puzzles and things to do. We had so much fun and clearly, we were bitten by the escape room bug. We went on to do many, many escape rooms across BC & Alberta, and once we decided to open a business, it was easy to see that escape rooms would be part of the concept.

Now, as Escape Room Game Masters for the last 3 ½ years, we have learned many things about designing and building puzzles and running escape rooms, including observations about the people that play escape rooms and how they play.

There are a lot of people who do not know what an escape room is or, like me, have misgivings about what they think it is. Maybe they heard from a friend or saw an ad and decided to take a chance and try one of our rooms. Great news: Most of those people end up loving escape rooms!

We thought it would be fun to share some insider secrets about escape rooms that we have learned from playing them, designing them and observing other people play them. 

*Please remember that these are generalized observations and do not apply to specific people or groups.

1. Listen to the Game Master

We take time before every single game to give our players the Spiel: the rundown of how to use locks, the rules for the room, and the Story. This is not the time to let your eyes glaze over, listen to the song in your head or watch the wall above our heads. This IS the time to take mental notes, to remember what we said about the locks or specific items in the room. 

2. No phones. 

Keeping phones out of the room makes sure that everyone is on a level playing field. When there is a score board involved, playing with the same parameters is only fair. So taking out your phone to google Roman numerals is not cool. Don’t worry, we don’t expect you to have prior knowledge in a room, so if there are Roman numerals or something similar, you can be assured that we will give you a way to decode them. (Obviously, there are exceptions to the phone rule.)

3. Groups matter: Are you a casual player or competitive? 

We get a lot of first timers playing our escape rooms and a lot of families and friend groups that are looking for something fun to do. These are Casual players. Their goal is to have fun and spend some time together. 

Conversely, there are the Competitive players. These are the people who have cultivated a group of people will certain skill sets, the ones who would rather lose than ask for a hint, the ones who keep track of all the places they've been and their win/loss ratio. 

You get to decide what kind of player you would like to be: Are you Casual or Competitive? 

4. Keep track of the clock.

Time keeps ticking whether you are watching it or not. Keeping an eye on the clock helps you manage your time. I suggest, especially with the younger players, that they choose a designated time keeper whose job it is to keep everyone on track. 

5. Stuck on a puzzle? 

Sometimes people get stuck on a lock or a puzzle. The first strategy to try to solve the problem is to tag someone else in the group to help. Maybe you need a new set of eyes on a lock or to read or listen to a clue. Next, take a step back - sometimes, we just need to look at things from a different perspective. If that doesn't work, consider asking for a hint.

6. Hints, anyone? 

This is a highly controversial topic in the escape room world. To get hints or no hints. Some people would prefer to lose than ask for a hint (see: competitive players), others proclaim “No Hints!” at the beginning but quickly cave, while others set themselves time limits, “if we haven’t gotten this far by that time, we’ll ask for a clue”. We feel that while hints are a personal choice, having fun is so much more important. Which team are you on? Hints or no hints? 

Whether you are new to escape rooms or they are old hat for you, we look forward to seeing everyone that comes through our doors. We put so much into our rooms and the gasp we hear when people walk in and are taken aback at the detail, the decor and the ambience makes everything worth it.

Give us a call or book your next adventure online at retrooasis.ca