Choosing the Right Escape Room
By: James Butler
My girlfriend and I have driven over an hour to get to an escape room that piqued our interest. Usually, it starts with a tip in the Escape Room Enthusiasts group or a Morty search that starts with our area and zooms out further and further on the map. Most of the rooms that we’ve enjoyed were just the two of us racing through a room in less than an hour (mostly). So what goes into choosing the right escape room for your group? Where do you start? Sometimes, the first part of an escape room experience is the teamwork required to choose the room that best fits your team.
Choosing the Right Escape Room Starts with Who is on Your Team
One of the most crucial parts to choosing the right escape room for you actually comes down to deciding based on the group that you’re playing with. Escape rooms are a social activity that can be a lot of fun when you find the right room for your group’s personality. One of the biggest factors of your success is who you bring with you. Whether it’s partners, friends, or family members, escape rooms are so much easier and enjoyable with people that you can clearly communicate with— even when the pressure is on and the clock is ticking.
Who You Play with
The escape room that you choose should start with the question “who’s on my team?” Hopefully, you are bringing some adventurous players that enjoy being challenged and that are prepared to brainstorm with others to escape. If none of your players have ever done an escape room before, look closely at the room’s descriptions for each room’s difficulty level. If you’re still unsure where to start you can always begin by booking Puzzles and Corks to “test the waters.”
Hint
Want a good indicator of how well the people in your group can handle an escape room? Think of how well (or poorly) it went the last time the group of you had to pick a restaurant. If you were all able to make the decision in a few minutes, then your group is probably ready to work together to escape. However, if it turned into an argument, and your brother’s girlfriend stormed out over the food choice and then didn’t talk the rest of the night, and one of your friends never showed, and your sister’s bestie showed up an hour and a half late— well then that might not be the group you want to play an escape room with.
How Many Teammates are You Bringing
Some escape rooms are packed tightly with puzzles and, therefore, easy to navigate with a small party of two. That is to say, my girlfriend and I read the descriptions and pay close attention to the minimum and maximum players for a room. While most of the rooms we played were private, we recruited some family help for some of the bigger escapes that we wanted to tackle and even played a few public rooms.
For example, we were able to escape rooms like Jack the Ripper and Day of the Dead with just the two of us, but it took a lot of hustling. With that being said, sometimes you don’t get to enjoy all the little details in a room when it’s just two of you racing the clock. In fact, some of the massive rooms at Trap Door require you to either find more players for their team or play in a public room and play with other groups to share the puzzle-solving workload.
Minimums and Maximums
Escape rooms always tell you the minimum and maximum number of players you need for private and public rooms. So, if you are one or two players shy of the minimum (and prepared for a challenge) you can always call the escape room and ask about your options. Put simply, choosing the right escape room for you also depends on how many people you’re playing with and how difficult you’d like the experience to be.
Choosing the Right Escape Room Based on Difficulty
Yes, escape rooms should be fun, but they should also be a challenge. If a room is too hard your group is just looking at time spent wandering around a room frustrated with each other and watching minutes tick away. Because of this, most escape room websites will show the difficulty rankings of their rooms.
Difficulty can be displayed as either a room’s successful escape rate, a four out of five keys or other icons, or a bar letting you know how each room rates. If you’re playing your first room at a new place, start with an easier game— especially if some in your group are playing their first game. You want to enjoy the experience and leave the room with your team wanting to conquer all the rooms on return trips.
Choosing the Right Escape Room Based on the Last Show You Binged
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you start searching the different themes of escape rooms. Many escape experiences give players a chance to step into a world they may have only read or watched before.
Did you and your partner stay in for a whole weekend to watch all eleven seasons of the Walking Dead? Then, you may be ready for Cure Z. Or, does your girlfriend watch Dateline or true crime shows every night before bed? She may be the perfect person to help you solve the Jack the Ripper case. How about, has your best friend watched all six Sharknado movies? First, make sure he knows there are much better viewing choices available, and then that’s probably someone you would want on your team for F5.
You may even be able to get your cousin, who plays video games religiously, out of his room to join you for an escape room if you tell him that escape rooms have similar puzzles to role-playing video games.
Choosing the Right Escape Room Based on Reviews
Jealous of someone’s Facebook or Instagram post with a funny picture of a group smiling after finishing an escape room? Start planning your escape right away! Escape rooms are usually heavily reviewed by players of all experience levels. If you’re new to escape rooms, then you can start with Google or Trip Advisor reviews. There are more details about what to look for in an escape room review at HERE.
What to Look for
Look for an escape room that has several reviews to scroll through. Everyone’s escape experience is different based on their own group, but reviews can help narrow down your choices when choosing between a couple of rooms. For example, did reviewers say it was their first room? Was it fun? Did they mention the set and gamemaster? Do a lot of people say they finished the game or were sorry to see the experience end if they didn’t escape?
For Example:
Here’s the most recent Google Review from the F5 escape in Trap Door Escape Poconos:
The review lets you know how many people were in their group, that they had kids with them, and details about how hard the game was for their group. So, if you have a similar group it can really narrow down your selection. However, If you are a more experienced escape room player you can find reviews more geared toward enthusiasts on the Morty app or Facebook groups like Escape Room Enthusiasts.
Does this Place have any Special Drinks
Maybe an escape room is just part of your night out or something to do before (or after) some celebration dinner or adult beverages. Luckily for you, there are escape room experiences that include both locks and libations. That is to say when it comes to choosing the right escape room for you, you should also consider what sort of amenities you’d like as well.
Check out Trap Door!
Experiences like the Fiesta Package at Morristown, the Red Heart Tasting Room in the Poconos, and, coming soon, the Tortuga Rum Bar in Bethlehem combine trying some puzzle solving and some new drinks. What a great way to enjoy a unique night out with friends and family. Just remember you’ll need your wits to escape, so don’t pregame like you’re going to a concert.
Conclusion
There are so many immersive escape experiences in the tri-state area that it can be hard to choose. Easy/hard, intimate/massive, and unique/relatable are all factors in your decision. My advice is to do your homework and most importantly know your group and your expectations. The best escape rooms are just that— a true escape. An hour (or two) in a world far away from your everyday hectic life.
Today's Tip from and Escape Room Enthusiast
Many escape rooms include puzzles that are designed for teams to have to solve together. Often you excitedly push a discovered button, lever, or switch only to see…nothing. You don’t see any change with the puzzle or the immediate area around it. When you do find that “Nada Button,” have the rest of your team spread out in the room (or other connected rooms.) Sometimes you haven’t done something else required for that object to work but more often than not, the “Nada Button” is activating something located elsewhere in the room. It can be a light, a sound that plays, a subtle change in something’s position, or a drawer opening a few rooms away.
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Trap Door Escape Company
Trap Door Escape Room has 4 locations: 3180 Route 611 in Bartonsville, PA in the Poconos; 60 White St. in Red Bank, NJ; 34A Speedwell Ave. in Morristown, NJ: and 77 Wind Creek Blvd in Bethlehem, PA. The Red Bank location was the first of the 4 locations, opening in the fall of 2015. Morristown followed in the summer of 2017, and Bartonsville opened during the holiday season of 2018. Wind Creek is currently undergoing construction and will be opening in September 2022.
History
The idea came to Tone Purzycki back in 2011 after he wrote a screenplay that developed into a live-streaming game. The game revolved around an actor trapped in a situation and the audience had to solve puzzles to figure out where he was trapped. The “Find Me Event” had more than 1,000 people playing over the course of several hours. After the success of several other streaming events, the idea of an escape room was born.
Location
Each location has different rooms from which to choose. Our Morristown location is home to Day of the Dead, Witch Hunt, and The Greatest Freakshow. In Bartonsville, you’ll find Cure Z, F5 Tornado Escape, Fear the Bogeyman, Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, We’re All Mad Here, and Prisoner Z. In Red Bank we currently have Everest – our first 2 story escape room. Ripper of London is also available at this location. Our pirate themed games will soon be open at Wind Creek.
Trap Door Escape Room also offers team building, streaming events, and birthday parties. For more information on any of our games, prices, and locations, explore our website or call 570-234-3366