Escape Room Lingo
By: Kristina Malmstrom
Escape rooms have only grown in popularity since their beginning nearly twenty years ago. With their growth, they create another interesting development: escape room lingo. Many escape room fanatics are used to the phrases and slang used within the industry, but many are still unaware of what various terms mean.
For example, do you hear the phrase “Hey, do you think the NPC’s prop is a clue or a red herring?” and have no idea what’s going on? Then you’ll definitely want to read our list of the typical escape room lingo used.
Blacklight
A popular escape room puzzle that uses a light to emit ultraviolet radiation which usually reveals secret messages written in a previously invisible ink.
Booking/Reservation
An appointment (usually set up prior to start time) that reserves the date and time that you will play the escape room.
Bottleneck
A backup in the room that occurs when players work on only one puzzle. This, in turn, typically results in everyone crowding around that one puzzle.
Cipher
Any clue where the text is written in some type of code that players must unscramble or break in order to solve the puzzle.
Clue
This is arguably the most basic of escape room lingo. Any piece of a puzzle within the room that players must solve or put together in order to successfully escape the room.
Combination Lock
Any lock that opens with a specific alphabetical or numerical combination of characters.
Decor
Any objects or set pieces inside the room that set the scene and create a specific atmosphere or environment, but do not contain any puzzle pieces or clues. This is not the same as clues, but could be part of an unintentional red herring.
Directional Lock
Often acknowledged as the worst type of combination to find by players, these open from a specific set of directions (up, down, left, right).
Easter Egg
An element in the game that is a bonus simply for player’s entertainment. This might include references to a previous game by the company or to an outside movie or television show.
Escape Rate of Game
The rate of success of all players for successfully completing the room. Generally, escape room difficulties are judged by this.
Escape Rate of Players
Players’ personal pass/failure rate that lets you know their average rate of success at escape rooms. This indicates how experienced a player is at escape rooms.
Escape Room
Any experience where players are ‘locked’ in a room and have to use clues in the room to solve puzzles in order to complete a mission and/or escape.
Game Clock
The timer that keeps track of players time while in the game, either as time remaining or time spent.
No list of escape room lingo would be complete without the game master. Game Masters run the game- this includes debriefing players, explaining and enforcing rules, overseeing the game itself and giving hints to players, and resetting the game after each experience.
Goal/Mission/Objective
The main task you are trying to accomplish within the escape room. It could be simple as opening a lock on a door to escape the room, or it could be a series of actions to accomplish a specific task, such as creating a cure for a virus.
Hint
Pieces of information from outside of the game that game masters provide to players who are having difficulty solving a puzzle. This information helps the players solve the puzzle they are stuck on, though hints are often in cryptic terms.
Immersion
The act of designing the set and story of an escape room so that the players feel they are actually within the story, and forget that they are only playing a game. This typically leads to a better game experience for players.
Leaderboard
A ranking of the best times in which people completed the room. Leaderboards encourage groups to beat a certain time or score.
Lock
A sealed fastening that you need a physical key or combination of numbers, letters, and/or directions to unlock.
Multi-Room
An escape room that takes place in more than one room, so puzzles and clues are located in at least two rooms, and potentially more.
Newbies/Rookies
A slang term used for anyone playing an escape room that has never played an escape room previously.
Non-Playing Character (NPC)
Any person inside the game that is not a player trying to solve clues. This could include a game master or an actor who is part of the experience, such as the zombie chained to the wall in Trapped in a Room With a Zombie or the Bogeyman in Bogeyman.
One/Single Room
An escape room that takes place in only one room, so all of the puzzles and clues are within the one singular room.
Outside Knowledge
Any knowledge or information you know that is not provided within the game, but is used to solve puzzles within the escape room. It could also refer to information that helps you solve a puzzle faster, whereas you may have been expected to consult another in-game resource. This is highly dependent on the information provided within the room, but Roman numerals or foreign languages could be examples.
Padlock
A lock that is opened with a physical key.
Players
The group of people attempting to solve puzzles to complete a mission and/or escape the room.
Prop
Any item found within the escape room. This can either be clues for puzzles, red herrings, or pieces of decor.
Puzzle
Anything solved within the escape room (typically by opening a designated lock) that allows players to advance through the experience.
Recap
Recaps explain how a previous puzzle was solved to a teammate who may have missed it.
Red Herring
A prop that doesn’t contribute to any puzzle-solving, but is typically intended to make players think it is so that they waste time on the possibility. This could be intentional by the game designer or unintentional.
Replay Value
The ability of a game to be played by the same person after it’s been played once. Games with open endings have higher replay values than those that only have one ending.
Reset
The act of Game Masters returning all props and technology within the escape room to the way it was when the previous group started in preparation for another group to play the experience.
Resting Puzzle Face
Per Room Escape Artist’s definition, a look of concentration while solving puzzles that is easily mistaken for discontent.
Rules
The list of actions allowed and prohibited while within the experience. The act of severely ignoring the rules set forth often leads to the players at fault being removed from the game.
Team
The group of people you are playing the escape room with and must communicate and cooperate with. These could either be people you know and went with, or strangers you were paired up with.
Theme
A concept or pre-existing idea that the game is built around, which usually is a large factor in the immersion aspect. Themes could be broad such as medieval or prison, or specific such as South Park or Al Capone.
Time Remaining
The amount of time left in which you have to complete the puzzles and escape before your experience is over.
Word Lock
A lock that is opened with a combination of letters.
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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