In order to be successful in an escape room, you need to stretch your mind, expand your reality, roll up your sleeves and do some problem solving. Just like preparing for a race, you need to stretch your mind as you would your hammies. Mental games are the perfect way to loosen up and prepare yourself, because the last thing you want to happen in an Escape Game is for your brain to tighten up on you. When that happens, you’re done for! Your goose is cooked! Hit the showers buddy, because you’re out of the game!
If you wish to avoid this hideous embarrassment, you had better warm up with some mental games/puzzles/activities. Here, you will find a sufficient collection of the Trapology Team’s favorite ways to get their gears turning before playing an escape room.
Online Escape Games:
Being a pro at online escape games does not guarantee you success in the live-action escape room world (being really good at guitar hero does NOT equal being really good at guitar.) However, it certainly doesn’t hurt. Play a couple before you come by Trapology Boston. Playing these mental games will make it easier for you to change your perception about what certain objects could mean. As soon as you get in an escape room, you should be opening, touching, examining everything. Online mental games warm you up to the idea that not everything is as it seems.
Riddles:
The easiest way, and probably the most entertaining, is to run through a couple riddles before your game. You can find a plethora of riddles on the Trapology Boston facebook page. Much like the online escape games, riddles will help your brain make the switch it needs to. When you work on a riddle, you analyze every word, to make sure there is not a second meaning to any word or phrase. You might want to be looking for similar double meanings inside an escape game.
Crossword Puzzles:
The hints given in crossword puzzles are similar to riddles. If you currently do crosswords, you are already at an advantage. Receiving a vague hint in an escape game might require some unpacking, in order to obtain the true meaning. Often in Escape Games, you will find puzzles involving words, letters, anagrams…etc. If you are good at crossword puzzles, you’ll be the guy everyone wants to unscramble the letters you need for those pesky letter locks! You can put your New York Times skills to use in one of our three games at Trapology Boston!
Sudoku:
Very similar to anagrams and crosswords, math puzzles are very often found in escape games. The format of Sudoku is cohesive with the entire concept of an Escape Game. You might find a solution to one puzzle, but you need every puzzle to work together. If you find conflicting solutions, you might want to rethink your work. This may sound confusing, consider this scenario: you and a member of your team have found different answers to the same question. How will you know who is correct? You will just have to continue to solve the other puzzles to see which solution will fit with the rest of the room.
Rubik’s Cubes:
Most people know by now that the trick to solving the Rubik’s Cube is an algorithm. First, you must learn the movement in order to solve the cube, then be able to continually perform that movement to be successful. In an escape game, the solutions will not always be obvious. They might take more than one attempt, or activity, and it will take the same concentration and determination to solve, as with the Rubik’s Cube. It is important not to get overwhelmed, or discouraged in an escape room. If a puzzle is stumping you, try to look for a different pattern, or going at it a different way. Most importantly, don’t give up!
Riddles:
The easiest way, and probably the most entertaining, is to run through a couple riddles. You can find a plethora of riddles on the Trapology Boston facebook page, and try them out. Much like the online escape games, riddles will help your brain make the switch it needs to. When you work on a riddle, you analyze every word, to make sure there is not a second meaning to any word or phrase. You might want to be looking for similar double meanings inside an escape game.
“Where’s Waldo”:
An important part of finding clues, is being able to be observant. You want to be able to spot something that could be of use to you, or someone else on your team. “Where’s Waldo” can train your eye to spot something small, but useful. Seeing the whole picture is just as important, but the devil is in the details, as they say. We’ve played plenty of mental games, where we’ve gotten tripped up for not noticing something small, but valuable.
Jigsaw Puzzles:
In an Escape Game, everything should flow together, as we mention time and time again. One key will not go into multiple locks. One piece of the puzzle can not fit in the wrong spot. Do a jigsaw puzzle the night before your escape game, and test your speed. Try to see how quickly you can envision how all the pieces fit together. When you start the daunting task of a jigsaw puzzle, you often get caught up in the small details. I may be helpful to you, to notice the overall image of the puzzle, and what kind of information you may be getting from it!
So, there you have it: the patented Trapology Boston warm-up regimen. Now, don’t come to us saying that you did all these activities before a game and you still didn’t escape. We don’t promise you a win. What we do promise, is a fun time with you and your teammates! Come test your puzzling skills at Trapology Boston.