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For those who have been bitten with the escape room bug, one of the most exciting parts of this is hunting out new venues to scratch that puzzle solving itch. Re-challenging the same room is never as satisfying as the first time you take it on—unless of course you are holding a vendetta against a difficult room.
Searching for new rooms does come with a downside. Every time you defeat a local room, you must look further and further afield to find your next fix. The current demand for escape rooms means they are popping up everywhere and it’s fairly easy for most people to rack up a dozen rooms without having to go too far.
But what happens when you have exhausted your neighbourhood?
Any long-distance travelling involved in reaching new venues will incur extra costs for transport and more demand on your time. Fun trips to a local escape room slowly becomes setting aside a full day to journey to other cities.
Many avid escape room fans will travel in order to take on rooms, even flying in from different countries. With the amount of effort it takes to fly, drive, or catch a train, it makes sense that people want to take on multiple rooms in a day. But, how can you make the best use of your time when travelling for rooms?
Whilst it is entirely down to personal restrictions, here are some tips to help maximise your day.
Amount of Time
Here at Escapologic® we have 8 rooms which would result in a full day—that’s 10:00am to 9:30pm—if you were to try and attempt them all. This time scale would only allow for the shortest of breaks, no more than running to get a coffee and scoffing a sandwich between odd rooms, assuming you manage to escape before the hour is through.
This is an intense experience no matter how good at escape rooms you are, yet some people attempt it!
We suggest researching the facilities you are using and seeing if you can split your day up to allow for mental and physical refreshment.
Types of Room
Escape rooms in general offer different themes for each room, and many different experiences within these rooms. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to inquire into what types of rooms each company has. For example, if you aren’t a fan of horror, you can bypass any room that will leave you with a case of the spooks and by forgoing those rooms, you can cut time slots from your itinerary and save yourself from a surprise fright.
Staff are also willing to help with any other issues. If a member of your group has recently broken a leg or is in a wheelchair and you would like to avoid a room with steps, then they would be able to advise you with what rooms to avoid so that everyone can enjoy a full experience.
Feel free to ring and ask if specific details aren’t listed on the website.
Difficulty of the rooms
Many people who have completed a lot of rooms wish to skip the ones that are considered the easiest or designed for beginners. This can go the other way around too, if you are taking on a lot of rooms, the thrill that would come from a full day of potential successes can also be enticing.
As with most things in life, the ideal way would be to build up to harder challenges, a nice balance between both worlds. Again, if the websites don’t list the difficulty level, feel free to ring up and ask the staff.
Take a break
It is tempting to make the most of your day of travel but taking a break is essential to refresh both your brain and body. The best recommendation is to tackle 4/5 rooms a day if you have travelled a long way solely for the purpose of escape rooms. And only 2/3 if you have an easy means of returning to your chosen venue, longer time frame, or other activities planned.
Here’s an example itinerary for a full day of escaping here at Escapologic-
Then head home thoroughly exhausted and satisfied.
Explore the rest of the area!
If you have made the effort to go on adventure somewhere new, why restrict yourself to one building?
Find a new café or restaurant to refresh yourself at, not a chain but a local business that will make your trip feel worth it and will make some local owners happy to meet new people. You can also see what other attractions the area boosts, a stroll along a coastline or getting lost in a dark cave can add wonders to your day of escaping a radioactive explosion or haunted house.
All of these are just suggestions to help you make the most of your escape room experience. It all boils down to your personal time frame, experience, and budget. If you are coming in from very far away and know that a full day is too intense, then researching the rooms is essential. Eight escape rooms whilst suffering from jetlag seems like my kind of personal hell but there are customers who are that determined.
When planning your day or weekend trips feel free to ask for advice about the rooms, or even a recommendation for a great place to recharge between rooms.
We hope to hear from some of you planning your adventures soon.
