3 Essential Skills to Win Your Escape Game

Photo: Mar Newhall

It really does take all sorts of people to successfully solve an escape room. Everyone has different strengths and different ways of looking at things. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some essential skills that every escape game player can benefit from.

Power up these essential skills and you’ll become the fiercest escape gamer your group has ever seen. You might even leave us Krakit Escape Game staff quaking in our boots!

1. Observation

There’s a good reason we’re so obsessed with all things Sherlock, and that’s because there’s no one better at this essential escape game skill. Observing requires seeing what’s really in front of you, not what you expect to see in front of you.

Training yourself to analytically see details rather than the bigger picture takes some time and concentration to perfect. Here’s a guide from Lifehacker to get you started.

2. Pattern recognition

The next essential escape game is pattern recognition: being able to take everything you’ve observed and see how it all fits together. This requires stepping out of an analytical mind frame and into a more inventive one—shifting brain gears, if you will.

Get started on building your pattern recognition skills with this handy guide from Predictable Success.

3. Problem solving

Now comes the skill where you put it all together: problem solving. This is the only skill that will lead to you cracking each puzzle and ultimately the entire escape room.

Problem solving is definitely the most creative of these three essential escape game skills, often requiring novel thinking. However, while intuition and creativity are an important facet of problem solving, those “aha moments” aren’t going to happen without all the analytical and logical thinking that came before.

Start with Business Insider’s “5 Steps to Becoming an Expert Problem Solver” to level up your skills.

Put your essential escape game skills to the test in one of Krakit’s four themed escape rooms. Book here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Escape Game Training: 5 of the Biggest Brain Busters

One of the things that keeps escape game fans coming back again and again is their love of puzzles. You never know what sort of jumping jacks your brain will be asked to do, so it’s never a bad idea to get exercise with all different sorts of puzzles.

For you puzzle fanatics (and that very much describes us here at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game), we’ve pulled together five of the hardest brain busters out there to construct the Ninja Warrior course of the puzzle world.

1. Test your selective attention

Think you’re an ace at evaluating your surroundings and picking up on what other people miss? See how well you do with this awareness test devised by psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris.

2. Flex your Mensa muscles

Ever heard of Mensa? Of course you have. It’s only a society of the biggest brains on the entire planet. You can see how you stack up against all the geniuses of the world by exercising your brain with the Mensa Workout available on the official Mensa site.

3. The ultimate NYT crossword

The New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle is notorious for being the most difficult puzzle available in any given week. So how about the most difficult of the most difficult: the December 26, 1987, puzzle devised by Daniel Girardi.

You can download and attempt the hardest NYT crossword of all time here.

4. Go on a puzzle adventure

OK, so you’ll have to actually get your hands on one of these puzzles, because this one exists in the real world: the Isis Adventure Series. Considered one “the hardest puzzle” in the world, this puzzle set requires you to solve one before you can move on to the next, each getting progressively more difficult. You can get your set directly from the Sonic Games website.

5. Get your logic on

Why do one incredibly hard logic puzzle when you can do ten? Scientific programmer Patrick Min has got you covered with this list of the hardest versions ever of ten different logic puzzle types, including Sudoku and Go. Click to bend your brain.

Now that your brain is in peak condition, see if you can bust all four of our escape rooms at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game. Book here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

What to Expect at Your First Escape Game

Fun!

This one’s pretty obvious, but it is the number one thing you can expect at your first escape room experience. At Krakit, we kick the fun factor up to its highest level with live actors, who take our horror-themed rooms from eerie to downright heart-racing. Or, you can have a more chill time in our non-horror-themed escape room, which rotates regularly.

Puzzles galore

Along with the experience of being immersed in a fantastical world, puzzles are the other main component of what escape games are all about. Logic puzzles, number puzzles, factoids that make you dig old information out of the dark recesses of your brain—all of these can appear somewhere during the course of play.

Each puzzle will lead to a key that together add up to your escape from the room!

Total recall

Much like all those detective shows we’re all totally obsessed with, escape games require you to not only solve puzzles, but to “read the room” in the truest sense.

In order to access the puzzles that will lead to your freedom, you need to first figure out where they’re hiding. This requires you and your teammates to assess the room, figure out what’s “off” (that is, a clue), put together different elements you see, and remember what’s happened earlier in the game.

Stress, but the good kind

With only 45 minutes on the clock, sniffing out all the clues, putting all the pieces together, and solving all the puzzles can make you feel like you’re in a pressure cooker. But trust us, this sort of countdown-to-doomsday scenario is one of the best things about escape rooms. Gets all your adrenaline pumping, that’s for sure!

To find out what your friends—and you—are made of

You and your teammates will need to work together if you have any hope of solving all the puzzles and cracking the room—leading to your freedom. Find out who’s the leader, who’s the numbers guy or gal, and who’s the one who keeps the calm.

Book your escape game experience with Krakit here: bookeo.com/krakit.

From Crosswords to Escape Games: 5 Fun Ways to Exercise Your Brain

People regularly hit the gym to keep their bodies in the best possible shape, but it’s just as important to put your grey matter through its paces. Without exercising your mind, you’ll start to lose neuroplasticity, your brain cells will stop talking to each other, and your brain function will be diminished.

Basically: use it or lose it.

Luckily, there’s no need to enroll in a calculus class to keep your noggin in tip-top shape. Here’s five fun ways to keep your brain fit, from crosswords to escape games.

1. Crossword Puzzles

Crossword puzzles have long been held up as being great for keeping your brain active. More than testing your knowledge of obscure facts, it’s learning new words, storing them in your memory, and retrieving them for the next crossword that helps build memory muscle.

2. Knitting

Seems like you’re not doing a lot with your brain when you’re knitting, but that’s exactly the point. Knitting functions similarly to meditation, helping to regulate your moods and protect against brain aging.

3. Escape Games

The best way to exercise your brain is to use all your senses at once in unusual ways. And the best way to do this is to play an escape game: a new environment, visual clues, audio cues, mini challenges, teamwork—it’s all there.

4. Geocaching

Believe it or not, an important way to keep your brain sharp is to do physical activity. Another excellent exercise is to break routine and “do things the hard way.” By putting you into a forest, sending you on a treasure hunt, and taking away Google Maps, Geocaching combines all these things.

5. Virtuosity

Challenge yourself to become the absolute best at something creative, whether that’s a musical instrument, short story writing, boat building, or soccer juggling. Virtuosos are more alert, open-minded, and calm and they can put details together coherently better than other people. Even if you don’t become Yo-Yo Ma, your brain will thank you for trying.

Keeping your brain in fighting condition by booking one of Krakit’s four Vancouver Escape Games.

Becoming Sherlock: How to Think Like a Detective (and Win Your Escape Game)

Playing an escape game is half immersion in a fantasy world and half logic puzzle marathon. If you want to come out victorious at your next escape room, you need to get your deerstalker-style thinking hat on.

Here’s how.

Observe, observe, observe

The most important step to thinking like a detective is paying attention—very, very close attention. Observing everything that’s around you, whether it seems important or not, is the foundation of detective work.

Be methodical

Except for bona fide geniuses like Sherlock, detectives never ever rely on memory alone to keep track of all the information they’ve gathered. Take notes, make drawings, keep a log of your thoughts. All of this is needed in the quest for a solution to whatever riddle you face, be it escape game or a real-life whodunit.

Give in to intuition

While considered and methodical observation is key, so is listening to your gut. Our brains work in mysterious ways, often making connections that we’re not consciously aware of until we have what’s known as a “eureka moment.” If something is sticking out, there’s probably a reason—even if you have no idea why just yet.

Get logical

Once you’ve got a balance of observation and intuition that even Sherlock himself would approve of, you can apply your cold, hard logical brain to the information you’ve gathered. Thinking through a situation step-by-step and coming up with a conclusion based on all the facts at hand is the name of the detective game.

Get feedback on your ideas

Even the most brilliant mind needs a sounding board, which for Sherlock Holmes comes in the form of Dr. Watson. It’s simple: if there’s no one there to pick holes in your theories, you’ll never be able to find them.

Challenge yourself

Constantly put your detective powers to the test by engaging your brain in riddles and logic puzzles. The more you use your brain, and especially skills you don’t get to use on a daily basis, the stronger the neural pathways you’ve taken the time to set up will become.

Stay curious

Learn as much as you can about everything that you can. The more you know, the more you will see connections between the various clues and puzzle pieces you encounter. Plus, you’ll just be a more interesting person. He may be a weirdo, but no one can call Sherlock boring, right?

Have you turned yourself into a regular deduction powerhouse? Test out your detective skills in one of our four themed Vancouver escape games by booking now.

Under Pressure: Timed Escape Games and the Benefits of Stress

Out here on the West Coast of British Columbia, we like to think of ourselves as people who live a relaxed, go-with-the-flow lifestyle. But maybe sometimes we take things a little too easy.

As it turns out, a bit of stress can actually be a good thing. And in the controlled environment of a Vancouver escape game, it can be a fantastic thing.

There’s nothing to get those brain cogs turning like knowing a clock is quickly ticking down to your ultimate failure or success.

1. Healthy pressure makes us accomplish more

Although the phrase “I strive under pressure” sounds like something made up just to impress at job interviews, it’s actually true.

Quite simply, when we’re under the gun—like have 45 minutes on the clock and a mad doctor waiting to lobotomize us—we’re more likely to really, really, really try to accomplish the task at hand. In the case of escape games, pressure pushes us to make our way through all the puzzles and unlock the last lock that leads to freedom.

2. Low-level stress makes our brains work better

No, really. When you’re stressed (but not too stressed), your brain will pump out more chemicals called neurotrophins. These work to strengthen the connections between neurons in your brain, meaning you will start to sort out all of those escape game puzzles a lot faster.

Basically, what this means is that the time limit we place on you at Krait Vancouver Escape Game only really helps you to win. So, you’re welcome.

3. Dealing with pressure makes you more resilient

The more you put yourself in situations that are a little stressful, the better you will be able to cope with the next one.

So instead of that super calm, uber relaxing yoga retreat deep in the forest, perhaps the best way to deal with real-world pressure is to exercise your stress reflexes within the controlled (and fun!) stress of an escape game. Maybe even a weekly regimen is in order!

See how well you do under the gun at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game in our brand new Wonderland Room. Book here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.