Escape room etiquette:
the unwritten rules
Seven things game masters wish every team knew — from 'the door isn't locked' to 'the guy who solves alone and tells nobody is the worst player archetype'.
The pocketer is the enemy
Every team has the temptation: find a key, pocket it, keep hunting solo. It's how rooms get lost — the clue for your lock is in someone's jacket. Everything you find goes in the shared pile, announced out loud.
Force is never the answer
If it doesn't move, it's not meant to move. Every prop that 'needs a bit of force' has led to exactly two kinds of outcomes: a broken mechanism or a player holding a piece that was load-bearing. Puzzle first, muscle never.
The game master is on your side
Players sometimes treat hints like an opponent intervention. We're not the enemy — we want you moving and having the best hour possible. When the voice in the ceiling says 'check under', check under.
In this piece
- Share what you solve
- Force is never the answer
- The actor rules
- Be nice to the host
Worst thing to see on the camera: someone solve a puzzle, smile, and put the piece in their pocket.
Special-case rules
- In the Horror Room: the actor never touches you — you never touch the actor. Non-negotiable.
- Split-start rooms like Prison Break: share findings through the bars; don't split the puzzle pieces between cells
- Arrive on time — the team after you deserves their full hour too
And the simplest one
Celebrate each other's solves. The teams having the most fun on camera are the ones cheering for a teammate's find — not the ones competing internally for who escaped whom.
Ready to be a great team? Book a session — we'll handle the rest.
Worth a look next
Ready to try a room yourself?
Reading about escape rooms is the rehearsal. The game is better — book a session in the Brisbane CBD and see how your crew holds up.