How many of the most frequent types of escape rooms are you familiar with? Escape rooms are intended to be entertaining yet complex. But don’t worry, they’re possible to complete with a little deductive reasoning and a sense of adventure. Most escape rooms have a variety of puzzles that all relate to the general subject of the game and work together to unlock new parts of the room and finally lead to the game’s finale: the great escape!
While themes vary greatly — from zombie apocalypses, secret missions, murder mysteries, and so on — many escape room puzzles share common solutions. This article will teach you how to solve the most common escape room puzzles and what to look for when planning your escape.
Common Escape Room Puzzles That Will Put Your Skills to the Test
Getting ready for your first lock and key escape room can be both thrilling and intimidating. You know there will be puzzles to complete and secrets to locate, but do you know what the typical escape room puzzles are and how to solve them?
Here are some escape room puzzles examples that you may encounter:
- Physical Puzzles
Physical puzzles, such as moving magnetic items, untying knots, or completing a pictorial puzzle, are readily found in most escape rooms. These are typically obvious and not concealed, but the answer may be that you must do tasks in a specific, logical order, such as following a numerical sequence. It’s rare to find an escape room that doesn’t rely on some type of physical puzzle.
- Hidden Items
Finding concealed clues or objects within the room is one of the most common escape room puzzles If you’re in an escape room, you’ll almost certainly have to search for at least one object of some sort. Most likely, it will be an object that will help you continue through the story by solving one of the various escape room locks. This item might be a key hidden on top of a bookcase or a piece of paper with an escape room code tucked away between the pages of a book.
Hidden items can be anything — it all depends on the game designers. Some designers may include a sentence buried within another phrase painted on a wall or in a photo frame. Other designers might place the item in an easily overlooked spot, like a jacket pocket or in a drawer. Of course, after you’ve located the object, you’ll almost always need to combine it with another puzzle in the room.
Pro-tip: Unless your escape room instructs you otherwise, tug on all of the paintings. Who knows what may be concealed back there! A code written in invisible ink, a vault, clues written on the reverse side of the photo, or a cubbyhole with further hints may all be found behind what may seem like regular decor.
- Lights and Sound
Light and sound might also help you navigate through the complex mysteries of an escape room. With the proper lighting and auditory cues, such as Morse code, messages may be carefully concealed but will be necessary to guide you through the event. Depending on the theme of the room you’re in, songs (and particularly song lyrics) might be an essential part of deciphering escape room codes
One of the most common escape room puzzle tools is a blacklight. By using blacklight, you may reveal hidden messages. One of the most typical methods found in early escape rooms is a blacklight concealed somewhere in the room in a lockable box or cabinet, allowing players to search the walls and furniture for an “escape the room” code written in blacklight ink.
You may even find yourself in a room where the organizers have covered a whole wall with blacklight paint and as a player, you have to activate a blacklight fixture to illuminate the entire room.
- Logic Puzzles
Logic puzzles never fail to elicit quick interest and delight. It’s a guarantee that a designer will include one or more of these types of puzzles in each escape room. Even if you don’t notice them right away, some game designers will add these puzzles to get the game started and get people’s thoughts going. So, as evident as some of the escape room logic riddles are, you don’t want to be one of those people who frequently ignore them!
It’s critical to carefully inspect every nook and cranny of the room and map out all options for the numerous objects you uncover while playing the game. In terms of logic, one of the common escape room puzzles you’ll have to decipher is a combination lock.
Four-digit combination locks, five-letter word locks, and directional locks are all popular in escape rooms. These locks do an excellent job of establishing more variation in the locks while preventing the situation when players are unsure which lock their code should go with.
Pro-tip: when it comes to 5-letter word locks, some game designers will choose a word aligned with the room’s theme, which can lead to players trying to guess the correct word. However, some room designers who want to ramp up the difficulty will avoid this, as it’s preferable to choose a less obvious word.
Test Your Skills at Paranoia Quest
Are you ready to flex your mental muscles and take on some of the most devious types of puzzles in escape rooms Georgia has to offer? Then make your way to Paranoia Quest!
To get out of one of our professional escape rooms in Atlanta, you’ll need to use keen observation skills, problem-solving abilities, and effective communication to solve our more common escape room puzzles as well as our more difficult and unique ones, all while making sure to beat the clock. Contact us today to start your adventure!
