The more escape rooms I play, the more I notice venues overlooking the experience around the rooms themselves. It’s great that so much thought goes into the puzzles, but the energy before and after the game seems to me to have floundered a little.
A truly unforgettable escape room experience is so much more than clever puzzles, tech or the room itself. It includes every touch point, from the moment a team arrives to long after they’ve left.
First Impressions Matter: Customer Service and Hosting
Let’s start with the welcome. I’ve had the misfortune of walking into venues, whether for an escape room or another immersive event, and feeling like I’d inconvenienced my host. The impression we give players the moment they turn up stays with them for a long time. It’s very high on the “will I visit this place again?” list, and one bad experience can cost you a returning player.
Knowledgeable, Enthusiastic Hosts
So your staff are happy and smiley and welcome players in the best possible way. Great! But are they knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the job at hand?
Making sure your hosts know the rooms, the venue and the history of the business doesn’t just help them answer players’ questions; it also helps them build rapport with more experienced players. Enthusiasts are always up for a good discussion about escape rooms, especially the one they’re about to play or have just played. Rapport and good conversation stick with people, and they’re more likely to recommend your rooms as a result.
The Waiting Room and Briefing
Your waiting room (if you have one), or whatever system you use to welcome teams, is also really important. Personally, I don’t like the “office space” feel of a lot of waiting and briefing rooms. That doesn’t make those venues bad, but a little thought about where and how players are greeted and briefed goes a long way. Pulling people into the experience straight away adds extra oomph to everything that follows.
Escape Room Hints: Immersion vs Disruption
In my opinion, there’s nothing worse than a hint system that sounds robotic. By that I mean a hint that reads like it came from ChatGPT. (And before you say anything, you can tell the difference.)
Obviously, if your room stars an AI computer that delivers the hints, you might get away with it, as long as it’s clear you’re not actually using AI to write them. That’s a conversation for another blog! But a little human element really helps hints gel with players.
Whether hints are typed or spoken aloud, having your host control them allows a more natural, conversational flow within the game. The hint system becomes an immersive point of contact as well as “just” a hint system. And knowing that the hints come from your host tells players they have someone who’s paying attention to their game.
Timing, Tone and Style
That said, the timing, tone and style of delivery all need to be thought through and stuck to. Two of our rooms involve typing out the clues, so my hosts need to be attentive and ready to help the moment it’s needed. Asking for a hint and waiting almost a minute for it to arrive is something most of us have experienced, and it breaks the immersion instantly. (Stop putting one host on multiple games!)
The tone and style can be whatever fits the theme of the room, but that human touch really helps players relax. If a hint sounds too abrupt, blunt or uncaring, it can frustrate players, especially if they haven’t fully understood it.
Team Photos and Souvenirs: Cementing the Memory
I genuinely get upset if I leave an escape room with no photo opportunity. If I leave with nothing to remember the experience by, I instantly think the business has missed a trick that, in all honesty, is simple to fix. There are three things I think every venue should do when taking and sending team photos:
- Make it more than just a photo. Use a system that adds the team name and/or your game logo. We’ve all been in the position where the photo of you and your friends on a rollercoaster costs an arm and a leg. Well, not here! Most escape rooms give team photos away for free, and they stay with players for a very long time, so fancy it up a bit. It creates value.
- Send it as soon as possible. The quicker the photo arrives, the more memorable it is. Don’t wait a day or two, or even worse a week (which I’ve experienced). Build it into your hosts’ reset routine. There’s nothing better than getting that team photo straight away; it keeps the conversation going and the buzz buzzing.
- Make the photo itself an experience. Add some costumes or think about how you frame your photos. Create an area in your rooms that feels more like a photo shoot than a quick team snap. Make it fun and engaging, and players will feel they’re getting more for their hard-earned cash!
And if you’re taking photos, it pays to train your hosts to frame them well. There’s nothing worse than a team photo that’s half ceiling.
Collectable Souvenirs
Photos are great, but what about an actual souvenir? A handful of rooms I’ve played have given me badges alongside the time card, but what if you got something else? We give out theme-specific tokens for each of our games, which also makes them collectable.
Don’t go bust over your tokens. Nobody expects a gold ring for completing your room. But the added extra, however small, will feel expensive.
Final Thoughts: Escape Rooms Are Live Storytelling
At my core, I believe escape rooms are a form of live storytelling. That means every detail matters: the way you’re greeted, the atmosphere of the lobby, the quality of the props, the personality of the host, the way hints are woven into the narrative, and the care taken after the game.
A good game is fun. A great experience is unforgettable. That’s what we’re here to create.
When you think back to your favourite escape room, is it just the puzzles you remember? Or is it the way it made you feel? The story you became part of? The people who brought it to life?
That’s the magic we chase every day.
Whether you’re new to escape rooms or a seasoned player, next time you visit one, take a moment to notice the little things. Because the game might bring you in, but it’s everything else that brings you back.
Want to see how we do it? Book a game at The Lift in Brighton, or read more about what makes an escape room truly unique.
