Minimum and Maximum Players 

Escape games are a  team activity. By design, they can’t be played alone. Sometimes it’s physically impossible, sometimes they’re just not fun without a group.  

For escape room designers, it is extremely challenging to design puzzles that are at once fair and challenging for groups of varying sizes. Likewise, it is also extremely challenging to design escape room that are both fun and engaging for groups that vary from 2 to 10 players. For these reasons, at Quest Reality Games, we put a LOT of thought into the minimum and maximum group sizes for our second-generation escape games. Still, inevitably, we get requests to book group sizes outside of those minimums and maximums. We often get requests to put just two players in the Sorcerer’s Lair, or 12 players in the Zombie Apocalypse. The answer to both questions is ‘no’. Read on to learn a little more about the ideal group sizes at Quest Reality Games. 

Setting the Record Straight 

First, we’d like to set the record straight: Limitations on group sizes have nothing to do with economics. We often hear accusations or insinuations that escape games requiring a minimum of 4 players are simply a ‘cash grab’ to require more players. This is simply not true.  

At Quest Reality Games, we work very hard to stay ahead of the industry. We want to introduce innovative experiences with cutting edge technology. The fact of the matter is that certain scenarios simply will not work with only two or three players. Believe us when we say that we require a minimum of four players it’s because we want to ensure you have an outstanding experience, and not because it’s a ‘cash grab’! If that were the case, we would simply adopt a very common industry practice of pairing groups of strangers up in order to maximize the number of players in each theme. Instead, we are one of the few who offer completely private bookings. Whether you’ve got two players or eight players ready to explore the Secrets of the Great Pyramid, when you book one of our themes you always have it entirely to yourselves! 

Minimum Group Sizes 

We know not everyone can pull together a group of four on Friday night to elude the evil Zibeydor in the Sorcerer’s Lair. So, when designing our themes, we do our best to strike a balance between the desire of some guests to play as a twosome, and creating a unique experience that uses the players themselves as part of the storyline. 

We set a minimum number of players for each of our themes to make sure your group has a fair shot at  solving everything. For some themes, that minimum number of players is two, but some themes simply require more hands, while others just count on multiple sets of eyes and perspectives. Having a few friends along in an escape room is also handy in the event there’s something to memorize. 

Maximum Group Sizes 

Sometimes you’ve just got too many people that are keen to get in on the action, such as when planning a workplace team-building activity. Maybe you’ve got a small office with eleven staff. What’s just one more player, right?  

First off, your safety is of utmost importance to us, and is something we’re just not willing to make exceptions for. Imposing maximums helps us ensure that we are complying with fire code, and makes sure that all players are  participating safely.  

But capping the team size is not just a matter of safety. More players means more cooks in the proverbial kitchen; too many players can diminish an experience instead of enhancing it. We want to make sure that when you come to play at Quest Reality Games, you have an outstanding experience every time! Group sizes are one of the guidelines we use to make sure you’re getting the most out of your time with us. While we understand some guests want to share that experience with as many people as possible, too many players can lead to confusion and inefficiency. 

What IS The Optimal Group Size? 

So, what is the ‘optimal’ group size? The answer is ‘it depends’.  

It depends on whether your group is experienced with escape games—are you ‘newbies’, or are you escape room enthusiasts? The former has a learning curve to overcome, while the latter likely have an approach they’ve learned works well for them. 

It also depends on the unique experiences of each individual player. Are you experienced gamers? Are you experienced puzzlers? Those experiences may not be directly transferrable to escape games, but they will certainly be an asset when playing an escape room.  

Finally, it depends on the theme itself, and how difficult that theme is. If it has been rated as being on the easier side, then fewer players can likely be successful. If it’s rated as being more challenging, then more horsepower is probably needed. If we have to put a number to it, we’d say the optimal group size is probably four. But don’t worry, if you can’t pull three friends together on Tuesday night, we’ve got you covered, because at Quest Reality Games, we offer a truly unique way to ‘level the playing field’, so-to-speak, for groups of all sizes. Choose from an easy, standard, or difficult experience, and our Game Masters will give you as much (or as little) guidance as you’d like in order to ensure you get exactly what you came for—a fun, unique experience! 

At the end of the day, we are in the business of building fun, interactive experiences to challenge and thrill you. We want to make sure all of our guests have a great time! The best way for us to do that is to help guide your bookings. The minimum and maximum number of players, along with some other guidelines, ensure that you are going to maximize the enjoyment of your experience. Look at the rules as our way to make sure that you have a blast when you come, not as a barrier to entry. By respecting that minimum and maximum, you know that you are going to have the best possible experience! 

Got your group ready? Then what are you waiting for? Book now!