WHY PRIVATE ESCAPE ROOMS ARE BETTER

At Quest Reality Games, we receive a lot of email inquiries on a wide variety of subjects, from corporate events, to birthday parties, to special requests. By FAR the most common question we get asked is ‘are your escape rooms private’? While there are the few extroverts who welcome any opportunity to make new acquaintances, most people who book an escape room do so with the objective of enjoying a fun, unique experience alone with their friends, family, or co-workers. 

It has become a common practice in the escape game industry to maximize group sizes by booking strangers together. At Quest Reality Games, we’re bucking that trend by providing all of our guests with a private experience in our immersive, second-generation escape games. Here’s a few why we believe you shouldn’t have to pay to share your game with someone you don’t know. 

Escape Rooms Are About Teamwork And Communication  

Escape rooms are an experience that is designed to put your  teamwork communication skills to the test. Strong teams don’t just happen. They’re the result of a lot of time spent getting to know one another, and learning the strengths and weaknesses of everyone on the team. That’s time you can’t afford to spend when you’ve got just 60 minutes to escape!  

The teams we see perform the best are those who know one another well, and who work well together. What happens when you throw a stranger or two into the mix? How does that change the group dynamic?  

Every so often we all meet someone with whom we have an instant connection; someone we feel like we’ve known our whole life. If you’re lucky that’s what you’ll get when you’re booked in with strangers. On the other hand, you may get someone who just doesn’t fit with the dynamic of your team, and that can turn your fun night out into a negative experience.  

It’s Awkward 

If you’ve ever watched two kids come together on a playground, it’s a remarkable thing. One asks the other to play, and next thing you know they’re best friends! Adults, no so much. We have barriers, and comfort zones, and trust issues. Put two adults who don’t know each other into a room together and watch them fidget and squirm as they avoid making eye contact with each other. Now, imagine being one of those adults, only in a small, dark space with literally nowhere to go! Not only that, but you have to coordinate with that stranger in order to accomplish your objectives. That means figuring out how to communicate with someone you’ve just met—not to mention trusting them to share vital information you need to solve puzzles.  

What if you’re an extrovert and they’re not? You might be perfectly willing and able to make it work, but if they’re not you’re in for a LONG hour! Why put yourself to a situation where so many things can go wrong? It can be so awkward to have to cooperate with someone you’ve never spoken to. Granted, things could go amazingly, and you could make new life-long friends! Realistically, it’s far more likely that someone will be shy, and it will make your escape experience inescapably awkward. 

It’s YOUR Experience 

Sure, it can be cool to meet new people, but this is YOUR escape room experience. It’s true that playing escape rooms have a lot of benefits, but above all else they should be FUN! It’s an hour where you can escape from reality and let yourself go as you become immersed in the experience. When you play in a private room, it allows you to keep control of your own experience. Privacy gives you the opportunity to let your hair down, and maybe embrace your silly side. At Quest Reality Games, we love to see our guests having a blast as they dress up in the costumes they find in our themes.  

Privacy also allows players to try out new roles. Maybe you’re not used to being the leader. Private escape rooms give you the opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and try new skills. You can’t do this in a room full of strangers and potentially big personalities.  

Finally, private rooms allow you to control how your game progresses. When the game is private, you and your friends can make the choices that best suit you. Strangers can make that challenging. You don’t know them, or their preferences. Maybe you might disagree with how they want to do things, and that would certainly put a damper on your game. Private escape rooms are better because they let you play the game the way you want to. 

It’s Not In Your Best Interest 

One has to question why an escape room operator would want to pair up perfect strangers for what is otherwise a personal experience.  One obvious explanation is to maximize revenues by trying to fill their rooms to capacity. An operator that takes this approach doesn’t have your best interest at heart. They can’t give your control over your experience, or that you’ll get to choose when to call a hint. Ultimately, they are just providing access to the game and letting those in the room work out the rest, rather than providing a means for you to work together. If the group you booked with are outnumbered by the stranger you’re paired with you’re probably going to lose control over the game play. It can be hard enough to communicate with people you don’t know to begin with, but if you are outnumbered you’re unlikely to have any say at all. Why spend your hard-earned money on a game that may not go your way? 

It’s pretty clear that private escape rooms are the best way to go to ensure you get the most of your experience. Private bookings put you in control of your experience and your game play, and allow you to control the game, it also mitigates awkwardness that can arise from playing with strangers. Playing escape rooms is supposed to be a fun experience, and you play them to make memories with your friends. Make sure that you are able to do all of these things when you book your next escape room. Guarantee that your game is private and reserved just for you and your friends and book now with Quest Reality Games!