One of the best activities you can do for a night out with friends is play an Escape Room. Still there may be times when you want to play, but your friends don’t feel the same. Maybe you had a group of friends planning to go, but they bailed last minute? Or maybe you just wanted a night out by yourself for once. There is nothing wrong with that! There are plenty of reasons you might be playing an Escape Room with strangers, and there is definitely nothing wrong with that either! In fact, some of the best teams have been blended teams made up of complete strangers. You’d be surprised by how well people do when they aren’t extremely close to the people they’re playing with. If you’re ever in this type of position, just be sure to keep these few tips in mind to make the best out of the situation:
Introductions are Important
Take initiative and introduce yourself beforehand. There’s not much time to break the ice, so this is not the time to be shy. You pretty much have the minutes before your game while everyone is waiting in the lobby to become accustomed to each other. So, put the passiveness aside and introduce yourself to anybody you don’t know yet. Make sure to get everybody’s names and try your hardest to remember all of them, as you will need to communicate with each of your teammates once you’re inside the room. Knowing everybody’s names will be a lot more efficient (and polite) than yelling, “Hey you!” every time you’re trying to get somebody’s attention.
Communication is Key
Communicate effectively and efficiently inside the room. As we’ve mentioned countless times before, effective communication is key when playing an escape game. This is especially true when playing with strangers, as strangers are a bit more likely to communicate more slowly and timidly. Don’t forget, the clock is ticking, and there really is no time for slow or timid communication. It’s time to take initiative and be assertive! Although you didn’t know each other coming into the game, you’re all on the same team now, so put your big boy or girl pants on and put those effective communication skills into play!
It is Only a Game
Stop worrying and just have fun! The people that you’re playing with are most likely just as nervous as you are. They are also probably just as nice, patient, understanding, and excited as you as well. If you think about it, there really isn’t too much to worry about when playing a game with strangers! Try your best to focus on the game, rather than the fact that you’re playing it with people you don’t know. You’ll find that you actually do get to know them pretty well inside the room, anyway. By focusing on the game, the puzzles, and the tasks at hand, you’ll find that everything else - communication, cooperation, problem-solving, and teamwork - will just fall into place on its own.
So next time you run into a situation like this, don’t fret. Find your nearest Escape Room today and go meet some new people. Who knows, they might become your new best friends.