An escape room may be the solution for you if you are looking for a novel activity that is fun and effective for team building.

Escape rooms Mississauga can improve communication, project management, problem-solving, and problem-solving skills when played online or in person. Additionally, they are frequently used to improve team relationships.

Even though the situation is fictional, the skills you learn in an escape room can be useful in the workplace for a long time.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the different kinds of escape rooms and show you how to figure out if they’re right for you and your team. We also give you a rundown of the most important steps to take before, during, and after the escape room experience to get the most out of it.

What Is a Break Room?

A themed challenge event in which players work together to find clues, complete tasks, and solve a variety of puzzles is known as an escape room. Therefore, it is also called an escape game or a puzzle room.

The objective is to accomplish a specific, time-limited objective, typically escaping from someplace. However, you are never threatened, and no one is locked in!

There is a Game Master who sets everything up, explains the rules, and gives any needed clues in an escape room. Castles, space stations, Victorian apartments, and ancient Egyptian pyramids are all common locations for escape rooms.

The ideal situation is to get away from inside as far as possible – regularly 45 minutes or 60 minutes – by tackling every one of the riddles expected to open the entryway and departure. However, some escape rooms have additional objectives like stopping a fictitious threat, solving a crime, rescuing a hostage, or finding treasure.

Social activities like Escape rooms in Canada are growing in popularity. Companies frequently organize them as celebrations or rewards. Many businesses also use them to build teams and develop particular skills and characteristics in their employees.

Do Escape Rooms Work Well for Your Group?

For people in new teams, an escape room can be a fun way to meet a new group of people. In addition, they can be an opportunity for established teams to “let off steam” during a strenuous workday or to celebrate accomplishment after a project’s completion.

Collaboration, communication, decision-making, problem-solving, and endurance are essential team skills that can be developed in escape rooms. A team can also use them to practice responding to difficult times and high-stakes situations.

Nonetheless, a break room may not be the smartest thought on the off chance of any critical clash in your group – the compressed environment and close group working could exacerbate the situation.

It would help if you treated each team member as an individual. For example, will a task with a deadline that requires them to think quickly under pressure and work closely with other players benefit them all? On the other hand, does it have the potential to make any of them feel embarrassed, excluded, or anxious?

Additionally, consider whether certain characters or your organization would be inappropriate for certain settings or storylines. For instance, for various personal reasons, some team members may not be suitable for a game or setting with a crime or horror theme.

It would help if you first talked to your manager or HR department about running an escape room event.

The Best Escape Rooms:

Before, during, and After:

If you and your team have decided that an escape room is a good fit, here are more suggestions for what to do at each event stage.

Ensure everyone knows why you chose this team-building activity before the Escape Game. For instance, is it merely a gathering of friends? Is it meant to put the team to the test or help them learn important skills?

You don’t want your team to think this is a confidential evaluation of their skills. Additionally, it is essential that no one feels pressured or even manipulated into participating.

Make your plans known in time to address concerns and pique people’s interest and excitement. If you’re making the challenges yourself, you’ll also need time to design, make, test, and set everything up on the day.

Make sure that every activity is safe, especially when people start to rush toward the end! And that every rule and instruction is understandable. You may also agree on some rules of conduct to strike a healthy balance between cooperation and competition during the game!

During the Escape Game, escape rooms work best when everyone is fully engaged

Make it abundantly clear that anyone who requires assistance may do so. Players may become dissatisfied or miss out on other aspects of the game if the team gets stuck on a particular challenge. Urge them to counsel the Game Expert – or the sign sheet, in the event that you’re utilizing a unit – when it’s important to keep things moving.

Whether you play the Game Master or take part in the game yourself, try to find people who aren’t participating and find a way to get them involved. Encourage the group to try a variety of approaches to problem-solving, but keep them focused on the end goal.

Even if the escape game was a success, it’s still important to give people a chance to unwind, talk, and celebrate (or commiserate) afterward.

Encourage them to discuss the event while it is still fresh in their minds and to concentrate on the positive aspects, particularly any insights they have gained about the team or themselves.

Afterward, set out open doors for colleagues to consider the action in more profundity. They could, for instance, evaluate their performance in the escape room during a meeting with their line manager, focusing on their strengths and any potential areas for growth.

Use the event’s feedback to inform your ongoing team-building program and identify potential training requirements. For more information on this, see our article on how to get the most out of training.

This way, even after you and your team have escaped, you’ll still enjoy the experience!

Things to Consider Here are four crucial concerns to keep in mind when planning an escape room activity:

• Should we play it in person or remotely? Escape rooms work best when everyone is in the same location. However, the additional challenge of playing from a distance can enhance the experience by forcing you to think outside the box and consider ways to circumvent any limitations imposed by technology. The Games Master may need to intervene more frequently when you are playing from a distance. If the team gets lost or communication starts to break down, ensure you help get them back on track.
• Will the cost be worth the advantages? Assuming you’re doing a break room away from your work environment, consider the expenses of setting recruit, transport, cooking, etc. Time, effort, and time away from work are all included in the total costs. Focusing on what’s most important and how to get there can be made easier with the aid of a cost-benefit analysis. It can likewise make it more straightforward to persuade others about your arrangements.
• Which location is best? Host your social events or team celebrations away from work. Using props, sets, and special effects to intensify the game, purpose-built premises provide the most challenging and immersive experience. Another option is to rent a location, such as an out-of-hours art gallery or conference center, and operate your escape room there. The event might be made even more original and memorable by this. You can organize a themed puzzle-solving session at your place of employment if traveling to the office is either too expensive or takes too much time. This may also make it simpler to match the activities to some of the particular difficulties faced by your team.
• Is it better to make your test or utilize an instant one? The majority of escape rooms operate out of their premises. Some offer ready-made escape room kits that you can download and run yourself, and others can set up temporary escape rooms elsewhere. Even though most of these services cost money, you’ll get enough well-crafted puzzles to keep everyone interested and challenged. Personalizing your event and costing less to make all the challenges in-house will be easier. However, it can also be time-consuming and complicated. In addition, if the activities meet your expectations, you can avoid leaving your team dissatisfied or frustrated.
• Which theme is most suitable? First, it’s important to pick a theme for your escape room. It lets you focus on specific skills and competencies and sets the tone for the event. A very imaginative theme is effective if you aim for people to unwind and have fun. For instance, you could go to an escape room on an alien planet or in a mythical kingdom. This can encourage creative thinking in addition to being entertaining. Problem-solving and decision-making skills can be strengthened through mystery themes like catching the murderer or stopping a jewel thief in their tracks. They tend to be more focused and serious, and they often value attention to detail. An example of a technical or scientific setting is a factory or science lab in some escape rooms. Teams can develop skills like strategic planning and delegation in realistic settings like these, and horror themes are a popular way to teach teamwork under pressure. They are only right for some organizations, but when used correctly, they help people be flexible and quick thinkers while putting their resilience to the test as the imagined threat gets bigger!