Seven habits of teams that get out

Every night we sit in a small dark room with a wall of screens and a biscuit tin, watching teams try to escape. After a few thousand games you start to see patterns. The fastest teams are rarely the cleverest people in the building. They’re just better at working together, and they do it in surprisingly similar ways.

The habits

Here’s what the record-breakers have in common:

• They say things out loud. “I’ve found a key” is the most useful sentence in any room.

• They put used clues in one pile. A corner of the floor works. Once a clue is solved, it goes there and stays there.

• They split up, then come back. Three people on one padlock is two people too many.

• They ask for a hint early. 10 minutes stuck isn’t brave. It’s 10 minutes.

• They don’t force things. If it needs a hammer, it isn’t the answer.

• They check the obvious. Under the rug. Behind the picture. In the drawer you already opened.

• They laugh. Relaxed brains spot patterns. Panicked ones don’t.

We’ve also noticed that winning teams aren’t quiet. They talk constantly, but in short bursts: what they found, where they found it, what it might open. Nobody gives speeches. Nobody keeps a clue in their pocket “for later”. And when something clicks, they tell everyone, even the person in the other corner trying to open a drawer that was never locked.

One more thing: they don’t trust the first idea. When a number seems to fit, they check it against a second clue before spinning the dial. It sounds slow. It saves minutes.

The one that surprises people

Asking for hints. Lots of groups treat a hint like a failure. The record holders treat it like a tool. Your host is watching anyway, and they’d much rather nudge you than watch you stare at the same number lock for a quarter of an hour.

“The fastest team we ever had asked for three hints. The slowest asked for none.”

Nadia, who writes the puzzles

So, before you go in

Pick a person to shout out what they find. Agree on a pile for used clues. Decide now that hints are allowed. Then go in, have a laugh and trust each other. Oh, and remember there’s always one red herring. Don’t let it eat your whole hour.