Room Escape Artist

This is a tip for the more serious escape room players.

For those of us who like to play larger rooms with smaller teams (or even solo), it’s frustrating when companies won’t let a small team book because there is a hard minimum.

Hard minimums

Many games have puzzles that require a certain number of bodies to complete. For example, three people need to push buttons in different rooms at the same exact time. That’s a hard minimum. The game physically requires the presence of three people to complete an interaction.

Puppeting

Puppeting is when teams that are too small to complete a task are permitted to summon a gamemaster into the room. That gamemaster only does what they are told by the players to complete a multiplayer challenge.

In the example above, the gamemaster pushes a specific button when directed to by the players.

This allows a team to dip below the hard minimum and still enjoy the game.

Not every game needs puppeting.

Not every company will allow puppeting.

However, it’s a good thing to keep in mind if you’re short a player and really want to play a game. It’s always worth asking.