6 of the Best Team Building Escape Room Ideas
When you hear the term “team building,” it likely makes you think of awkward icebreakers and trust falls. However, team building doesn’t have to be boring or lame. With escape rooms as your ticket, it can actually be a fun and productive ride.
Escape rooms build team cohesion and communication. They’re perfect for developing problem-solving skills, time management abilities, and creative thinking. Searching for a new and unique workplace activity? Look no further than in-person or virtual escape room team building.
What is an escape room?
Imagine that you and your team locked in a room. There are a series of exciting puzzles to solve, and time is of the essence. To escape, you’ll need to use your collective brainpower. Escape rooms test problem-solving skills and teamwork abilities in a fun environment. The best part? You don’t need any prior experience or special skills to participate — just a sense of adventure and teamwork spirit.
Growing popularity of escape rooms
In 2003 board game lovers from all over the US flooded to the GenCon Indy convention in Indianopolis. This is where the first escape room style game was hosted: The Dungeon, designed by Jeff Martin. Since then, escape rooms have popped up all over the world. In 2019, there were at least 2,300 escape rooms in the United States, and 68 percent of respondents in an iED survey said they’d visited an escape room at least once.
Not only are there thousands of physical escape rooms around the world, but there is also a steadily growing number of virtual escape rooms. Participants can print out materials, look at the puzzles on their computer screens, and work together as a team — all without leaving the comfort of home. Whether virtually or in-person, team building escape room ideas are your key to unlocking a fun and productive workplace.
Why Escape Rooms are the Perfect Team Building Activity
According to Karyn Gallant, executive coach with Gallant Consulting Group, “[Team building] exercises need to allow everyone to start from a common baseline, where no one is smarter, funnier or better informed, and any opportunities to share need to result in disclosure that feels authentic without being overly intrusive.”
Escape rooms check all of these boxes. Team members start from a common baseline and work together to solve puzzles. They disclose ideas and collaborate in order to escape the room. Because escape rooms usually aren’t made up of trivia questions or prior knowledge puzzles, everyone, regardless of background or experience, has an opportunity to contribute.
They’re also fun! Escape rooms tend to bring out the determination, competitiveness and excitement in people, meaning you may begin to see team members exhibit skills you might not have known existed.
What are you waiting for? Escape rooms are an excellent team building activity and should be on the short list for your next team-building outing. Our team building escape room ideas will change your teamwork game for good.
How Escape Rooms Can Make Work More Fun
It’s no secret that work can sometimes be boring and/or stressful. According to the American Psychological Association, “Nearly 3 in 5 employees reported negative impacts of work-related stress, including lack of interest, motivation, or energy (26%) and lack of effort at work (19%).”
Escape rooms are the perfect antidote to these alarming stats. They’re a fun, physical and mental challenge that can improve team spirit, communication, and creativity. They’re also great for relieving stress and giving employees a break from their day-to-day. But how do they work?
An escape room is a physical puzzle game in which players get locked in a room and must use clues and teamwork to escape. Players must work together in order to find clues and solve the puzzles, which are usually logic-based and quite challenging. If someone gets stuck, the rest of the team can help out. Escape rooms builld cooperation and communication within a team.
If you have new employees, team building escape room ideas are an effective way to get to know one another. There’s no focus on silly icebreakers; instead, team members learn about one another through cooperation and skill sharing.
Sounds like a lot of hard work. What makes them fun?
It’s not just the team that benefits from escape rooms – individuals can too. Escape rooms are great for boosting problem-solving skills, creativity, communication and confidence. Plus, the satisfaction you feel when you escape is unbeatable.
How can your workplace take advantage?
There are a few ways you can bring escape rooms to the office: by booking an escape room for your team or creating your own.
If you choose to book an escape room, keep these things in mind. Make sure the room is suitable for your team size. You should also consider the difficulty level of the room. If your team is new to escape rooms, choose a room that’s not too challenging.
If you want to create your own escape room, keep these things in mind. In addition to being a good size,, your escape room should be well-lit and furnished. You’ll also need think long and hard about the series of challenging puzzles your team will solve.
Escape rooms are ideal for improving communication and cooperation. They’ll be sure to leave your team with a sense of satisfaction. Thinking what I’m thinking? It’s time to start brainstorming some team building escape room ideas!
Escape Room Ideas You Have to Try
We’ve put together a list of our top six recommendations for team building escape room ideas that are perfect for teams of all sizes. From classic puzzles to more creative challenges, these rooms will kickstart your group into some teamwork action.
In-Person Escape Rooms
The traditional escape room is done in person. It’s a physical space that you and your team enter, and you have a set amount of time to find clues and solve the puzzles in order to escape.
This type of escape room is perfect for team building because it requires players to communicate and work together in order to succeed. Plus, the sense of urgency created by the timer really gets everyone on their toes.
Idea 1: Escape the Lost Temple
Featuring technology seen nowhere else in the world, this in-person experience is incredibly immersive; it’ll take your team back through time and space for an incredible team building adventure. Will your team of explorers have what it takes to solve the mysteries of this hidden temple before it’s too late?
(Up to 8 players)
Idea 2: The Eventide Departure
Revolutionary dueling escape game option, featuring two digitally-connected copies. Unravel the mystery alone with your team, or go head-to-head against rival adventurers!
(Up to 10 players)
These are just two of the many in-person experiences we offer at Puzzle Break. You can visit our on-site location in Seattle for the perfect escape room team building experience.
Virtual Escape Rooms
Did you know that, since the COVID-19 pandemic, over 90 percent of employees work remotely at least once per week? With so many people working from home, virtual escape rooms couldn’t have arrived at a better time! They allow team members to connect and collaborate without having to leave their living rooms.
Idea 3: Hackfiltration
In this irreverent cyber adventure from decades past, you and your team of elite hackers must infiltrate the system to fight the power. Can you break into the system before the clock runs out? It’s all up to you in this virtual escape room.
Idea 4: Monsterpelago
Journey to the fabled isle of Monsterpelago, famous for its mystical inhabitants: monsters! Does your team of dedicated experts have the skills and teamwork to save them from extinction? Will you be the heroes of Monsterpelago?
Both of these virtual escape rooms are designed with workplace teams in mind. We know that teambuilding can be difficult when people are spread out all over the place, so we’ve created top-rated escape rooms to let team members connect and collaborate in a virtual space.
Portable and Hybrid Models
Your team might not be remote, but perhaps you haven’t got time to spend the day together at an on-site escape room. Maybe there isn’t a site near your workplace. Why not experience an escape room in your workplace or at your next networking or corporate event?
At Puzzle Break, we bring the puzzle to you. Anywhere in the United States is fair game, and we cater to any number of players. Our portable and hybrid escape rooms can be tailored to your specific needs. We’ve done everything from team building exercises for banks to murder mystery events for tech companies. Whether you escape the room virtually, in person, or at your next event, there are plenty of opportunities here at Puzzle Break!
Idea 5: A Hollywoodland Mystery
Can you and your team of detectives find the clues, solve the puzzles, unravel the mystery, and catch the murderer before time runs out? Perfect for a classy evening out with your colleagues, this hybrid escape room is a thrilling mix of mystery and intrigue.
Idea 6: The Grimm Escape
There’s nothing like a fairy tale to bring a spark of magic to your event. Can you and your team of adventurers find the hidden clues, solve the puzzles, complete your quest, and break the witch’s spell before it’s too late?
Create Collaboration and Bring a New Sense of Achievement to the Workplace
Are you harboring a hidden genius? Escape rooms are a bucket of fun — but they can also help you find out what secret skills may be hiding in the minds of your employees. There are all sorts of teamwork skills that can be practiced and learned in escape rooms. According to MindTools:
Escape rooms build key skills within your team, such as collaboration, communication, decision-making, problem-solving — and stamina! They can also be a good way for a team to rehearse its response to high-stakes situations and challenging times.
Here are some of the most important teamwork skills you can learn or improve on in escape rooms.
Communication
Escape rooms require ongoing communication. If everyone on the team isn’t on the same page, you’re going to have a lot of trouble succeeding. In an escape room setting, you get to see how well different team members communicate with each other. Are they able to share information effectively? Can they put their egos aside and work together towards a common goal?
Problem-Solving
Problem-solving skills are key in escape rooms and in the workplace. To succeed, you need to be able to identify problems and come up with creative solutions for them. Escape rooms have a way of bringing out the best in people’s minds. When your team is faced with a challenge in an escape room, see how they work together to find a solution. All that time, pressure and adrenaline can lead to some truly clever problem-solving.
Collaboration
There’s no hope of escaping a room full of puzzles if no one is working together. Team members need to be able to collaborate. This skill is also key in the workplace. Can your team come together and work towards a common goal? Do they tend to work in silos? Seeing how your employees do – or don’t – collaborate in an escape room can be very telling.
Decision-Making
In escape rooms, snap decisions are often key to success. This is a great way to test your team’s decision-making skills. How well do they make decisions under pressure? Do they have a clear leader who makes the final call, or is everyone on an equal footing? If they spend too much time deliberating, they might not have enough time to actually escape!
Stamina
An escape room is a physical and mental challenge. Just like after a workout, you’ll likely want to take a nap after you’ve escaped. Your team’s patience, stamina, and overall fortitude will be tested. They’ll learn to keep going even when things get tough.
Escape rooms make an excellent team-building activity for any workplace. They offer a range of skills that can be improved, all while giving employees a great time. Convinced yet? If you want to learn more about how escape rooms can enhance your teambuilding, check out our article on how Virtual Teambuilding Makes a Difference. Don’t forget to look at our virtual activities for remote teams. You’ll be in for a wild, exciting ride.
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