5 Tips to Win an Escape Room on Your First Try
A practical guide from the creators of Prague's Pharaoh's Tomb escape room — what works, what doesn't, and how to avoid wasting time on nothing.
An escape room is won not by the smartest team — but by the most organized one. At UnrealRooms, we've watched hundreds of groups over the years, and almost every time the outcome depends on coordination more than on IQ. Here are five tips you should know before you step into our Pharaoh's Tomb or any other escape room in Prague.
1. Assign roles in the first 30 seconds
The moment the game master closes the door, your team has 60–90 minutes to solve everything. Instead of chaotic running around, assign roles immediately: one person searches the room, one organizes found items in a central spot, one works on what you already have. This sounds boring but can save you a full 15 minutes.
2. Speak everything out loud
The most common mistake: a player finds something, pockets it, and forgets. Or someone solves a puzzle "in their head" and no one else knows. Simple rule — anything you find, say it aloud. Anything you think, say it aloud. Even bad ideas are valuable because they point the team toward better ones.
3. Don't overlook the obvious
Escape room designers love hiding things in plain sight. Check every drawer, every book, picture frames, under the furniture. But also — don't waste time on purely decorative items. Nails in walls, old bricks, plain furniture. If something clearly doesn't look like part of a puzzle, it usually isn't.
4. If you're stuck for over 5 minutes — ask for a hint
Players are often shy about using hints because they want to "win clean." In practice, this means your team spends 20 minutes on a single puzzle and never finishes the room. The game master watches your play from the next room and will give you exactly the hint you need — winning with a hint is still a win.
5. Watch the clock, but don't panic
The clock on the wall is there on purpose. At the halfway point, you should have solved roughly half the puzzles. Ahead of schedule? Great — slow down and enjoy the atmosphere. Behind schedule? That's exactly when you should call for a hint (see tip 4). Panic and arguments are the biggest time-killers in any escape game.
And what about our Pharaoh's Tomb?
Our Pharaoh's Tomb escape room is a perfect place to apply these five rules. 90 minutes, 2–5 players, difficulty 4/5. The current record is 48 minutes — can you beat it?
One last tip: get a good night's sleep before you come, and skip the alcohol. Escape rooms aren't a party activity — they're a sport for the brain.
