How to pick a good escape room

A good escape room is one that suits your team, not the one with the highest rating in a ranking. There’s plenty of choice in Krakow: listings show dozens of scenarios in different parts of the city. To avoid getting lost in it, check six things in turn: who’s playing, which story grabs you, how hard the game should be, what the reviews say, where the room is and how safety works.

Your friends are raving about a great game, and you’re wondering whether your team would like it too? That’s a good start, but their favourite room isn’t necessarily the best choice for your first visit. It’s worth going through the questions in a set order. That way you won’t book a scenario just because it has an eye-catching photo or a free slot.

First, work out who’s actually coming

Count the players, take their ages into account and ask about their experience. Two first-timers need something different from a big group that has already done lots of rooms. The limit given on the scenario’s page is a condition of taking part. Don’t treat it as a suggestion you can stretch once you arrive. With a bigger crew, ask whether you can play two rooms at the same time instead of squeezing everyone into one.

Settle the game language too. In Krakow it’s a common question, because teams often include tourists or people who don’t speak Polish. Check whether English covers not just the puzzle descriptions, but also the introduction and contact with the Game Master.

Ask about any needs around moving about, sound or light. Nobody has to tell the whole group about their health. It’s enough to make it possible to sort out the details confidentially with the staff before you pay.

Choose a story the whole team wants to live through

A crime story, a pirate adventure and a world of magic can contain equally demanding puzzles and still stir up very different emotions. Ask your players about the theme and about anything they’d rather avoid. Not wanting to be scared matters just as much as being keen on a particular plot.

Ask about the format as well. Some Krakow rooms have horror elements or an actor who appears during the game. For some people that’s the main attraction, for others a reason to pull out. The scenario page doesn’t always say so outright, so it’s better to ask before you book.

You don’t need to talk a beginner into the darkest room to make their first visit a success. On the other hand, pirate decor isn’t automatic proof that a game is right for a small child. Check the page and the restrictions for the scenario you’ve chosen: tight passages, low light, physical demands. For example, the page for the crime-themed Anatomy of Crime 2 gives an age of 16+ and notes that the room isn’t suitable for people with heart conditions or for pregnant women. A warning like that tells you more about the level of tension than the title alone.

Check difficulty in conversation, not just in a number

A difficulty rating helps you roughly compare one company’s rooms, but it isn’t a shared unit across all operators. A room marked as medium in one place may turn out harder for you than a “hard” one elsewhere. What matters is your team’s experience, how you communicate and the type of puzzles.

When you book for the first time, just say: “We haven’t played before, there’ll be four of us. How does help work during the game?”. Find out whether the Game Master gives hints on request and how you contact them. Using hints can be part of the fun, not something to be embarrassed about.

Read reviews with your own needs in mind

An average rating on its own says little about whether a child will get into the story or whether first-timers will follow the introduction. Look for reviews from a similar group and watch out for recurring comments about the staff, how clear the rules are and the condition of the game elements. Reviews tell you more about the quality of the game itself when they say the tasks were tied to the story, it was clear what you could touch and how to tell you were making progress, and the hints nudged you along instead of giving the answer away straight away. Frustration alone doesn’t mean the game was good. Read mainly reviews from the last few months. Rooms wear out and get rebuilt, so rave reviews from a few years ago don’t say much about how things are today.

In the replies to criticism, look for specifics: does the company explain the problem and address the situation? A single rave or one bad review doesn’t describe every visit. Skip reviews that give away solutions if you want to discover the room for yourself.

Check the address and the total time of your visit

Confirm the location of the specific room. The company name isn’t enough if it has several locations or also runs outdoor games. In Krakow, rooms are spread across the whole city, from the Old Town and Kazimierz to districts further out, so getting there can take longer than you expect.

• By public transport: check the route from your hotel, or from wherever you’ll be beforehand, in the MPK journey planner.
• By car: check whether the street is in the Paid Parking Zone. The street search for parking subzones by the Kraków City Road Authority (in Polish) will help. A free space in the centre on a Saturday evening isn’t a given.
• On foot: if you’re combining the game with sightseeing, choose a room close to where your walk ends and leave some time to get there.

On top of the game itself, allow time to get there and to arrive as the staff instruct. Check the rules on late arrival before you pay. Don’t assume the game can be moved at will, especially when other bookings follow yours. If you’re planning lunch beforehand, leave time for waiting for the bill and for getting from one place to the other.

Ask about safety

Since 2019, Poland has had more detailed fire safety rules for entertainment venues, including escape rooms. Players must be able to leave the room safely, and the owner has to check evacuation arrangements regularly (information from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, in Polish). Even so, it’s worth asking directly:

• whether the door of the room is unlocked, or how you can open it at any time,
• whether the room has a button or another way to reach the staff quickly,
• whether the Game Master can see and hear the team throughout the game.

Good staff answer questions like these calmly and clearly. If someone brushes them off, that tells you something too.

Between two good options, pick the better fit

When you’re down to two scenarios, note for each one the number of players, the theme, the scare level, the restrictions, the language, the address and the available slot. That’s what a proper room page looks like: for example, Gamescape’s room pages give the number of players, the duration, a difficulty rating, whether the game is available in English and warnings about tight passages. If some information is missing, clear it up with the staff before you pay.

If the weather’s good and you’d like to see the city along the way, consider a city game too. It’s the same kind of puzzles, only played out on the streets, for example the Krakow Legends app, with no need to book a time.

A short list like this gets you further than hunting for a room that’s “the best for everyone”. A good choice is one where the team knows what it’s signing up for and is keen to step into the adventure together.