Introduction and the debriefing may not be a part of the room itself, but it’s certainly a part of the escape room experience. A good introduction and debriefing can turn a good escape room into an awesome one – and it works both ways. A bad introduction and debriefing can really hurt the overall experience when visiting an escape room. No matter how good the room is, it can just feel as if something is missing when you are promptly asked to pay and leave after you solve it.

As bad introductions go, we’ve seen all kinds – from room master just reading the instructions from a piece of paper to not even mentioning the story of the room. A good introduction is the first step towards immersion, and it can really put you in the mood and set the atmosphere of the story behind the escape room.

It’s even easier to pinpoint a bad debriefing – and those are not hard to come by. To be completely honest, we’ve probably had more mediocre or bad debriefings overall, than the really good ones. Way too many times it happens, that you are just escorted outside of the room back to the entrance hall, asked to pay, maybe given a chance for a photo or a few minutes of chat, and then asked to leave (or just stand there awkwardly).

The few awesome debriefings we’ve had included going through the room again, answering any questions you might have, commenting and debating the puzzles, maybe explaining a bit more how some puzzles are connected to the story of the room. Some rooms also offer refreshments after the room has been finished, that is not a must but it surely doesn’t hurt.