Visiting an Escape Room was a first for me and many of us at Parry Hancock. We escaped with just under 3 minutes to spare! The hour flew by and after about 45 minutes, I was convinced we weren’t going to manage it. It felt like time was slipping through our fingers, but it all came together and the pieces quite literally fell into place. On reflection, this was because of the way we’d worked earlier in the hour.
It sounds clichéd but we worked really well as a team; playing to individual strengths, letting certain people take the lead on different tasks, naturally breaking away into sub-teams as more information became available and – most importantly – communicating what we’d found and sharing information with the rest of the team.
Not one of us panicked throughout the game, which I think is impressive given at the outset we had no idea what would be behind the door. We were blindfolded, led into the room and individually handcuffed to different areas of the ‘basement’!
Our first task was to find keys to unlock ourselves. This took over 10 minutes which felt enormous when we knew we had 7 puzzles to solve and now less than 50 minutes to do it in. Following on from that were an array of tasks mixed with some props to make us jump and several combination locks to solve. A few riddles, some maths, a lot of searching for things and piecing clues together. All required different skills, knowledge and expertise. Pooling brain power was essential.
For me as a Partner, it’s useful to reflect on what this means for us as a team at work. The reason for doing an Escape Room was partly for a bit of fun (I’ve wanted to do one for ages) but also to help bring our team together, which has doubled in size over the past 5 years. Whilst this might seem like gradual, organic growth, in a small office environment each additional member of staff is a big step because you don’t want to rock the status quo.
At work, we call ourselves a team, but we are usually working independently on jobs and occasionally as small groups. However, when I reflect on how we work in the office, it’s not dissimilar to how we worked as a whole team in the Escape Room – and maybe that’s why we succeeded. For example, at work when someone isn’t sure about something, they get one of their co-workers involved to help them understand the issue and resolve it. We also share knowledge and communicate it with each other. Whilst some might think our office is ‘quiet’, in my mind it reflects the fact that we are a group of individuals who are happy with their specific roles, yet are able to come together as a team when required. In the Escape Room, there was no shouting over each other, nobody got stressed and everyone got stuck in. This resulted in us all surviving (I think… I’m still not quite sure of the exact rules) and, most importantly, escaping within the allotted time.
Personally, my adrenalin was pumping and I think this is what powers you through the game. It’s exciting not knowing what’s coming next. I’d say that I’m probably a bit of a control freak and like to have things planned out. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I’m too ‘task-focused’. In an Escape Room, you don’t know what’s coming next and, as well as solving individual puzzles, you have to stand back and look at the bigger picture. Clues from one part of the room link to clues in another part of the room and if you can bring these things together, it can really help you solve the game.
It was a great experience and I can’t wait to do another one!
“I’d never been to an Escape Room before so really didn’t know what to expect. Then when I discovered there might be jump scares in the game, I did wonder what I’d let myself in for! However; once we got there, I was very excited and it was honestly so much fun! We didn’t have time to think about anything else because we became totally immersed in the puzzles, interacting as a team to solve them. From start to finish it was go, go go! Highly recommended!”
Andrea | Office Manager
“Great fun. And good teamwork enabled us to escape with just over 2 ½ minutes to spare!”
David | Partner
“It was a great idea continuing into the evening so we could reflect on what we’d achieved as a group in the Escape Room that afternoon. After we finished the game, we went out for a meal and discussed how each of the puzzles had been solved for those who had been working on different tasks in other areas of the room.”
Lesley | Account Manager & Payroll Manager
“The Seven Sins Escape Room was something I was sceptical about as I’d never done anything like that before. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it as it enabled everybody in the team to work together and demonstrated that we’re the type of people who want to succeed! It was great that we beat the clock with time to spare.”
Anna | Payroll & Accounts Assistant
“This was my first time in an Escape Room and it exceeded my expectations! The puzzles we had to solve were all different and had something for everyone to get involved with. We worked really well as a team, which was rewarded with us completing the challenge in under 60 minutes. I would definitely recommend Seven Sins and look forward to trying another Escape Room soon!”
Sue | Account Manager
“The Seven Sins Escape Room was great fun and it was interesting to see how everyone coped with different types of pressure!”
Caroline | Accounts Assistant
“Brilliant experience – loved every minute!”
Jackie | Bookkeeper, Accounts & Payroll Assistant