How To Succeed In Escape Rooms With Only Two Players

 Escape rooms are typically thought of as a group activity for several people to play at once. However, it’s absolutely possible to play an escape room with just two people. 

We’ll warn you, though: escaping with two players is challenging. Larger groups benefit from more people to offer ideas, think about problems in unique ways, and divide and conquer to solve puzzles. With only two players, you have fewer brains in the room to work with. 

Nevertheless, it can be done! And we want to help you succeed. Here are our best tips for escaping with two players.

Some escape rooms are intentionally designed for bigger groups and may even have minimum player requirements. Research the escape room you’re interested in ahead of time to see if it’s two-player friendly. One of the best things you can do is ask the management of the escape room you’re looking at if a room is two-player friendly. They’ll know better than anyone what size groups work best.

Hints are an integral part of the escape room experience. It’s very rare that groups escape without any clues, especially groups of just two people! 

Some escape rooms (like us at Breakout) give unlimited hints without any penalties. Other escape rooms may have hint limits or implement penalties like reduced time. Whatever the case, use hints strategically, but do use them! Asking for hints doesn’t mean you’re less smart or not as good of an escape room player. Especially in a smaller group, hints are a key to success.

No matter your group size, you have 60 minutes to break out of an escape room. But in a smaller group, that 60 minutes may feel like it’s going much faster! 

Be aware of pacing as you play the game. You won’t be able to rely on several players working on multiple puzzles at once. So you’ll need to solve each puzzle you encounter quickly. Read more about how to pace yourself in an escape room here.

The ticking clock and mounting pressure of escape rooms can create tension among players. More players can sometimes help break up this tension. With only two players, you don’t have any outside forces to help you if you disagree on how to approach a problem. 

So it’s important to remember that your fellow player is not your competition. You’re working together to solve the room, not against each other. Be willing to listen and encourage each other’s ideas. You’ll only escape if you work together!

We hope these tips will help you succeed in your next escape room experience. Ready to book a two-player game for a date night or a hangout with your bestie? Check out your options here.