What does an escape game tell about you? Get to know yourself with us!

Get to know yourself with us!

Escape game and self-knowledge? How do these two terms link with each other? Learning yourself is a never-ending challenge. It seems that you spend the most time with yourself during life, practically just some percents of this duration are valuable “me-time”.

Life is nonstop presenting new challenges. To be perfectly ready for them is almost impossible, however, being prepared for them is a real, achievable goal. Let’s start to learn yourself to be prepared even for unexpected situations with the American Escape Room’s assistance!

All kinds of games are simulators: the logical board games; playing with dolls as a little girl; acting like an astronaut as a kid or just doing hide-and-seek with the classmates from the school. We let ourselves be driven by the flow of the game. If we are a real player, we get 100% involved and immersed in that. This is essential for that unconscious learning process that we obtain from the play.

Trying out yourself in an escape game results in the same progress! The more You adapt yourself to the chosen scene, the more You benefit from that. Besides the key code which opens the exit door, You are gaining answers about the condition of your logical thinking, time pressure tolerance, risk-handling, and cooperative skills,... 

Furthermore, the escape games offer the opportunity to develop your self-awareness, consciousness, concentration, and sangfroid. In the following, we highlight some of the upper-mentioned skills and traits to examine their improvements during the escape game, aiming to bring you closer to yourself.

Risk-handling skill.

Watching the hero escaping from a hazardous situation in the film, we clearly see what they should do to survive. 

As soon as we become “the hero” 

in reality, it seems to be complicated to observe the scene from above or outside. The proper way of the solution suddenly turns to misty.
In the escape room, your role’s importance and responsibility in finding the way out are equal to the other’s ones. You should see through the situation, deliberate systematically, take into account more options with respect to the playmates’ opinions and make quick decisions.
Can You take this responsibility? Are You able to keep your sangfroid to use the full capacity of your mind to handle the risky situation? Or do You prefer staying silent and wait until the supposed “leader” acts? 

Another issue of this topic is handling the playmates’ behavior.

If You immerse yourself in the game, the escape room can transform into a mysterious, suspicious place, where somebody might feel unsafe.
There are people who are prone to panic in a dicey case creating a more uncertain atmosphere. They can glue this attitude at the receptive ones reducing the number of cool-headed people around them. Are You resistant against them and able to stay calm and focused? Or are You that one who can lift yourself above the situation and provide the playmates with calm? At American Escape Rooms, we ensure the conditions to find the answer.

Time pressure tolerance and stress-related behavior.

From this aspect, a school test and an escape room game are extremely similar: time is running out! Under pressure, our brain functions show extremities from the (pitch-)blackout until the full illumination. 

The time limit poses stress to the players.

Both positive and negative stress could be induced. The former brings out the best of you: it reveals your hidden skills; your mind is able to cope with complicated tasks as never before; you feel the power to sweep away every kind of obstacle; there is no more impossible for you. With this attitude, American Escape Rooms will become a legal adrenaline source for you. Every second spent in the escape game will result in a positive discovery of your subconscious.
On the other hand, negative stress is less bright…Your brain stops working; the concentration collapses; you are able to focus only on the negatives: You are trapped, the timeframe is shrinking,...
Despite being aware that this way of thinking does not support You, the mind cannot get liberated.
Unfortunately, you are prone to making mistakes, feeling unable to make any constructive decisions, taking the role of a martyr. Undervaluing yourself, you will lose the respect of others. Unfortunately, this condition is an invitation for malevolent to misuse it out of any escape room.
However, American Escape Rooms is a simulated environment, the pressure of the time is real and the easiest to identify with it. The game offers the opportunity to try out yourself acting distinctly, more bravely, and to start trusting in yourself! An escape room is safe; You are there surrounded by friends. Outside will be just more unfriendly. Take this opportunity to train your self-esteem!
 

Cooperative skills.

This article aims to offer You a guide along with You can analyze your behavior intentionally in an escape game, to get to know yourself more thoroughly. Your cooperation skills, however others are involved, could uncover your subconscious feelings besides the given situation even towards your playmates.

Cooperation requires respect towards each other. People involved should listen to the different opinions; remain open to new ideas; encourage the weaker to express their opinion. Simultaneously, even the supposed “leader” should accept if they are not right.

A great opportunity is offered in an escape room to learn how to undertake and express your points of view in a moderate although self-confident way. Be prepared that “old stories” may emerge during cooperation, poisoning the thrill of the game.  Are you able to handle it? The doors are closed; you cannot escape! It is like a marriage from medieval times…
The escape game can teach You how to put previous wounds aside and ignore them in favor of the final solution. Cooperation is an advanced skill. It is about You interacting with the society around You. In an escape room, it means a tiny, not representative society. However, it can reflect Your ability to collaborate.

Never say never!

Life is full of surprises in both positive and negative senses as well.  There is a proverb: “My way or the highway.” Adjusting ourselves to the actual scene is sometimes more trying than fleeing. To face the challenges and cope with them, proper self-awareness is required. It ensures acting thoughtfully in the most unexpected cases.

Self-knowledge helps to observe the world and society from not only one but more aspects. Being aware of our deficiencies and values assists in approaching people’s behaviors, decisions in a much tolerant, patient, sympathetic way. Honest self-knowledge reveals that we are not perfect creatures. Admitting this fact contributes to the respect and acceptance of others.

Are these skills taught in the classroom? Partly, however, in the American Escape Rooms definitely.