What's a Typical Escape Room Experience Like for First-Timers?
The gap between what people expect from an escape room and what they actually experience is wider than you'd think. Here's a clear, spoiler-free walkthrough of a typical escape room session at Incognito Escape Room in Dublin — so you know exactly what to expect when you show up.
Before You Go In: The Arrival (10 minutes before)
Arrive a few minutes early. You'll be greeted, your booking confirmed, and any personal belongings (bags, large coats) can be left in a secure area. Phones stay with you but aren't used inside the room.
Your Game Master — the person managing your session — will introduce themselves and run through the room rules. Simple rules: don't force locks or mechanisms, don't access any areas marked off-limits, and call out if you need a clue.
The Briefing (5 minutes)
Before you enter, the Game Master gives you the room's story — the narrative context that frames the puzzles. Why are you there? What happened? What do you need to do?
You don't need to memorise it, but it's worth paying attention. The story isn't just atmosphere — it often contains information that's relevant to the puzzles inside.
Minutes 0–10: Entering and Searching
The door closes. The clock starts.
The first instinct for most first-timers is to immediately try to solve the first interesting thing they see. The smarter move is to search the whole room first — systematically, out loud. Every drawer, every shelf, every corner. Call out what you find. Let the whole group see what's available before anyone starts working on a specific puzzle.
This first search is where a lot of the room's logic becomes visible. Clues from different areas connect to each other, and you can't know what connects to what until you know what's there.
Minutes 10–40: Solving Puzzles
This is the bulk of the session. Your group is working through puzzles — finding codes, matching symbols, solving sequences, opening locks — with each solved puzzle revealing the next step.
The pacing is usually non-linear. You'll have multiple things open at once, different people working on different areas. Good groups stay vocal throughout: "I've got a three-digit code, does anyone have something that needs three digits?" "I've been stuck on this for a few minutes, someone come look at it."
Clues are available from the Game Master throughout this phase. Most groups under-use them. Ask sooner than feels comfortable.
Minutes 40–60: The Push
Whether you're close to escaping or still mid-way through the puzzles, the final 20 minutes feel different. The time pressure is real now. Groups that were methodical often shift to more collaborative, higher-energy problem-solving.
Your Game Master will call out time at regular intervals. If you're not going to make it, there's often a final puzzle sequence that comes into focus — so you can at least see where the room was heading.
The End: Escape or No Escape
If you escape, there's a clear signal — a door opens, a final reveal happens, something theatrical marks the end. This moment is reliably satisfying even if the 60 minutes felt difficult.
If you don't escape — which is common, especially on a first attempt — the session ends at 60 minutes and the Game Master comes in.
The Debrief (10–15 minutes)
This is often the best part of the experience.
The Game Master walks you through what you missed, shows you how the puzzles connected, and answers any questions. You see the solutions to things you were stuck on. The logic of the room, which felt scattered during the session, suddenly becomes clear.
For most groups, the debrief changes how they feel about the session. Things that seemed arbitrary made sense. Things they were close to crack become obvious in retrospect.
Afterwards
Most groups want to immediately talk about what happened — what they solved, what they missed, what they'd do differently. That conversation usually continues over drinks or dinner.
It's also when people usually want to book another room. The experience is structured enough that you can immediately see the things you'd do differently next time.
Six themed rooms across two Dublin city centre locations. Book your first session here — or if you have questions before booking, check our FAQ or get in touch.
