The Types of Lock Puzzles That You Will Often Find in Escape Rooms

It is not an easy task to complete an escape quest, even if you consider yourself a pro already. There are so many factors the players should keep track of. Team balance is essential, but so as the overall mood. It’s necessary to search through the whole room as quickly as possible, but there’s also that first puzzle set that you need to pay attention to if you want to get to the next game of locks and riddles in time.

One good thing – for the competitive players of course – is that even the most tedious escape room puzzles do not appear on their own. Challenges might change a lot to match the current escape room theme, but in the core, they will still be recognizable – if you know what to look out for, that is. Here we present you the most common escape room riddle type that repeats in most of the classic escape quests, as well as in some experimental locked rooms.

Prize box that is closed with several padlocks.

Most Common Escapee Problem: Escape Room Lock Puzzles

These are the most frequent, as almost every important progression object or crucial hint can be hidden behind a lock. The lock system helps to separate quest zones and puzzle chains, so it is necessary to learn what types of locks are commonly used and how to deal with them.

  • Basic key padlocks. These are the most simple, as the only thing you have to do is to find a key. Make sure to check every nook and cranny: keys may hide in clothes, vases, boxes and even books. If you see a massive pile of keys, do not try to match every key with every lock: that’s just a distraction. Instead, try to find a hint that tells you the number of the key you need (or its color, code, etc.).
  • Number code locks. It doesn’t matter if it’s a classic padlock or high tech lock with a keypad. To open the lock, you’ll need to find the numerical code. Sometimes it’s an answer to a riddle from another puzzle block, but if the story mentions any significant dates, your first step should be trying to enter them.
  • Mechanical word locks. Laptops in “Enter Your Password” also count, as there’s not so much difference anyway. With automatic locks, you have to rotate discs with letters to get the word. With tech, it may be a bit harder to get the word right, as you don’t know how many letters does it consist of. The password may be hinted at the back of some old photo, or marked in the book. But don’t just look for marks in any ancient text you find: the exact page will be mentioned in a puzzle.

Now that you know the basic escape room tricks, why not try and put it to good use? We recommend you visit any of our escape rooms and see if you have what it takes to open all the locks and get out in time!