We are often asked, “What ages can do an escape room?”. It varies dramatically depending on the group. But it is very much down to the group as to what experience they will have. Providing your child is able to focus on the task at hand and work as part of a team there’s no reason they can’t share the adventure. Here are a few other things to consider.
We have no minimum age at all
Some younger children simply enjoy being part of the action! With our Wizards of Wyvern escape room we’ve focused on a family sharing a magical adventure. We’ve refined an easy mode that allows kids to take a more active part in puzzle-solving. We’ve also added lots of media to make the whole experience very entertaining.
The experience will very much depend on your group dynamic. If you are in a group that proactively engages with the kids and make them feel part of the action then you can all have a great time. The one thing that is especially fulfilling is the sense of achievement at the end of the escape room where the kids will genuinely feel like they are the heroes of the story! We find this to be a key component to contribute to our Tripadvisor score.
Our general experience with younger visitors
Every child is incredibly different but we find these to be our typical levels of involvement based on age:
- Ages 3-5 – The Children will love seeing the special effects and magic unfold. We recommend that they are kept up to date with what is happening with puzzles and story but they’ll generally be happy to be along for the ride. We do not charge for these places but they do contribute to the room capcity.
- Ages 6-8 – These guys will be reasonably confident in working out a few of the puzzles themselves with a bit of guidance. They will benefit from some support and encouragement.
- Ages 9-10 – These guys are capable of taking on some the challenges independently. They may sometimes struggle to keep the whole team involved and share tasks.
- Ages 11-14 – These ages see team members able to comprehend most of the challenges. This enables them to contribute to the overall team’s progress.
Why do participants under the age of 16 need supervision?
While younger visitors are welcome to enjoy our puzzles, their safety and well-being are our top priorities. For safeguarding reasons, our staff cannot take on the role of a carer for any visitors during their time on-site. Additionally, the waiver must be completed by a responsible adult who remains present in the room throughout the experience. This ensures everyone can enjoy the escape room in a safe, fun, and responsible way.
How we’ve made ourselves more accessible for younger visitors
We’ve taken a few conscious steps to make Prodigy escapes and in particular The Wizards of Wyvern.
- Never Locked in – We never lock anyone in the rooms which removes the anxiety that may be present. With The Wizards of Wyvern we’ve constructed the entrance to be open immediately adjacent to the entrance lobby. In addition, we’ve found that the focus on breaking into the room rather than breaking out is a big confidence builder.
- One-on-One Games Master – We provide a dedicated gamemaster per experience. This means that your group is their sole focus during your visit. We find that by listening and watching the experience fully we are able to tailor suggestions and hints in a manner that validates thought processes to keep gameplay flowing.
- 100% Completion – We work with every group to achieve success! We don’t believe in groups not completing rooms and haven’t let anyone down yet. This means that you are always guaranteed a victorious ending and not left assigning blame to one another for not completing.
Consider your team dynamic
It’s important to think about who is in your team. There is a big difference between younger visitors being part of the team and making up the majority of it. Our priority is to ensure that everyone has the best experience possible.
Groups featuring a minority of children
Where a large group which has a few children present is fine to allow them to feel part of a team the adults are best at making sure the younger guests are involved in the challenges and making contributions to the team.
Groups featuring a majority of children
If you are composing a team made up of mostly children with minimal parental support this can lead to difficulties. As our rooms are challenged to challenge groups of adults it can be tricky for the limited adults present to provide suitable guidance to keep the group entirely engaged. There is a risk that the parents will take the lead role in the group whilst the kids are left to spectate. This not only produces a less engaging situation for the children but can also lead to unsupervised children participating in activities that may damage the room whilst the parental focus is directly on the puzzles.
Our dedicated game hosts will always do what we can to ensure a team’s success but also don’t want to take the feeling of accomplishment away from the team. A puzzle where you are told the answers is not fulfilling or rewarding. We do have a few strategies we can consider if the group requires assistance.
Ways that we can help
- Hints – We have a vast amount of data that helps our game hosts manage a game. We can accurately forecast how a group is performing and whether they are likely to finish on time. We will always try our best to provide concise hints tailored to the groups to give the lightest amount of information to help groups achieve success. This can progress to more direct instruction only if we feel that momentum or future puzzle opportunities may be impacted. There is a risk that spending too long on one puzzle can greatly reduce the opportunity for other puzzles later in the game.
- Companion Guide – The help parents and carers understand the direction of the game we have a companion guide available for Mount Clifton Manor and The Lost Temple. This gives an outline of puzzle order helping them to focus on particular challenges without external aid.
- In-room support – There may come a time when additional assistance is required and the game host can come into the room to take on that leadership role in directing team members. This is used as a last resort to keep teams engaged.
- Overtime potential – We leave an hour between bookings which gives us time to help groups unable to complete within the hour. We will do all we can to ensure that we can get your group to the finish even if that ends up being slightly over the hour.
Puzzles that bring groups together
We go out of our way to use puzzles that are not too comparable to one another. These would encourage one member of the group to lead through all those puzzles. Instead, we try and provide a mix of puzzles to allow for different interpretations and opportunities for everyone to get involved.
Consider theming
Engagement will only take place if the kids are interested in the story theming. It’s worth considering the types of TV & films that they enjoy to gauge whether the escape room matches their interest. It’s also worth considering that not all escape rooms will be suitable for Kids or families. Certainly, even our own The Haunting of Mount Clifton Manor would not be suitable for many younger visitors or even some adults. We leave this to the discretion of the parents. Can a 7-year-old do an escape room like Mount Clifton Manor? Of course but it may not be appropriate for everyone.
Upper age limits
We don’t have an upper age limit. We love escape rooms for their ability for multiple generations to enjoy our experiences. They offer a way of working together that few activities can achieve. All of our rooms feature a range of accessibility elements that can help all of the team to feel a part of the adventure!
