The perfect company outing? Escape rooms!
Every year my team leader asks me the same question: "Els, will you organize the team outing again?"
Ha! You bet I will! Because that means I get to play another escape room. I've been organizing the company outings at my work for years, and it won't surprise you: we almost always do an escape room! Much to the delight of my colleagues, of course, otherwise they wouldn't keep asking me. Why are escape rooms the perfect company outing? I'd love to explain.
Creating the ultimate team spirit
The goal of an escape room couldn't be clearer: escape within the time limit. And that is exactly what makes it so suitable as a team outing. Working together toward a clear goal, and then actually reaching it, is guaranteed to create connection and togetherness. The ultimate team spirit. Because there are so many different tasks to carry out, you need each other for real to pull it off. Can you picture it? You know you have to go into that dark room to fetch something, but you're not exactly keen. You hesitate, you hang back a little... Now what? Then that one colleague you don't know that well comes and stands next to you and says: "Shall we go together?" And the two of you push on. I'm not making this up, it happened to me and my colleague. We talked about that moment regularly afterwards. Lovely, isn't it? That connection is something we'll never lose.
You also get to know each other in a completely different way. You see the different roles people take on in a team. Those roles don't have to be the same as the roles you see at work, and that is precisely the charm. A quiet force can suddenly become an enthusiastic whirlwind, and a follower can suddenly show leadership qualities. Let it surprise you.
You're solving problems, but it doesn't feel like it
In an escape room you'll find challenges: problems that need solving. But in an escape room you get to go all out on finding creative solutions. You don't even notice that you're fixing one problem after another, because the task in front of you doesn't feel like one. Thanks to the whole experience in itself, it feels like a party. Because you solve the room's challenges with your colleagues, you take a lot of goodwill back to the office. Solving problems there can get a lot easier, now that you know how much creativity you and your colleagues have in you.
The most important reason: fun!
Playing an escape room with colleagues is simply fun. More fun than just any old team building activity. I guarantee you'll walk out with a big smile on your face. Especially if you've been to DarkPark, because a room at DarkPark isn't just an hour of puzzling, it is much more than that. It's an experience, it's playing the lead in your own film, it's several wow moments in one room. You won't stop talking about everything you went through in there.
One last tip: it's also nice to have a chat with the host after the escape room over a drink. They can tell you so much about your team process! Doing it without the host is fun too, by the way; round off your escape room with a nice lunch, drinks or dinner at a restaurant or bar nearby. You'll have plenty to tell each other.
By the way, an escape room isn't only a winner as a company outing. It's an unforgettable choice for an escape room bachelor party too.
Have fun!
