Smart Help

We have a system for hints in our escape games

Yet, taking a hint or not can still be a difficult dilemma.

For the right decision in our escape games, you will first need to know how we approach hints in our escape games and why we claim that our app has smart hints:

1. Hints are "only" for a time penalty. So, if you can't complete a task on your own and take a hint relatively early, you can still aim for a good result if you are faster on other tasks. How many points you lose for a hint is explained here.
2. There are multiple hints for individual tasks, and only the last one reveals the full solution. Therefore, if you only need a little push and take only one hint, you will receive a significantly smaller time penalty than if you have the entire task's solution revealed. 
3. More complex tasks are divided into parts with corresponding hints. We have divided more complex tasks into several parts so that the hints you might take correspond to the specific part of the task you are currently solving. We wanted to eliminate as much as possible the chance that you would take a hint that only reveals what you already know.
4. We target hints. For more complex tasks, we can target hints for individual teams. We use algorithms that evaluate previous incorrect answers for individual tasks. Based on this, we skip some hints if they are unnecessary, or we adjust the app's reactions to answers. However, we cannot see into players' minds, so we cannot always tailor hints perfectly in this way.  
5. We categorize hints thematically. The situation is specific for each type of task, but we essentially divide hints so that players can choose the one they need, e.g., a) a map, if they are lost, b) a hint for a cipher, or c) a hint for clues or accompanying text.

We wish you good luck and hope you won't need any hints. 

However, know that we certainly don't underestimate you, and the difficulty of the tasks often reflects this. Who would want to solve only simple puzzles? That would be boring, after all...

That's why we say that taking a hint is no shame! 

To take or not to take?

Yes, "that is the question". To take a hint or not? 

You must answer this yourself, of course, but perhaps we can guide you or simply entertain you with our article, where we discuss this perplexing choice somewhat philosophically and somewhat technically in the context of evaluating escape game results.

We wish you that even with hints and mistakes, you won't lose the joy of the game.

Pavel and Martin, Útěkáři.cz