Glossary & Lingo

Staff who greet players, explain rules, monitor the game, give hints and keep things safe and on-track.

Non-player character — staff who play a role and interact with players to push the story (e.g. a hotel manager).

Taiwan nickname for the GM / host — tells the opening story, gives hints when you are stuck, and leads you out if needed.

An element inside the game scene that players must observe and combine. Different from a 'hint'.

Help that comes from outside the game, given by the GM. In Taiwan often counted as 'hint tokens' or a hint quota.

An interactive device triggered by circuits, sensors or physical mechanics; meeting its condition opens a door or fires an effect.

A concealed layer, false bottom or disguised object that hides clues or keys.

When the team is blocked on a puzzle and cannot progress — usually the cue to ask for a hint.

A lock opened by entering the correct code — numeric, letter or directional.

Linear = puzzles solved in a fixed order, one after another; non-linear = many puzzles can be tackled at once, in any order.

Design — set, story, characters — that makes players feel like part of the story.

A story-driven, role-play-and-deduction game type, often listed alongside escape rooms.

A fake clue or prop that leads nowhere and only wastes the team's time.

A puzzle requiring deductive, logical reasoning to solve.

The share of teams that successfully escape — often used to signal difficulty.

Completing the goal within a limit (commonly 60 minutes); a countdown timer is standard.

An in-game object — could be a puzzle component, or a red herring.

A final puzzle that combines the results of earlier ones, usually near the end.

A design technique that blocks access to a space or element until a specific puzzle is solved.

Restoring the room to its starting state before the next team — re-hiding props, re-locking, rebooting electronics.

Solving without reasoning by trying every possibility of one digit/combination — handy when you are one digit short.

Taiwan slang: guessing the right answer with no logic, or a puzzle whose logic is too big a leap to follow.

Taiwan slang for admiring the set and mechanisms without actually solving and progressing.

Horror-room slang: a 'hamster' scares easily; a 'tank' is fearless and shields teammates up front.

Booking takes the whole session — you are never grouped with strangers, the Taiwan norm.

'Spoiler' = revealing puzzles or the ending; a 'spoiler-free' review shares without ruining the game.

Taiwan's annual selection/awards for real-life games.

Taiwan's largest escape-room player community (the 'T.P.C. real-life escape club' on Facebook).

A player who favours mechanism-heavy rooms (sensors, circuits) over traditional padlocks.

Design terms: 'linear' = puzzles in fixed order; 'sandbox' (non-linear) = many threads run at once, good for splitting up.

Experience-driven rooms with close actor interaction and strong story immersion; some have no puzzles.

Player slang for a disappointing room — weak puzzles, story or production.

Reading the solution to a room — a major spoiler that ruins the one-time experience; avoid before playing.

How long a team took to escape; bragging rights and a difficulty signal alongside escape rate.