Making a Successful Team: The Seeker and the Watcher

Welcome to Immersion’s look at what makes a successful team. We will go over individual personality types that tend to be crucial to teams that succeed in our rooms. These thoughts are based on observing groups as they complete our escape rooms, and compiling a list of common traits shared between successful groups.

In our first installment, let’s talk about The Seeker. The Seeker is a person who combs the room for clues, locks, boxes, and anything that seems suspicious. They tend to be the first ones in the room, and are anxious to get started while waiting for the experience to begin. They are very good at locating what’s important and what isn’t, and enjoy exploring the room. A good Seeker stands out because of their ability to discern patterns and find what stands out.

While Seekers are crucial to a successful team, there are typically a few downfalls this type of person will need help with. Seekers tend to start a room with high energy, digging through everything they see as quickly as possible. Once they feel like they’ve seen everything though, their energy drops and they can be found sitting on the sidelines afterwards. A Seeker may also need help organizing and communicating their findings, so nothing gets lost.

The best Seekers keep in mind the fact that they are still part of the team even when their preferred job is complete. They share their information as soon as they find it, and make sure that others in their group have what they need. They have the ability to shift roles and keep up the puzzle solving after they’ve thoroughly explored the room.

The opposite of a Seeker is a Watcher. They tend to be people new to escape rooms who don’t know what to expect, usually parents or friends who were brought along for the ride. Remaining bystanders, Watchers can sometimes miss out on a bonding experience with their children, friends, family members, or co-workers. They can also limit a group’s progress by keeping silent about a critical piece of information they’ve discovered because they feel separate from the group. However, every person, even the Watcher, has individual skills and knowledge that could propel a team forward.

It’s important to remember that everyone has a first experience with escape rooms, and the best thing to do is to encourage and include them in the fun. Where a Seeker starts out energetic and trails off, a Watcher with the right team will gain energy, become part of the group, and find a way to participate. A Watcher has the potential to fill any team role, as long as that potential is allowed to flourish.

While every player should have enough curiosity to enjoy exploring the room for clues, a Seeker can be a great help to find more obscure or better hidden items. It will be up to the rest of the team to support them by providing encouragement throughout the game, and to help fill the individual’s skill gaps.