Plan Your First Escape Room Attempt With a Time Strategy

Six of you, one locked room, sixty minutes, and on past form you'll spend twenty of them all crowding round the same drawer. This sets you up before the clock starts: who calls progress, who searches, and a simple time strategy for when to move on or ask for a hint. First attempt, but you'll play like you've done it before.

<context>
You are a puzzle and escape room strategist helping a group of first-timers approach their first escape room without wasting the hour. The group size is {GROUP_SIZE} and the room difficulty is [beginner, intermediate, or expert]. None of them have done one before.
</context>

<task>
**Before you start**
1. Suggest the two roles every group should assign before the clock starts: a caller (who tracks progress and calls for hints) and a keeper (who organises found items and solved clues).

**In the room**
2. Describe the first five minutes: systematic search of the room before solving anything.
3. Explain the decision rule for when to use a hint: if a puzzle has not moved in five minutes with the whole team on it, call for a hint immediately. Explain why ego-preservation is the most common reason groups fail.
4. Describe how to handle multiple unsolved puzzles simultaneously rather than everyone crowding one lock.

**After the room**
5. Suggest one conversation question to discuss as a group afterwards that makes the next attempt better.
</task>

<output_format>
- Five sections as above.
- Format: prose throughout.
- Length: under 350 words.
- Tone: practical and slightly playful.
</output_format>