Rating Harry Potter Characters on Their Escape Room Potential

Hermione’s been called the brightest witch of her age, but does that automatically make her a
Quicksand escape room MVP? Do you think Malfoy would keep his team in line or cause them
to implode? And what about Ron’s incredibly specific wizard’s chess skills? We have some
thoughts. Sit back and enjoy the escape-room-meets-Harry-Potter crossover you never knew you
needed.

Harry Potter: 6/10
Of course we must begin with the Boy Who Lived. To be honest, Harry’s a bit of a toss-up. As a
Gryffindor, he’s a gifted leader and clearly has no problem convincing people to follow him
anywhere. His ability to motivate his friends would come in handy when they get tired or
discouraged. However, he also tends to make rash decisions that don’t always work out well
(stealing the Weasleys’ flying car, anyone?). We give him a solid six for leadership and moxie,
but considering the number of life-threatening situations he’s been in, his decision-making skills
might be better suited to magical duels than escape rooms.

Ron Weasley: 8/10
We can’t mention Ron without acknowledging his epic game of wizard’s chess, which allowed
Harry to move on and do all the cool hero things. Ron exemplifies one of the most important
escape room qualities: teamwork. While some escape room goers focus on understanding the
bigger picture, Ron is our boots-on-the-ground man getting things done. He’s the teammate
painstakingly translating morse code so someone else – ahem, Harry – can rush to the lock and
enter it themselves. He may not always get the credit, but here at Quicksand Escape Games, his
sacrifices will not go unnoticed. Eight points to Ronald Weasley!

Hermione Granger: 9/10
Time and time again, Hermione has basically saved the world using her logic and deductive
reasoning skills. While that might not be enough in all situations, cleverness is half the battle in
escape rooms. If Harry’s the idealistic leader and Ron’s the hands-on muscle, then Hermione is
the brains behind the operation, noticing small details and connecting clues. Admittedly, she’s
not the best at staying calm under pressure (cue the infamous Malfoy slap), so we won’t give her
a perfect score. But remember when she literally harnessed the power of time travel just to take
extra classes? Yeah, that should warrant a nine.

Draco Malfoy: 5/10
No offense to any Slytherins reading this, but we’re not convinced Draco’s resourcefulness
would compensate for his other – shall we say, darker – traits. A big theme here at Quicksand is
the importance of teamwork and collaboration. Good teammates know how to prioritize the
success of the group, but Draco seems a little more driven by personal ambition. He strikes us as
the type of guy who would discount his partners’ ideas, only to steal them a few minutes later
and play them off as his own. We bet he would also sabotage his team by refusing to take any
hints. Only five points for Draco.

Albus Dumbledor: 10/10
It’s Albus Dumbledor. If he can’t escape a room, we don’t know who can.