[Introductions

An escape room challenge featured in the main game walkthrough of Escape Academy.

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"Introductions" is an escape room challenge featured in the main game walkthrough of Escape Academy. It functions as the player's entry point into the game's escape rooms and is tied to the "Next Stop: Escape Academy" achievement, which unlocks upon escaping it [src-f30c4b0486]. Because it is the first escape, it also establishes several systems — report card grading, hint penalties, and collectible newspapers — that carry through the rest of the game.

Overview

"Introductions" is part of the Main Game term of the walkthrough. Escaping it awards the "Next Stop: Escape Academy" achievement, which shows a completion rate of roughly 89.9% among players [src-f30c4b0486]. The room is not just a puzzle but also a tutorial for the game's grading and collectible systems, so how you play it affects later achievement progress.

How to Complete

The escape ends when you board the train at the end of the stage. Before that, you move through a short sequence of conversations and a location change:

1. Read the newspaper before leaving. The guide stresses reading it before you depart the area, and warns not to press X, since that triggers a hint and will invalidate an A+ run [src-cc415a0c9f].
2. Talk to the lady at the end of the train terminal. Skip through the dialogue [src-cc415a0c9f].
3. Enter the train. Boarding the train unlocks the first achievement for completing "Introductions" [src-cc415a0c9f].
4. Receive your report card. Make sure you earn an A+ here — this contributes toward the "Overachiever" achievement for earning 10 A+ grades. Missing an A+ once or twice is not fatal, but aim for it [src-cc415a0c9f].
5. Meet the next character and skip the dialogue, then use the map that appears [src-cc415a0c9f].
6. Click near the top of the map to travel to the headmaster's office [src-cc415a0c9f].
7. Talk to the girl in the headmaster's office, skip the conversation, and click the door to take the entrance exam, which spawns you into the next puzzle [src-cc415a0c9f].

Collectibles and Optional Puzzles

"Introductions" contains one of the game's newspaper editions, which counts toward the "Extra, Extra!" achievement for reading 10 different editions of "The Escapist Times" [src-f30c4b0486]. The newspaper is located at the end of the stage before boarding the train — look for the phone booths near the train, and the newspaper sits next to them [src-f825a4961b].

There is also an optional secret room reachable from this stage. Across the room from the newspaper is a bookshelf with an optional puzzle. Interact with the bookshelf and click the books in this order: Egypt, Japan, Greece. This opens the bookshelf and reveals a secret room in the back [src-cc415a0c9f]. Opening the room does not itself unlock an achievement, but you need access to it for the "Musical Prodigy" achievement [src-cc415a0c9f]. Inside the secret room, go to the piano and play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in the exact note order shown on screen in the video guide [src-cc415a0c9f]. That achievement is the rarest in the game at roughly 4.9% completion [src-f30c4b0486].

Tips

• Avoid hints during the escape. Pressing the hint button (X) invalidates an A+ run [src-cc415a0c9f]. You earn an A+ by finishing an escape within the given time limit without using any hints [src-f825a4961b].
• Read the newspaper twice if you want to be safe — the guide notes you can click it twice to make sure it registers [src-cc415a0c9f].
• Do the optional bookshelf puzzle now, since the secret room and piano are needed for "Musical Prodigy" and are easy to miss if you rush to the train [src-cc415a0c9f].
• Treat the A+ as a long-term goal. "Overachiever" requires 10 A+ grades, and some players report the achievement only counting first clears of a room, so bank an A+ on "Introductions" while the puzzle is simplest [src-f825a4961b].

Rewards

• "Next Stop: Escape Academy" achievement — unlocked by escaping "Introductions" [src-f30c4b0486][src-f825a4961b].
• A report card grade for the escape, which feeds into the "Honor Roll" (B+ or better on 10 escapes) and "Overachiever" (A+ on 10 escapes) achievements [src-f825a4961b].
• Progress toward "Extra, Extra!" if you read the newspaper near the train [src-f825a4961b].
• Access to the secret piano room, enabling the "Musical Prodigy" achievement [src-cc415a0c9f].

Details

term

Main Game

Sources

• Escape Academy Complete Walkthrough
• Escape Academy - All Achievements/Trophies Walkthrough - 100% Puzzle Solution Guide (Xbox Game Pass)
• Steam achievements page — Escape Academy
• 100% Achievement Guide - Escape Academy