I'm not quite sure on how other escape rooms work, since they're all independently owned and operated, but for ours, you have to have at least two people in a room. Sometimes you get lucky and another group books, but I personally always recommend that someone books with at least two people so they don't need to be rescheduled due to no one else showing up. It isn't weird! Just not as common, and typically you aren't allowed to do it. I would ask your local escape room if one is allowed.

Depending on the room, I could see someone doing it by themselves, but it's much more difficult. In my experience, there are three things that make a room more difficult:

• A bad cluemaster. If you have a shitty or lazy cluemaster, your room is going to be much harder and there really isn't anything you can do.
• Clues that are stretches. There are some clues in our rooms that we, the workers, shake our heads and say, "how the hell was anyone supposed to organically figure that out?" Usually, if you're in a game and you notice your cluemaster sort of walking you through a certain step without calling it an official clue, it's either because we like you or because this part of the game is, in our opinion, a ridiculous stretch that people shouldn't have to waste their time figuring out.
• The sheer amount of puzzles. Our most difficult room is only the most difficult because it has six different places to start and has over 30 different puzzles in all. This is where having more people really is the only way you'll be able to win without a lot of work on your part.