Here’s the basic way to solve the water rooms / Poolrooms area in Backrooms: Escape Together : keep to one side of the maze, find the exit path, then complete the colored-dot valve puzzle at the end. The final door opens when each valve matches the number of dots of the same color on the wall, and there is a rising-water timer once the puzzle starts.

How to navigate

  • Pick left-only or right-only and stay consistent through the tunnels. That route-following method is the main reliable way to avoid looping around forever.
  • If you reach dead ends, keep following the same side rather than switching directions. The walkthrough sources describe this as the safest way to eventually reach the exit path.
  • Watch for the staircase section near the end, since that leads you out of the maze and toward the puzzle area.

Valve puzzle

  • Once you reach the glass-door puzzle, count the colored dots on the walls first.
  • Turn each valve until it matches the dot count for that color. One walkthrough specifically notes a setup like blue, orange, and green dots that must be matched exactly.
  • After the valves match, the door unlocks and you can move on.

Water timer

  • Don’t panic when the water starts rising during the puzzle; the guide says there is enough time to finish if you work quickly.
  • The safest approach is to count everything before touching the valves, then make the adjustments in one pass.
  • If you miss a count, step back and recheck the wall before spinning valves randomly, because that usually wastes more time than the water itself.

Practical tips

  • Use landmarks instead of trying to memorize the whole maze at once.
  • If you are playing co-op, split roles: one player counts dots while the other handles valves.
  • If you get lost, reset mentally to your chosen side rule and keep moving.

Useful rule of thumb

“Stay on one side, count the dots, match the valves, and move fast.”

TL;DR: hug one wall through the Poolrooms, follow the route to the staircase and puzzle room, then count the colored dots and set the valves to those numbers before the water becomes a problem.