I failed to escape, but I enjoyed the puzzles and was completely engrossed while I played! The only puzzle clue I didn't understand (ignoring all the others that I killed myself with) was the "number of steps". Once I counted the number in the image (and I'm unsure if the topmost "step" is actually the landing and should or should not be counted), I was at a loss as to what to do. I tried counting forward the number of characters, but got a letter and I moved on to other clues. What made the clues (even if I didn't understand them enough to win) work for me is that it was apparent what was a clue, but it was not obvious what the clue meant. Because of this, I never felt completely lost and could justify my (wrong) decisions.
I'm excited to see what all you add! My only worry is that adding too many will give the player choice overload/paralysis. With only one window, you have to keep a lot in your head. But, it probably won't be an issue.