Help Me Find an Escape Room Near Me

Ready for a magical escape room adventure? Here are your quest options:

Head into town and hit up some amazing local escape rooms which overload your mind and senses. With some resembling movie sets, you can easily lose yourself in these rooms, never to be seen or heard from again (or at least until 60 minutes expires). Escape room venues make for an excellent outing for you and several friends.

You probably missed it in the family photos and unmade beds, but your house holds the same magic! Downloadable escape room kits transform your living room into an escape room, complete with puzzles, locks, and zombies. (Creepy moss and jars of unknown chemicals that may explode not included.) Scalable to numbers dwarfing the standard 8 person escape room, the downloadable escape room kit works for a family game night or a neighborhood block party. Best of all, the games can be reconfigured and reused much quicker than your local escape room can install a new adventure!

Host your own escape room party

Find an awesome escape room near you

Want the magical thrill of the escape room experience without the cost, travel, and maniacal gamemasters? Want to truly visit an escape room near you?

Download a game!

The printable, customizable games allow you to play at home, at a friend’s house, or even your office. You control the theme, the execution, and most importantly, as gamemaster, your friends!

Craft your own adventure:

Or, download a ready-to-go adventure:

It's all super easy! You print the game, complete with clues and decorations. Then, you decide precisely what type of room your players will face. You have options from super-simple work-free setups to setups involving intricate elven craftsmanship.

1. Super-easy setup:

2. Simple setup with flair:

3. Rebuild the house!

Arthur had Merlin to mold him into the righteous master of the Roundtable. You have Lock Paper Scissors to finish your gamemaster training. Need a hand? Then get in touch, we will teach you how to cast the spells that unlock the escape room in your house.

Once you have finished the design and planned your setup, you need one more element for a successful room - – players. Invite some friends over for an escape room party. Let them know the theme before they come (maybe they can dress up). Most will be experiencing an at-home escape room for the first time and will arrive excited and anxious, so be ready with drinks and snacks to calm their nerves.

DIY escape room tips from the High Wizards:

Explain any special rules upfront. Do they need to lift anything? Did you hide anything under rugs or cushions? Can they find everything in plain sight? Explaining these simple rules will help move the game along and keep your house in one piece.

You can use multiple rooms. Just split the game into sections and hide the clues in two or three rooms. Having the answer to one puzzle unlock the door to the next room will make all your players feel like serious superspies!

Have a celebratory feast after the game. This is a must if you're hosting the game as a friendly house party like we did. Regale yourselves with stories of triumph and tragedy. Laugh as you toast the honors gained. Then begin planning the next great adventure, starting with who will assume the throne of gamemaster for the next party. Escape room club beats dinner club any day!

Local escape rooms sprout faster than hydra heads. Most towns boast at least one or have one within a reasonable distance. Googling “escape room near me” likely provides you with several worthy adversaries (choices). Reading the descriptions of the games whets your appetite for adventure, and usually gives you a pretty good idea of what you're up against.

Like any good leader, before you embark on the campaign to save the damsel, you should ensure that you will complete your quest with all members of your team intact (except the red shirts, of course). If you adhere to the task list below, your team will experience adventure, fame, and glory (ok, maybe just adventure and glory ).

You don’t cast a spell without a wand. You don’t attack Troy without Achilles. And you don’t choose an escape room near you without knowing your teammates.

Many escape rooms resemble haunted houses or sets of horror movies, complete with gore and body parts. Conquering these rooms likely requires leaving queasy-stomached friends behind. You could choose a secret agent room or other less creepy experience with those friends.

Do you need novices or Grand Masters for your chosen escape room? If your friends lack experience in escape rooms, you may want to start with a simple room (even if it's an 'easy win', you may hook your friends and leave them begging for more!). On the other hand, if your friends have multiple escapes to their credit, go for the gusto and book the most challenging adventure possible.

Remember that some escape rooms lack space, or light, or both. Always take the environment into consideration before choosing the room. Someone leaving the room through the emergency exit will ruin your day.

X may mark the spot, but do you know the GPS coordinates for the X?

There are several different ways to go about finding fun escape room venues near you. First, consult the ancient scroll and visit the hermit on the hill for suggestions. If that effort fails, try these more modern solutions.

Use online directories

• NowEscape
• ESCAPETHEROOMers
• Top Escape Rooms Project
• World of Escapes

Try TripAdvisor

Google it

Ready for Mt. Everest? Or would you prefer to stick to the local hill? Escape rooms vary in difficulty. Choosing the right one for you and your roommates matters.

Several tools guide your selection.

Check the escape rate

Check completion times

How low can you go? While most escape rooms do not publish average completion times, as some people don’t escape, the site may publish the 10 fastest escape times for each room. Generally, the faster the time, the easier the room. However, the escape rate better represents the difficulty level as some quick times occur when people repeat rooms.

How is the score settled?

Who controls your room?

"Will someone jump out at me?"

We see this question quite often, especially at escape rooms with haunted or mystical themes. Typically, only you and your roommates occupy the room. Some rooms do offer live actors, dressed as mediums, zombies, or other appropriately ghoulish creatures, but the rooms announce this in advance. You may need to consider which friends can handle a room with live actors.

How do you complete the mission? You may need a final code to open the front door of the asylum to freedom. Or you may only need to enter the code to stop the impending explosion, which will bring the gamemaster into the room to congratulate you. Knowing how you wish to spend the final few suspenseful moments will help you choose the right room.

How many rooms? Some escape rooms confine their secrets to a single room. Linear escape rooms contain multiple rooms, but the clues from one room stay there. Each room serves as its own puzzle. Non-linear escape rooms include many rooms, but clues from the first room may unlock a puzzle in room No. 7, requiring you to move back and forth between the rooms. All present their own challenges and excitement but choose the one you think best fits your team.

You wouldn’t want a Knight of the Round Table to defuse a nuclear bomb. And a Walther PPK provides little help against the Emperor. Choosing the adventure that captivates your team the most will bring the most joy, greatest glory, and raise you to new heights in the eyes of your friends.

Escape room themes vary wildly (just take our list of theme ideas, for example). You may end up in an Egyptian Tomb, a Louisiana swamp, or a hijacked airliner. Escape may mean defusing the bomb or finding the secret lever to open the last door. You could end up in an Asian jungle or the roaring 20s.

Most escape room websites contain enticing descriptions of their different adventures, with some including short video intros to the game. You should quickly find one that captivates your team. The right room will have you anxious to arrive, immersed in the game, and discussing it for hours afterward.

Can you imagine Arthur arriving at the stone, only to find a sign reading, “Pulling the sword out of the stone requires advance registration?”

Double-check the escape room’s website to determine if they require advance booking or allow walk-ins.

Only the worthy advance. Each room contains an upper and lower limit on the number of players per playthrough. Some rooms allow as few as two people. Most allow eight, while some larger rooms allow ten. The upper limits generally reflect the number of players that can comfortably move about in each room.

Showing up with too many players may result in your team splitting to different rooms, or, much worse, half the group sulking in the lobby while the rest cover themselves in glory.

If your team fails to fill all slots, many escape rooms allow other teams to join yours... teams who may well end up stealing all your thunder!

Every quest ends with a grand dinner honoring the victors! Find the right venue for your team. Research Google Local Guides, Yelp or TripAdvisor to find restaurants, bars, and cafes for your post-escape entertainment.

If you travel to the escape room, search for the best hotels near the escape room. Discover other possible exploits, such as theaters, museums, and parks. Expand your experience into an unforgettable crusade!

Adventure is out there!

So why stay here? With so many options for your next escape room adventure, there really is no reason to let another humdrum weekend go to waste.

So go for it! Gather yourself a party of brave adventurers, stock up on supplies, and then quest forth into the unknown! I promise you, it'll be worth it.

Just start by checking out the escape room options near you, or by browsing our fun selection of at-home escape room games.