How To Choose The Right Escape Room Game To Play At Home

I'm glad you asked!

Escape rooms are immersive live-action games. You and your friends will race against the clock to evade a serial killer, flee from the mummy's tomb, or escape from some other grisly fate. They're primarily a team game, where you'll have to work together to solve puzzles and overcome interesting challenges.

In a nutshell, escape rooms are movies come to life! A novel that bursts off the page and into your house. Think Jumanji, but fueled by imagination instead of jungle magic. (It's much safer this way!) If you're still a little shaky on this whole concept, no worries. We've written a longer explanation you can check out over here.

So then, what is an escape room at home? Simply put, it's all the action and thrills of an escape room game, jammed into your living room! Don't worry, you won't have to redecorate your house or invest in any fancy tech. We'll show you how to have a blast with an at-home escape room without knocking down walls or filling the floor with quicksand.

At-home escape rooms bring with them some huge wins! You can play in the comfort of your living room, they're much less expensive than commercial escape rooms, you don't have to fight traffic, and you can play in your pajamas!

But playing an escape room at home does have a few drawbacks. Your budget is considerably lower than commercial escape rooms (if it isn't, contact me. We'll be friends). You're not permanently transforming your home. You're not hiring a crew of workers for two weeks to prepare your house for a one-hour game. Some sacrifices have to be made to budget, sleep, and sanity.

So, the easiest way to proceed with building your escape room is to confine it to one room. Resist the urge to transform your whole house into a sprawling labyrinth. Just one room is more than enough for a great time.

Next, work on hiding a series of clues and puzzles for your players to find. Place them in easily accessible spots, such as a lockbox or candy jar, on the table. At the bottom of the plastics drawer, or under 3 weeks of newspapers will win you the award for the worst game designer of the year, the eternal scorn of your friends, and a cream pie to the face. 

What is an escape room at home going to look like? Whatever you want it to! The decor doesn't make the game. So long as your friends can immerse themselves in the setup and feel a part of the game, you win!

Below are the top four things to consider when designing your escape room. Food and drinks did not make the list. But if you want your friends to enjoy every minute of the experience, at the very least, have a few drinks with chips and guacamole.

Buying a kit is the easiest way to go. Kits have many positive benefits, including:

   • All the puzzles are already made. Just download, print, and play.
   • Kits cost much less than commercial escape rooms. Most kits cost less than the cost of one person at a commercial escape room. When you pay for the entire family to go, that adds up quickly.
   • Kits often come with decorations you can print and hang around the room.
   • Some kits are spoiler-free, meaning you can set up the game and still play the game. Hints and solutions are provided via a website.

Many kits can be ready for play within 30 minutes of printing. They're simple, quick, and easy.

On the other hand, designing your own game is incredibly satisfying. Plus, crafting your own escape room experience brings with it a number of other benefits:

   • First, you can really unleash your creative side. This act of creation, with the purpose of sharing a fun experience with friends, is super super addicting!
   • You control the whole experience. You decide how hard to make the puzzles, how many puzzles the players need to solve, and the game's length. You design the decorations. Everything from first to last is on you.

However, designing escape room games takes a looooong time. First, you need to develop a theme. Then, you need to develop riddles and puzzles. Then you need to test those riddles on a few select, insightful friends (just because they make sense to you doesn't mean they make sense). Whatever you save in cash, you certainly make up for in time. This high time investment can be enough to scare some away, but if you've got the time, then go for it!

That said, a middle ground does exist. Some kits allow you to customize them using programs such as PowerPoint. In this case, you get the best of both worlds — the game comes fully made, but you can play mad scientist by changing or adding new puzzles and riddles!

The ideal number of players for an escape room is 3 - 6. This is the same for your at-home game as well. Fewer than three players make solving puzzles difficult. More than six crowd the room. When deciding how to design the escape room or which kit to buy, you need to know how many contestants you will have.

What if you have more than 6 players? Just make copies of the game - it's printable, after all. Just split the group into teams of 3-6, and then choose one of these options:

   • Run them through the escape room one team at a time. Just reset the room after each playthrough with fresh puzzle sheets.

   • Set up multiple escape rooms in different rooms of your house, and run them simultaneously.

   • Just hand each team a copy of the puzzle sheets, and shout "GO!". The first team to solve all of their puzzle sheets wins. This is the most popular option for escape room parties with more than 12 players attending.

BONUS tip: Make sure that you explain to any newcomers what an escape room is, so they don't get too overwhelmed!

Who will be playing your escape room? Are you designing an escape room for the kids or for the trivial pursuit experts down the block? Is Ken from Jeopardy playing?

You'll need to tailor the difficulty of the game to the players. Most kits provide age ratings and difficulty ratings. If you decide to design your own room, you'll need to think twice about whether you're making the game too hard or too easy. Getting stuck is the worst. Steamrolling a game is the worst. As a great philosopher once said, it needs to be "just right!"

Are they bookworms? Trekkies? Sports junkies? Part-time Egyptologists?

When deciding on a theme, remember who you're actually doing this for. Escape rooms are the most fun when players fully immerse themselves in the experience. So if you plow ahead and run a Pride and Prejudice game for your D&D group, you'll probably lose them.

If you're making your own game, you can use any theme you want. Literally, any theme. A sports theme may involve ensuring Tom Brady's footballs are properly inflated or that the NBA makes a new rule banning players over 5'5". You can use haunted house themes, zombie themes, or post-apocalypse themes. There's no limit!

However, if you decide to buy a kit, your choice of themes will be limited to what's on sale. The good news is that ready-to-buy kits generally sport themes that most people will enjoy. Plus, kits can also be tweaked to ensure that everyone will have a great time.

As we mentioned earlier, printable kits have many great qualities. Here are a few great kits you could use for your escape room party:

Envy Murder Mystery. This Great Gatsby-themed escape room is designed for four or more players ages 16 and over. Envy works great for parties, especially if you host a 1920s-themed costume party.

The Lost Mummy. This kit is perfect for kids' birthday parties. Kids 12 and older can spend an hour escaping from the Lost Mummy. And you can escape from an hour of "I'm bored," "what's next," and "can we swim in the alligator pond"?

Rebel Revolt. This super spy game is designed for ages 14 and up but makes an excellent game for adult parties. Besides, now that you're fully grown, how often do you get to save the world from total annihilation?

Escape Room Z. Z is for Zombie. This game is designed for 16 and over and requires a strong affinity for pizza. It features a mix of mental jujitsu and physical prowess (you must play the game to understand. But trust me, you'll love it).

Frost. A great game for kids 8-12. It's fully customizable. Want to let go of Let It Go? You can. They'll revel in solving great mysteries as they help the Wisp recover its memories in time for the Winter Faire.

Kids Escape Quest. Designed for ages 6-9, this will introduce younger kids to the wonder of escape rooms. But beware, they'll want more and more.

Now that you know what an escape room is, how to design an escape room, and where to find fantastic escape room kits, we hope you and your friends have a blast escaping a terrible fate. 

In our experience, escape room parties always dish out plenty of good vibes and memorable group moments. So don't stress about making everything 'perfect', they'll have a great time, and so will you!