7 of the Best Escape Room Board Games You Can Play at Home

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Escape rooms, like other types of non-tech gaming, are on the rise. What once was limited to a simple point-and-click adventure in your internet browser now has become a hands-on experience you can enjoy with your friends as physical games or escape room board games.

What is an escape room?

You are shut in a room for 60 minutes. That is all the time you have to complete the task set before you. You might have to steal a diamond. You might have to find an exit to a haunted house. Whatever it may be, you must find clues and solve puzzles to escape in the given amount of time.

It’s no surprise then that escape rooms have made their way to board games. Who wouldn’t want to solve a puzzling mystery with a time crunch in the comfort of their own home? Now you can do just that with these escape room board games.

Who can play escape room board games?

Good news – anyone can play escape room board games! Escape rooms are good for friends, family, kids, and even as a solo player. Most escape room board games are best for 1-4 players. It really depends on how easily puzzles come to your group. It also depends on the difficulty level of the escape room board game. As you’ll see, some of these games have more complex puzzles than others, which will change how many players you’ll want. Some themes are also more appropriate for adults than kids. Those games are noted in this list.

Escape Room Board Games

Here is a short list of the best escape room board games:

1. Escape Room in a Box
2. Escape the Room: Mystery at Stargazer’s Manor
3. Unlock!
4. Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger
5. EXIT: The Game
6. Escape Tales: The Awakening

Keep reading for a more information on each.

These escape room board games are roughly ordered by difficulty level. Some of them come in a variety of difficulty levels, and we have made note of it when this is the case. We have organized them this way so that if you are brand new to escape room board games or if you are playing with younger children, you can start from the “beginning.”

1. Escape Room in a Box

With physical components and a mixture of simple to complex puzzles to solve, this escape room board game plays well with kids and adults alike. The language is quite straightforward, too.

In The Werewolf Experiment, for example, you have stumbled upon the workshop of a mad scientist whose experiment has gone wrong. He has turned himself into a werewolf, and now he wants to do the same to you. Fortunately, he also found an antidote, but he did not make it easy for you to find. Can you reach the cure before time runs out?

For fans of The Walking Dead, there’s a special Escape Room in a Box for you, too.

2. Escape the Room: Mystery at Stargazer’s Manor

In the late 1800’s, a well-respected astronomer has not been seen or heard from since his wife’s passing. However, strange sounds have come from Stargazer’s Manor. Players must solve the mystery of the manor by completing puzzles and finding hidden clues. This escape room board game plays well with families or for adults.

3. Unlock!

All you need to play this escape room board game is a smartphone and one of the playing decks. Each box comes with a tutorial that the free application will take you through. Then, you’ll choose the adventure that corresponds with your deck, and you’re off! The Unlock! Games vary in difficulty, which the publisher notes on the back of each box with a lock rating system. One lock is the easiest while three is the most difficult. Many players on Board Game Geek prefer the original Unlock! game, Unlock! Squeek & Sausage.

4. Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger

While not strictly an escape room game, it does come with the same flavor as one. Plus, this will give players who loved to read the Choose Your Own Adventure Books as a kid a healthy dose of nostalgia. In this game, players will make choices as they read through the chapters. This will lead them to uncover a mystery about strange dreams they’ve been having and an even stranger house they’ve come upon.

5. EXIT: The Game

Like the Unlock! Games, these come in several varieties. Each one comes with different components including cards, a puzzle book, and a decoder. The most popular version of this already popular escape room board game is The Abandoned Cabin. This version has a traditional escape-room feel, as players need to work together to find the code to the combination lock of the cabin and escape. The Mysterious Museum is also a great choice.

6. Escape Room: The Game

This particular escape room board game offers three escape rooms in one: Secret Agent, The Dentist, and Space Station. Each one varies in difficulty level. There’s a previous edition that comes with four different escape rooms, too. Given the themes of this escape room board game, it is not recommended for children.

7. Escape Tales: The Awakening

This escape room board game differs slightly in two ways. First, it has more of a narrative component. Players take on the role of Sam, whose daughter has been in a coma for several months. Second, there is no time limit to this game. Instead, players will explore the world and solve puzzles to get to the bottom of his daughter’s coma. This one does have more mature themes, so it is not recommended for kids under the age of 12.

Some of these escape room board games offer good family fun with a nice mix of story and puzzles. Others are a great alternative to your lighter party games. All these games will give you group a night of fun, mystery, and daring without having to leave your house.

What is your favorite escape room board game?