Top 3 Escape Room Board Games
Imagine gathering a group of co-workers or friends, paying money to be locked inside a room, and solving puzzles and clues in order to escape. It sounds like a lot of fun right? This is a basic escape room. They are rooms that are designed and decorated according to a theme. Groups of people are locked inside an escape room where they’re forced to work together, solve riddles and progress towards an eventual ‘escape’ from this room. There is usually a time limit for the escape otherwise be prepared for catastrophic consequences, usually a fictional death!
The concept of escape rooms has gained immense popularity in the last few years. They are an excellent way to relax, have fun, and work together as a team. Most escape rooms also get your brain buzzing! However, to participate in an escape you do have to pay. This is not a feasible option for everyone. Luckily, there are escape room board games that will get you thinking outside the box and satisfy your hunger for solving puzzles.
Listed below, are 3 of the best escape room board games:
1. Escape Room In A Box: The Werewolf Experiment
This is the next best thing to getting the feeling and experience of an actual escape room without participating in one. There are gadgets and puzzles in the game (smaller in size), that you would also find in a real escape room.
This board game is suitable for up to 8 players and can be played for up to 90 minutes. Escape Room In a Box: The Werewolf Experiment is anything but a pen and paper puzzle. These are actually locked boxes. Players must locate codes and keys, satisfy quests for information, solve mind-bending riddles, and perform feats of mental dexterity to escape.
Replay Value
What’s truly special about this board game is that it has replay value. On their website, there is a “more fun stuff” section with resources that enable you to introduce new clues and challenges, and instructions on how to reconstruct the box.
There is a ‘Host Repack’ section that enables you to host the game to your family and friends. It has a master script that dictates what you’re supposed to say during the game.
Get Amazon Alexa To Host The Game
What’s neat is now you can use Alexa to host your escape room game. Alexa will track the time, provide hints as you request them and create a pressure-filled atmosphere against a backdrop of suspenseful music. This awesome feature is the first of its kind. It makes the whole board game more engaging and with the background music, it motivates players to work quickly and complete the game.
More Than a Board Game
Escape Room In a Box: The Werewolf Experiment is equipped with codes, boxes, keys, lock, and special ‘feats of power’ that players must finish. The game has numerous out-of-the-box and unique challenges.
There are two versions of this board game:
2. Unlock
This escape room board game is one of the simplest ones but everything bit as challenging and exciting as the one mentioned before. To play Unlock, you need the game cards and a smartphone app that you must download after getting the game.
To set up the game is quite easy. It is equipped with many adventures which you can get started on right away. Playing Unlock is fun and engaging. Every Unlock adventures takes up to 60 minutes to play. You have to complete all the tasks in the adventure during this timeframe.
Up to 6 people can play Unlock. You will be required to work through up to 60 cards to solve riddles, clues, and puzzles in order to progress. The app is the host. It will keep time, provide confirmation whether you’ve solved the puzzle correctly or not, and give hints. Your goal is to unravel the code in the 60-minute window and escape. This game is perfect for a weeknight, family fun or even while hanging with a group of friends. There is no complex game to set up.
Easy Set Up
The entire game is merely a deck of sixty cards and a smartphone app. However, its simplicity doesn’t take away from the challenges or complexity of the game. The puzzles in Unlock are anything but easy and also fun! Unlock is very engaging and definitely worth the money.
Multiple Adventures
You can get many replay possibilities with this escape room board in the form of different adventures. It already comes with three adventures:
In case you get lost or confused, there is a ten-card tutorial to help you make a quick study of the game before you dive in.
3. Escape The Crate
This is totally different escape room board game than your typical game. Escape The Crate is a board game that operates on a subscription model. It is a set of puzzles and games that you will receive each month in a crate. Doesn’t that sound cool? With such a unique and cool subscription, you’re going to be anything but disappointed.
Here’s the back story of Escape The Crate:
The world’s only time-traveling institution, Emergency Mediation in Time or E.M.I.T., must go back into time and repair issues that have happened in the past. E.M.I.T.’s caseload has jumped and they don’t have sufficient staff to resolve all the cases. This is where your assistance will be required.
This is perhaps the coolest concept in board games because the games and suspense never end. With a monthly subscription, there’s an opportunity for endless replay. This is the perfect board game for people who love engaging in actual escape rooms.
To play, Escape The Crate requires a computer and an internet connection. Children as young as age 10 can also enjoy this board game with adult supervision.
What can you expect?
Monthly Subscriptions
Every month, you will receive a new board game with many puzzles, themes, and riddles to solve. At present, there are more than sixteen months of Escape The Crate puzzles to solve and the list is expanding!
Variety
Every crate is different. Each one offers a challenging set of ciphers, crack codes, tools, locks, letters, and puzzles. You will be required to do everything from solving a murder to ever deciphering a language. Each Escape the Crate story is unique and engaging. It will keep your imagination thoroughly engaged! The mysteries that you are sent each month are varied; meaning no two adventures are alike! This means in one crate you may have to solve a heist at The First National Bank and in another mystery, you will have to investigate a murder. The possibilities are endless!
This list of top 3 escape room board games is some of the best ones available in the market. It’s not a comprehensive list. There are lots of board games that offer challenging feats to solve.
Escape room board games are growing in popularity. They are a brilliant way to get your entire family, group of friends, and even co-workers to work together and solve clues. While working against the clock, you can actually feel the pressure and excitement building as you’re trying to take a step closer to actually escaping. The best part of all is that you can experience the thrill and atmosphere of an escape room from the comfort of your home. Escape room board games are a one-time investment that can offer a lifetime of excitement.
If you’re interested in visiting one of the best escape room centers in the world, check out our post on the best in Las Vegas and the best in Seattle here.