Room Escape Artist

Update 11/22/22: If you enjoy The Escape Game, we hope you’ll check out our interview with CEO and Co-Founder Mark Flint on The Reality Escape Pod.

Latest Updated: December 2023

The Escape Game is one of the easiest recommendations we make when people write in looking for games to play. It doesn’t matter which city. If there’s an Escape Game facility there, we know that it will be easy to get to, and that the games and customer service are reliably good… which is not something that we can say for most escape room chains or franchises.

Nashville is the original home of The Escape Game and they are seriously cleaning up in that market. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a busier escape room facility… and that goes for both of their Nashville locations.

Must Play

Gold Rush

This was our early favorite from The Escape Game. It has been our go-to recommendation for newbies for a long time. Experienced players will still enjoy many unusual features. (Reviewed 2016, Orlando)

Playground

Playground was a joyful game with tons of puzzles for a large group. It won a Golden Lock-In Award in 2018 for its playful premise, whimsical setting, and well-rounded gameplay. (Reviewed 2018, Nashville)

Special Ops

With Special Ops, The Escape Game significantly leveled up their set design, technological capability, and narrative chops. This game replaced their older game Classified. (Reviewed 2018, Nashville)

Worth Playing

Mission Mars

We’ve sent a lot of folks to this game and they’ve all come back happy. Our review is tragically dated because we played it in beta. The Escape Game has made many improvements to it since then. Fun fact: after playing Mission Mars we decided to avoid beta testing altogether. (Reviewed 2016, Orlando)

Nashville

The Escape Game’s original room has experienced some serious upgrades since its humble beginnings. It played a bit old-school, but it still had something interesting to offer. (Reviewed 2018, Nashville)

Prison Break

This was one of The Escape Game’s most visually appealing escape rooms. The jail cells looked great and there’s a lot more than jail cells to the experience. (Reviewed 2016, Orlando)

The Depths

This submarine adventure presented a clean and refined experience, both in terms of aesthetics and game design. It was a great escape room, but didn’t take many risks. (Reviewed 2022, New Jersey)

The Heist

This art heist pulled off the art gallery aesthetic. It was a challenging game with a ton of puzzle content and some nifty interactions. It has been updated significantly since we played it in 2016. (Reviewed 2016, Orlando)

The Escape Game has been known to reskin The Heist from time to time, like for Only Murders in the Building Escape Game. 

Timeliner

It would be a great onboarding (pun intended) experience for new players, but lacked the pizazz expected by escape room veterans for a room that opened in 2023. (Reviewed 2023, New York)

What We Haven’t Reviewed Yet

Cosmic Crisis

Stay tuned. We’ll be playing this one in New York soon.

Ruins: Forbidden Treasure

We’re pretty eager to see this one, but it hasn’t opened near us yet and we don’t know anyone who’s played it yet, so we don’t have a report. Stay tuned, we’ll have one soon enough.

Closing Thoughts

We’ve had a strong admiration for The Escape Game because we’ve never had someone come back from them disappointed.

If you’re new to escape rooms, this is a phenomenal place to start.

If you’re a well-traveled mega player, I’d be surprised to learn that your absolute favorite escape room came from The Escape Game. However, I am certain that you’ll have a good time and walk away from their facilities recognizing their customer service, attention to detail, consistency, and respect for players.