Spain has some of the top escape rooms in the world – expansive sets, fast-moving gameplay, and unusual themes. Here is everything you need to know for having a great time playing escape rooms in English while holidaying in Spain. Vamonos!
Tips for booking games
Plan and book ahead
Here are the top considerations to keep in mind when planning:
- The top games tend to get booked out in advance.
- Some games are only available Wednesday through Sunday.
- All bookings are private and some require a minimum of 4 players.
- Check the length of the game. 90-minute games are common.
- Check the exact location. Companies sometimes have multiple venues within the same city.
You will be booking through a Spanish website
Booking websites are in Spanish, though there might be an English language version. (Look out for the UK flag and click on it.) Otherwise you will use the Google automatic translation function to translate the website to English, which does result in some strange turns of phrase. You’ll likely receive confirmation emails in Spanish too; copy and paste that text into Google translate.
You will need to request to play in English
Sometimes you can indicate this while booking, other times you need to email the request separately. The information on how to request to play in English is usually in the FAQs, often translated as “Doubts.” We booked quite far ahead, so I sent an email a few days out reminding the company that we wanted to play in English. A few times the gamemaster was still surprised that we wanted to play in English.
Use Whatsapp
Several of the companies communicated with us before the games through the Whatsapp communication app. They provided pre-game instructions and back story. Whatsapp was also an easy way to communicate if we were lost or running late. When booking, give them the phone number which corresponds to your Whatsapp account, and consider downloading Whatsapp if you don’t already have it.
Use Cabify
Cabify is the Spanish Uber. We downloaded this app, and it worked well.
Carry cash, just in case
For most games, we paid a deposit when booking and the remainder after the game. A few companies requested that we pay the remainder in cash.
Don’t assume games are family friendly
Even when the theme seems family friendly, there might be slightly scary or 16+ elements in it. We played with our 10-year-old and 13-year-old children. The younger one found non-scary games to be scary at times.
Tips for playing games
Be ready to start playing right away
The majority of the games we played in Spain had a cold start. This means the gamemaster opened the door exactly on time (and frequently a few minutes late.) There is no lobby, out-of-game safety briefing, signing of waivers, or opportunity to use the toilet before the game starts. Read the reminder email or Whatsapp message carefully to figure out whether to arrive early or right on time. Make sure to go to the toilet before hand, and get mentally prepared to start immediately. We frequently encountered the toilet part way through the game. There was always somewhere to store our bags within the game.
Be ready to interact
There were often actors within the non-scary games. They made the games more memorable and fun. Lean into interacting with these actors. And remember, they are improvising in their second or third language. Here are more tips for playing with live actors.
Be ready to get physical
Many of the games required some climbing and/ or crawling. We had one less mobile team member, and in most games, the companies were able to give that person a more accessible option, but if you have a team member who can’t manage stairs, check ahead with the company. Remember to wear pants or little shorts under your skirts!
Be prepared to get dirty
Several games had dirt and dust in them, which made sense with the theme. Wear clothes that you don’t mind getting grubby and plan to do laundry.
Tips for picking games
If you’re only playing a couple of games, then try to play the best ones you can fit into your schedule. My go-to lists for top Spanish games playable in English are the Top Escape Room Project and the Escape Rumours blog.
Spain is famous for horror games, but I’m a chicken so we didn’t play any horror. However, my impression from other traveling escape room enthusiasts is that horror games might be scarier in Spain than in the US or Australia.
My top 3 non-horror picks for Barcelona are:
Cybercity 2049 at Escape Room Barcelona
This was my favorite game in Spain. We forgot the outside world and felt like we were in a real-life video game. The post-apocalyptic spaces, choices within the story, physical tasks, humor, and actor interactions came together heart-thumpingly in a dusty neon rush. Mature content warning.
La Cervaseria (The Brewery) at Enigmik
This gorgeous, polished, and detailed game encouraged teamwork and every player had their hero moment. There were spots where we just squealed with delight. (You might choose to yell instead.) This game was such a tribute to beer that I was inspired to drink the one offered at the end, despite really disliking beer.
District 111 at Unreal Escape Room (Sant Marti location)
We were surprised repeatedly as we uncovered the spaces and story within another expansive post-apocalyptic, graffiti-covered set. Thrilling!
