If you love escape rooms, imagine one that lasts two hours, sprawls across a convention hall, and lets you wage imaginary battles against life-sized monsters while solving puzzles. That’s True Dungeon—a live-action adventure that feels like an escape room turned up to eleven.

Virtual Beginnings

I first discovered True Dungeon in 2020 while quarantining, playing virtual avatar-led escape room experiences with friends. Virtual True Dungeon fit into that category perfectly. Even though I had never played Dungeons & Dragons, the other half of the experience was puzzle-based and my escape room crew had a great time. By 2025, I was attending Gen Con, the birthplace of True Dungeon, and couldn’t pass up the chance to play in person.

What is True Dungeon?

True Dungeon is described as “an immersive dungeon crawl experience featuring life-size sets and dramatic lighting and sound. Players move through a series of rooms, solving puzzles, engaging in combat, and encountering non-player characters portrayed by live, costumed actors.”

Every year brings a new story. In 2025, three chapters were available at Gen Con: Raid on Ravenshold, Runecrag Crypt, and Eldest Ice Unbroken. I managed to play all three over the convention! Part one, introduced the Viking town of Ravenshold that we had to rescue from demon raiders. In part two, we had to search a magically sealed crypt for an ancient relic. The final part was a quest to destroy the portal which the demon raiders had used to invade our homeland.

Group Play and Gear

Much like escape rooms, True Dungeon is a group activity. Each group consists of up to 10 players, each playing a different D&D class. The booking works like a public escape room: I could buy a single ticket as a solo player and take my chances with the rest of the group.

Using the TD player forum, I connected with established player groups that needed extra members. Playing with experienced adventurers is usually more fun; sometimes they’ll even kit out a newbie like me!

As in D&D, each player chooses a class and outfits their character with armor, weapons, and magical items represented by True Dungeon tokens. When I arrived for my game, I was given a small collection of random tokens to start with, so even as a new player, I could have some fun configuring gear. I also earned additional tokens at the end of the game. Since I was playing with more experienced players, they lent me extra tokens, allowing me to contribute meaningfully to combat.

Combat and Challenges

True Dungeon tests both physical and mental skills. In combat rooms, players slide weapon tokens shuffleboard-style to determine attack damage. Spellcasters face memory challenges, identifying symbols or objects provided at the start of the game.

The night I played a Bard, I had to memorize 24 symbols, and it was incredibly gratifying to correctly identify a symbol all five times I was asked.

For newcomers to role-playing-game style combat, don’t be intimidated. The game host handles all mechanics: item bonuses, roll outcomes, and attack scoring. Players simply use the handful of special abilities their class grants, take their turn in combat order, and heal teammates when possible.

Puzzle Rooms

About half the rooms in a True Dungeon experience are puzzle rooms, and would be familiar to escape room fans. Clues might appear on walls or laid around the room, and objects may need to be specifically arranged or selected.

Each room allows only 12 minutes for players to solve the puzzle and act on the solution. A wrong choice can result in damage from monsters! Many puzzles were elegantly solved by dividing tasks among the group. After the puzzle goal was determined, everyone handled a portion of the task, and we collectively completed the solution. I experienced the same euphoria from a successful escape three or four times per game.

Immersive Environments

True Dungeon’s immersive environments will appeal strongly to escape room enthusiasts. Even as a temporary setup, the rooms and pathways were impressively constructed. Actors wore fantastic makeup and stayed fully in character. Monsters were life-sized and imposing. Stage and special effects were used extensively, making the experience thrilling up close. The make-believe play of escape rooms felt even more intense in True Dungeon.

Why Escape Room Players Will Love It

True Dungeon exceeded my expectations. I came for escape-room style puzzles with a dash of group combat, but I left having experienced a cinematic adventure: battling massive monsters, solving teamwork challenges, and literally filling my pockets with treasure.

True Dungeon has expanded beyond Gen Con and can be found at other conventions, along with occasional virtual versions. If you love puzzles under pressure and full immersion, True Dungeon is a natural diversion for escape room fans.