Room Escape Artist

Leave no trace…unless you have to

Location: Sugar Land, TX

Date Played: July 9, 2025

Team Size: 2-8; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price:  $34-38 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: None

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

William’s Hike was the kind of room that can serve many audiences at the same time, offering a strongly signposted onramp to entice new players into the hobby as well as a fun progression of easy wins and delightful reveals that can also entertain enthusiasts. It’s a starter room for sure, with puzzles that don’t demand deep thought. However, the density of the puzzling and the late game surprises keep it interesting for more experienced players. It was the smoothest experience we had at Escape Again on this trip (July 2025), which gave it a certain appeal even compared to their much more elaborate rooms. REA reviewed Wizard’s Tale and Outlaw in 2023, and while still absolutely gorgeous, they suffered from several significant maintenance issues on this visit.

I think kids, in particular, would connect with this game. The logic of many puzzles was straightforward enough for them to grasp yet still left room for simple ahas. There were also ongoing opportunities for parallel puzzling, a desirable arrangement if you need to separate competitive children (or adults). In a suburban market that is clearly targeting families, this experience stood out for its volume of content and the variety among its acts.

Speaking of variety, as the game progressed, the story did as well, leading in an unexpected direction. In retrospect, we didn’t fully understand the plot as a whole, but the developments were nonetheless welcome for their effects on our environment. I’m not sure all of our activities would have been appreciated in a public park (where we supposedly were), but we still had a blast completing them.

Whether you’re entertaining kids, indoctrinating newbies, or just touring Houston’s best escape rooms, check out William’s Hike. It’s the least elaborate but perhaps best maintained of all of Escape Again’s rooms, so it’s a worthy introduction to the other wonders therein.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Hikers
• Any experience level, but a good onramp for newer players
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• To entertain kids or newbies while having fun yourself

Story

Over the hills and through the woods to Uncle William’s cabin we went, possibly for fun but definitely to try to find a special idol somewhere on the property. This property also happened to be part of a public park, and idols must stay in their parks, so the race was on…with…those who might want to remove the idol from the park.

Setting

We started in the woods outside of a cabin and surrounded by many things you might encounter on a hike. As both a hiker and someone who has played several cabin-esque rooms, I appreciated the relative thoroughness of this setup; maps, trail markers, compasses, kiosks, outhouses…we were PREPARED. And, although the world felt homemade and cartoonish in some respects, this quality reinforced the personality of the experience: a playful jaunt aimed at families and newer players.

Gameplay

Escape Again’s William’s Hike was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Gameplay consisted of observing, making connections, some light logic, and interacting with fun props and set pieces.

Analysis

➕ The set was fun with increasing levels of intrigue and polish. To our delight, we discovered way more than we were expecting.

➕ The majority of puzzles had tactile elements that let us interact with the set and some big chonky props in satisfying ways.

➖ A few puzzles had ambiguities that were frustrating, but easily fixable. Ordering wasn’t always deducible, and one physical puzzle had multiple equivalent outcomes that wasted some brain cycles.

➕ An extensive amount of parallelism enabled all players to feel useful, especially coupled with the approachable difficulty level of most puzzles.

➖ A confusing story was necessary to justify the puzzles we were doing. We set out with a particular goal, but the puzzles veered into things we weren’t expecting and didn’t fully understand narratively.

➕ The game struck the hard balance of engaging both newbies and enthusiasts.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with Escape Again’s William’s Hike, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Escape Again comped our tickets for this game.