Category: Recommendations

Latest update: October 19, 2019

We spent a few days in Cincinnati at the end of 2018… and then one more afternoon there a couple of months later.

Cincinnati was a puzzle-focused escape room market that felt both traditional and quirky.

Here are our recommendations for escape rooms near Cincinnati, Ohio:

Market Standouts

1. The Summons, Seven Forces
2. Castle Adventure, Escape Room Family
3. The Escape Game (multiple games)
4. Oval Office, Houdini’s Room Escape

Set & Scenery-Driven

• Oval Office, Houdini’s Room Escape
• The Escape Game (multiple games)
• The Summons, Seven Forces

Puzzle-Centric

• The Escape Game (multiple games)
• The Summons, Seven Forces
• The Upside Down, Cincinnati Escape Room

Beginner-Friendly

• Castle Adventure, Escape Room Family
• The Escape Game (multiple games)
• The Game Room, Houdini’s Room Escape
• The Upside Down, Cincinnati Escape Room

Large Group Games

• Castle Adventure, Escape Room Family
• Playground, The Escape Game
• The Summons, Seven Forces

Non-Escape Room Fun

• American Sign Museum (website)
• Mushroom House (Atlas Obscura)

Looking for an escape room near Los Angeles, California?

Latest update: October 11, 2019

Los Angeles is one of the strongest escape room markets in the United States.

This city offers some of the best sets and scenery we’ve seen in escape rooms. That doesn’t mean they skimp on the puzzles. The best escape rooms in Los Angeles deliver full experiences.

You might be interested in our recommendations for Anaheim, California as well.

Market Standouts

1. Stash House
2. Lab Rat, Hatch Escapes
3. The Elevator Shaft, THE BASEMENT
4. The Courtyard, THE BASEMENT 
5. Miss Jezebel, 60out (Reviewed for REA by Sarah Willson)

Set & Scenery Driven

• Bloody Elbow, QUEST ROOM
• Cartel: DEA Undercover, 60 Out 
• The Courtyard, THE BASEMENT 
• The Elevator Shaft, THE BASEMENT
• Lab Rat, Hatch Escapes
• Red Giant, QUEST ROOM
• Stash House
• Titanic, 60 Out

Puzzle Centric

• The Alchemist, Escape Room LA
• The Courtyard, THE BASEMENT 
• Da Vinci’s Challenge, QUEST ROOM
• The Experiment, Get the F Out
• The Hideout, Arcane Escape Rooms
• Lab Rat, Hatch Escapes
• The Pyramid, Escape Room LA
• Smuggler’s Tunnels, Escape Chronicle
• Stash House
• Testing Facility, Escape Chronicles

Creative Tech

• Lab Rat, Hatch Escapes
• Magic Kingdom, Maze Rooms
• The Elevator Shaft, THE BASEMENT
• The Courtyard, THE BASEMENT 

Unusual Concept

• The Experiment, Get the F Out
• The Hideout, Arcane Escape Rooms
• It’s a Doggy Dog World, Level Games
• Lab Rat, Hatch Escapes
• Magic Kingdom, Maze Rooms
• Miss Jezebel, 60out
• Red Alert (formerly P.U.T.I.N. Bunker), 60 Out

Newbie-friendly

• It’s a Doggy Dog World, Level Games
• Red Alert (formerly P.U.T.I.N. Bunker), 60 Out
• Stash House
• Smuggler’s Tunnels, Escape Chronicles
• Testing Facility, Escape Chronicles

Big Group Games

• The Alchemist, Escape Room LA
• The Pyramid, Escape Room LA
• Stash House

Private Booking Companies

• 60 Out
• Arcane Escape Rooms
• Hatch Escapes
• Maze Rooms
• Stash House
• QUEST ROOM

Spooky & Scary

• Bloody Elbow, QUEST ROOM
• The Courtyard, THE BASEMENT 
• The Elevator Shaft, THE BASEMENT

Games with Actors

• The Courtyard, THE BASEMENT
• Miss Jezebel, 60out

You are always welcome to contact us if this recommendation list doesn’t answer your specific questions.

Latest update: October 19, 2019

Looking for an escape game that you can play from the comfort of your own home?

These are our favorite escape room-style table top games.

Unless otherwise noted, you can play all of these games with a bit of table space, pencil, paper, laptop/ phone, and maybe scissors.

For more at-home activities, take a look at our Escape Room Lover’s 2018 Holiday Buyer’s Guide.

Boxed Escape Rooms

Boxed escape rooms will take you about 60 minutes to play. This is a longer list… but there are a ton of different games in this category. These were the standouts. 

Presented in alphabetical order:

• Cypher House Escape, Murder at the Paisley’s
• Deckscape, Heist in Venice
• Deckscape, Test Time
• Doctor Esker’s Notebook
• Exit: The Game, The Catacombs of Horror (for those who are comfortable with Exit’s game mechanics)
• Exit The Game, The Sunken Treasure (for those new to the series)
• Mattel, Escape Room in a Box: Flashback
• Mattel, Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment
• ThinkFun, Mystery at the Stargazer’s Manor
• Unlock!, Squeek & Sausage (for those new to the series)
• Unlock!, The Adventures of Oz (for those who are comfortable with Unlock!’s game mechanics)

Escape Room-Style Puzzle Book 

This escape room-style puzzle book contains more content than a boxed escape room, but it’s easy to pick up and put down if you have limited time.

•  Journal 29
• Puzzle Snacks

Subscription Games

Each episode of a subscription escape room takes about 60 minutes to play. New games arrive at your door on a regular schedule.

Presented in alphabetical order:

• Cryptogram Puzzle Post
• Escape the Crate

Jigsaw Puzzles

These jigsaw puzzles added an escape room-style twist.

• Ravensburger, Escape Puzzle … especially Space Observatory and Witch’s Kitchen

Advanced Challenge & Commitment

These products are more involved than tabletop escape rooms. They are all quite different from each other.

Presented in alphabetical order:

• Asmodee, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
• Enigma Emporium, Wish You Were Here
• PostCurious, The Tale of Ord
• SparkFun, The Prototype HARP (requires background knowledge & tools)

For Kids

Presented in alphabetical order:

• Spycode, Break Free
• Spycode, Operation Escape

You are always welcome to contact us if this recommendation list doesn’t answer your specific questions.

(If you purchase via our Amazon links, you will help support Room Escape Artist as we will receive a very small percentage of the sale.)