What Are Escape Rooms Like? A Guide to Your First Escape Room

The unpredictability, excitement, and variability of escape rooms make them perfect for every group, from families to coworkers and everyone in between.

If you haven’t played an escape room before, however, you may be confused by escape rooms as a whole. What are escape rooms like in general? What does an escape rooms look like? What can you expect? How can you make sure to win (or just have fun!)?

This article will give you insight into what escape rooms are all about, from family-friendly escape rooms to horror-themed rooms only for the brave-of-heart.

What Are Escape Rooms Like? An Immersive Journey Using All Your Senses

Escape rooms are exciting, thrilling, and can be challenging. While difficulty levels vary, you can be sure that you’ll be racing to solve puzzles to beat the clock and “escape” from the room in time!

Escape rooms provide an immersive and interactive experience that engages all your senses, creating a unique and memorable adventure. These puzzle-solving challenges require participants to work together, using their sense of sight to spot hidden clues, decipher codes, and navigate the intricately designed environment. The sense of touch is vital for feeling textures, manipulating objects, and unlocking mechanisms. Escape rooms often incorporate sound elements, such as background music, audio clues, or ambient noises, to heighten the atmosphere and enhance the sense of immersion. By stimulating all the senses (okay, maybe not taste or smell!), escape rooms offer a captivating and thrilling experience that fully immerses participants in the game's narrative and encourages teamwork, problem-solving, and creative thinking.

Choosing an Escape Room Theme

The biggest thrill about escape rooms is that no room looks exactly the same. Some themes tend to pop up more than once, like the well-loved Alice in Wonderland theme, but even recurring themes will have their individual twists.

Before you decide to book an escape room, you should check the room description to see what story you’re going to take part in. Even just a few sentences will help you get a feel for how the room will look and function.

Certain themes may be more child-friendly, while others appeal more to teenagers and adults. Some may be fantastical, while others have a horror twist. You may need a large group to solve a specific story, while others only require two or three individuals.

With all of these variables, it’s no wonder that there are so many different escape room themes!

There are a wide variety of escape room themes, from fantasy to horror and everything in between. Depending on the setting and plot, the room may look like an abandoned orphanage or even a grandmother’s house! How the room looks and feels will vary widely depending on the theme. You may encounter different types of puzzles, different props, and even different layouts in every escape room you play.

What Does an Escape Room Look Like? A Jungle-Themed Example

Let’s look at an example to get a sense of what an escape room might look like.

60out’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle escape room immerses players in a thrilling jungle-themed adventure. Upon entering, participants are greeted by lush foliage, exotic animal sounds, and maybe some mysterious artifacts. The room's design is meticulously crafted to transport players into the heart of the jungle, complete with realistic props, intricate puzzles, and atmospheric lighting. As teams navigate through various challenges, they will encounter cleverly hidden clues, riddles, and even some unexpected surprises. This immersive experience showcases the creativity and attention to detail that goes into designing a captivating escape room, leaving participants with a memorable and exhilarating adventure.

How to Make the Most of Your Escape Room Experience

Solving an escape room requires a lot of teamwork, so make sure to pick your team wisely! If you don’t already know each other well, take a minute to break the ice. By understanding each other better, you can direct each other to puzzles that utilize your strengths.

Escape rooms are also just fun to play! No matter what the escape room looks like, the variety inherent in the escape room experience means that it’s easy to find a theme that your whole group will love.

When you decide to do an escape room you’re going to get a different experience every time. That’s why enthusiasts choose to book escape rooms so frequently — it’s always a new adventure.

Common Questions Answered

How does an escape room work?

• Players enter a themed room and must work together to solve puzzles, find clues, and unlock locks to progress through the game. The ultimate goal is to solve all the puzzles and escape the room before time runs out.

How long does an escape room game last?

• The duration of an escape room game typically ranges from 60 to 90 minutes. However, this can vary depending on the specific escape room venue and theme.

How many people can play in an escape room?

• The number of players allowed in an escape room varies depending on the room's size and the policies of the venue. Typically, escape rooms can accommodate anywhere from 2 to 8 players, but some rooms may allow larger groups.

Is there an age limit for participating in an escape room?

• Most escape room venues have age restrictions, usually requiring players to be at least 9 to 14 years old to participate. Some rooms may also offer family-friendly versions suitable for younger children, accompanied by adults.

Why 60out?

When you’re going to book an escape room, it’s important that you’re able to choose an experience best suited to your individual group members. With 60out, that’s easy to do.

60out has 22 different rooms spread out across five Los Angeles locations. These rooms represent a number of themes and genres. Some rooms are available for children as young as 10, and certain rooms are able to accommodate as many as eight people.

No matter what type of experience best suits your family, 60out can help you find it. Book today for a unique family outing that you’ll never forget!

Still not sure what to expect? Want to learn more? Check out these blog articles:

• Are Escape Rooms Scary? Common Escape Room Fears Answered
• Are Escape Rooms Hard? Picking the Right Difficulty Level for Your Team
• Top 5 Escape Room Tips for Beginner Escape Artists