Best Kids Escape Games
- Gary B.
- UPDATED June 4, 2019
- in Puzzles & Games
Best Overall
Stronghold Games
Survive Atlantis
Escape rooms have risen to popularity at a rate as fast as craft beer and man buns. However, escape room board games are often trapped in the shadows of immersive in-person experiences. With all the same fun at a fraction of the price, we’re ready to bring this wildly entertaining board games to the surface. With that said, we’ve got nine amazing escape room games you can complete from the comfort of your own home.
Our Top Picks
Best Overall
Stronghold Games Survive Atlantis
Upgrade Choice
Queen Games Escape Big Box
Best Budget Buy
Peaceable Kingdom Dinosaur Escape
How to pick the best kids escape games
1. Recommended Age
Children as young as 4 can enjoy the thrills of an at-home escape room, but it’s important to find a game that’s developmentally appropriate. Look for themes that will resonate with your child. Keep in mind that excess pieces and complex puzzles may be difficult for young children and even tweens.
2. Number of Players
Determine how many people you’d like to play with. Think about your family size or the expected number of participants at your gathering. Keep in mind that escape games require at least three players.
3. Duration
Most escape room games are timed. Make sure that your group of players can commit to and maintain their concentration for the length of a full game.
4. Components
From a few tokens to a hundred odds and ends, games contents vary greatly. Make sure you’re able to keep track of your playing pieces before investing in an overly complicated playset.
5. Number of Scenarios
Pay close attention to the number of potential scenarios offered by an escape room game. Some can be used just once, while others offer unlimited play sessions.
6. Instructions
Match your instruction difficulty to your players’ reading levels. Literacy is an important part of comprehending instructions. However, not all manufacturers do a great job of parsing out the steps.
The Winners
#1
Stronghold Games Survive Atlantis
Best Overall
Embark on an underwater adventure that offers nearly an hour of entertainment for the entire family. This wholesome board game, Stronghold Games Survive Atlantis requires strategy and stealth. What’s more, the board and pieces have a great vintage look that helps this game stand out amongst piles of plastic toys. If you’re intrigued by sharks, volcanos, and mysterious underwater cities, be sure to check it out!
- You'll love
- Thrilling suspense
- Fun for the whole family
- Unlimited playing opportunities
- Captivating strategies
- Watch for
- Expensive expansion kits
- Too complicated for younger children by themselves
- No storage bag or box
Recommended Ages: 8 years and up
Number of Players: 2 to 4 players
Duration: 45 minutes
Components: 20+ pieces
Number of Scenarios :Unlimited scenarios
Instructions:Easy
#2
Asmodee Escape: Zombie City
Upgrade Choice
If one escape game isn’t enough to wet your palette, the Asmodee Escape Games is sure to do the trick. This game bundle contains enough escape games to pass a week in solitary confinement. Of course, their fun to play with others and foster positive collaboration too.
- You'll love
- Dice game
- Requires cooperation
- Easy-to-follow directions
- Multiple scenarios
- Watch for: Short playing time
Recommended Age: 8 years and up
Number of Players: 20+ pieces
Duration: 2 to 4 players
Components: 15 minutes
Number of Scenarios: Seven scenarios
Instructions: Easy
#3
Peaceable Kingdom Dinosaur Escape
Best Budget Buy
What could be more fun than teaming together with your friends to free a group of terrifying dinosaurs from the ravishes of an erupting volcano? In this game, Peaceable Kingdom Dinosaur Escape, children must work together to create a three-dimensional volcano puzzle and free their scaly prehistoric pets. This game requires cooperation, logic, and a bit of luck. As such, it makes for a wonderful rainy activity in the classroom or at home.
- You'll love
- Award-wining game
- Frustration-free playing experience
- Escape from the perils of a volcano
- Teaches memory skills and strategy
- Watch out for: Does not appeal to older children
Recommended Age: 4 years and up
Number of Players: 2 to 4
Duration: 30 minutes
Components: 24 pieces
Number of Scenarios : Unlimited
Instructions: Easy
#4
Peaceable KINGDOM DINOSAUR
Best dinosaur escape game
What does a group of helpless dinosaurs do when disaster strikes? In the Peaceable Kingdom Dinosaur, they must come together to uncover edible ferns while fending off the scorching lava of an impending volcano. Children four and up will enjoy this ferocious paleolithic-era toy. Parents: this game is just long enough to enjoy a coffee in peace!
- You'll love
- Teaches cooperation
- Easy to solve
- Comes with plastic dinosaur figures
- Can be replayed over and over again
- Watch for: Lots of loose parts
Recommended Age: 4 years and up
Number of Players: 2 to 4 players
Duration: 30 minutes
Components: 60+ pieces
Number of Scenarios : Unlimited scenarios
Instructions: Easy
#5
Stronghold Escape From Atlantis
Gather with two to four friends to embark on this underwater escape adventure. Stronghold Escape From Atlantis was cool before escape rooms were even a “thing, which is precisely why we cannot resist this 30-year anniversary edition throwback to everyone (well, at least your grandparents) favorite tabletop thriller.
- You'll love
- Vintage graphics for 30-year anniversary
- Sea-themed escape from sinking Atlantis
- A modern take on the classic escape game Atlantis
- Lots of thrilling perils
- Watch for
- Small pieces are easy to lose
- Instructions are hard for kids to follow
Recommended Age: 8 years and up
Number of Players: 2 to 4
Duration: 45 minutes
Components: 50+ pieces
Number of Scenarios : Unlimited
Instructions: Complicated
#6
ThinkFun Escape Stargazers Manor
The ThinkFun Escape Room Stargazers game makes for a totally immersive and memorable experience. This challenging escape room kit gives you all the entertainment of an expensive escape room experience for a fraction of the price. While it can only be used once, it’s a great game to share with friends. Directions are clear and concise, but the game will definitely send you down a perplexing rabbit hole of riddles and mysteries.
- You'll love
- Unlock clues
- Secret objects concealed in envelopes
- Develops critical thinking
- Re-packing ideas
- Watch for: Cannot play repeatedly
Recommended Age: 8 years and up
Number of Players: 3 to 8 players
Duration: Maximum of 2 1/2 hours
Components: 20 pieces
Number of Scenarios : One solution
Instructions: Easy
#7
Escape Room Triple Pack
Can you stay cool under pressure? How about your friends? This amazing Escape Room Triple Pack lets you choose from three different mysterious adventures, including the Secret Agent, the Dentist (eek!), and the Space Station. Unite with your fellow amateur detectives for a night of unifying escape exercises. Find clues, decode secret messages, and solve the puzzles before the clock runs out!
- You'll love
- Three games in one
- Varying skill levels
- Built-in puzzles to solve
- Cool playing pieces
- Watch for: Batteries required
Recommended Age: 16 years and up
Number of Players: 3 to 5 players
Duration: 60 minutes
Components: 20+ pieces
Number of Scenarios : Four scenarios
Instructions: Complicated
#8
Identity Games Escape Room Game
The Identity Games Escape Room Game comes with cardboard box glasses that transform your smartphone into an interactive mystery game. Transcend into one of two intensive settings, including the site of a military helicopter crash and a submarine collision. You’ll need to undercover keys, decode message along the way, and work out secrets that help you get out alive.
- You'll love
- Escape in virtual reality
- Transforms your smartphone into a VR viewer
- Submarine and Behind Enemy Line scenarios
- Requires teamwork
- Watch for: App compatibility
Recommended Age: 16 years and up
Number of Players: 3 to 5 players
Duration: 60 minutes
Components: 12 pieces
Number of Scenarios : Two scenarios
Instructions: Complicated
#9
Kitki Escape Science Tricks Trivia
With S.T.E.M. toys trending, it comes as no surprise that the Kitki Escape Evil Board game has won multiple awards for being an all-around amazing toy. To play Kitki, children must partake in a variety of simple science experiments. The goal of the game is to help four detained scientists escape an evil chairman striving to take over the world. We give this pick the science teacher seal of approval!
- You'll love
- A wide variety of magic tricks
- Fun escape premise
- Act like a scientist
- Use critical thinking
- Watch for: Messy
Recommended Age: 8 years and up
Number of Players: 2 to 4 players
Duration: 60 minutes
Components: 100+ pieces
Number of Scenarios: 16 scenarios
Instructions: Moderately complicated
FAQs: All you need to know
Q Why should you participate in an escape room in your own home?
A Entertainment venues around the world offer escape rooms where customers are locked in a space until they can solve a series of riddles. These escape rooms are thrilling, but they often come at a steep price. Escape room board games offer a viable alternative to these overpriced entertainment venues.
Q What skills do I need to successfully escape?
A Most escape room board games require you to work with a team to solve a mystery. You need to have problem-solving skills, be able to cooperate with others, and enjoy a good mystery.
Q Can escape room board games be used more than once?
A That depends on the game. Some board games are designed to be used over and over, while others present a single scenario for you to solve. These games are still an extremely inexpensive alternative to visiting an actual escape room. What’s more, they are great for passing along to a friend.
Q What if I am claustrophobic?
A Escape room board games don’t actually require you to lock yourself in a room. A touch of imagination will help you immerse yourself in your fictional trappings without stepping away from your kitchen table.
DIY, Craft and Décor: Ideas for escape games for kids
Cowboy Decoders
D.I.Y. Cipher Device
Escape Room Puzzle Props
Tired of unboxing products? If so, consider creating your own escape room. Riddle Factory has a fun tutorial on how to make a transparent digit puzzle to get you started.
Quick Decision
Stronghold Games Survive Atlantis – Best Overall
Our list would be dust without the Stronghold Games Survive Escape From Atlantis and all its glorious vintage mysteries
Queen Games Escape Big Box – Upgrade Choice
Of course, you also can’t go wrong with the Queen Games Escape Big Box
Peaceable Kingdom Dinosaur Escape – Best Budget Buy
Finally, the Peaceable Kingdom Dinosaur is an excellent escape room game for families on a tight budget.
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Gary B.
Gary is a father of two, self-identified RC fanboy, and part-time guitar plucker. When he's not racing his collection of remote-controlled vehicles or strumming away, we bend his arm and get him to write with precision and expertise on a range of mechanical and electrical toys.
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