In a world where screens often dominate family time, escape room board games offer a refreshing alternative. These games bring the excitement and challenge of escape rooms right to your dining table, creating an immersive experience that’s perfect for family bonding. Let’s dive into the world of family-friendly escape room board games and discover why they might be your next favorite pastime.
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What are escape room board games?
What You'll Find on This Page
Escape room board games are tabletop versions of the popular real-life escape room experiences.
They typically involve a series of puzzles, riddles, and challenges that players must solve within a set time limit to “escape”. These games often come with cards, decoder wheels, and sometimes even electronic elements to create an engaging, hands-on experience.
What To Look For in an Escape Room
Some escape room games can only be played once since you have to cut or tear pieces to solve the game. This isn’t a huge problem, but it’s good to be aware of!
My family prefers escape rooms that don’t involve murder, and that can be especially hard to find. But they do exist, and I’ve recommended a few later in this post.
Benefits of playing escape room games as a family
- Promote teamwork: Family members work together to solve puzzles, fostering cooperation and communication.
- Enhance problem-solving skills: Escape room challenges encourage critical thinking and creative problem-solving.
- Boost confidence: Successfully solving puzzles can be a great confidence booster for kids and adults alike.
- Create shared experiences: These games provide memorable moments and strengthen family bonds.
- Screen-free entertainment: Like all board games, escape rooms can offer a welcome break from digital devices, encouraging face-to-face interaction.
Family Friendly Escape Room Games We Have Tried
We purchased and played all of these escape room board games.
Exit Escape Room Games
We have played the Enchanted Forest, Secret Lab, and Forbidden Castle EXIT escape room games. Of the three, we enjoyed Enchanted Forest the most.
These are all single use games; you tear cards and otherwise destroy game pieces in order to “escape”.
Unlock! Escape Rooms
Unlock! brand escape rooms can be played multiple times. They even have different ways they can be solved, so you might follow a different path if you play a second or third time. The games usually come in sets of three different adventures (and these adventures can be played in different ways, so there are a lot of combinations!) These games do require a cell phone app to play. We played and enjoyed all three Star Wars Games. We bought the Heroic Adventures Card Game set on the recommendation of a friend, but haven’t played them yet.
So far we like the Unlock! games best of the escape rooms we have played. The app offers hints if you need them, and it’s really fun to have several possible ways to make your way to an escape.
I know it’s a little ironic that our favorite escape room involves a screen. But it’s a single screen with a very singular purpose being used by multiple people, so it works for us.
Escape Room: The Game Family Edition
Escape Room: The Game comes with a fancy chrono decoder machine that seemed like it might be cool. Unfortunately, our decoder machine didn’t work consistently and that made play difficult. I would not buy this particular game again.
One Other Escape Room Game We Want to Try
We’ve heard good things about the ThinkFun Escape the Room Stargazer’s Manor game, but we haven’t tried it yet. We’d love to hear what you think of it if you’ve played!
Tips for enjoying escape room games with kids
- Choose age-appropriate games: Look for games that match your youngest player’s abilities so that everyone can participate.
- Set the mood: Create an immersive atmosphere with snacks, dimmed lights, thematic music, or even simple costumes.
- Be a guide, not a solver: Help younger players when they’re stuck, but let them experience the joy of solving puzzles themselves.
- Take breaks if needed: Unlike real escape rooms, you can pause the game if younger players get frustrated or tired.
- Don’t be afraid to use hints: Escape rooms should be fun! Use hints if needed to keep the game enjoyable.
- Celebrate successes: Make a big deal out of solving difficult puzzles to keep motivation high.
Family-friendly escape room board games offer a unique and engaging way to spend quality time together. They combine the thrill of puzzle-solving with the warmth of family bonding, creating experiences that everyone will cherish. Whether you’re solving mysteries, defusing bombs, or exploring haunted mansions, these games promise hours of fun and challenge for the whole family. So gather around the table, set the timer, and embark on your next great escape – right in the comfort of your own home!
Do you have a favorite escape room board game that we should try?
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