4 Austin Escape Rooms to Tickle Your Fancy and Your Brain

Are you looking for a way to summon your powers of logic, observation and deduction? Do you need an affordable place to take out of town guests, especially those with kids? Want a fun way to blow off steam after exams? Look no further than one of these Austin escape rooms.

Every escape room has a similar overarching purpose: get a group of people together to solve a series of clues embedded in nearly every object in a room (or rooms). The following are four of the finest Austin escape rooms and what makes each one unique. They change out their themes to keep things fresh, but the standbys include some heist operation, some physical escape as from a prison or a sinking or hijacked ship, and some save-the-world spy mission. Whichever scenario you choose, you can count on having fun.

1/ Austin Panic Room

Not only was Austin Panic Room the first escape room in Texas, but it was also the first one our Austinot team went to investigate. While there, they rooted out some helpful tips for the rooms. Situated in a modest little house near campus, Austin Panic Room makes full use of its space.

The number of clues seemed perfect in a recent museum art theft game, and everyone in the group stayed busy the whole time. The games are well-balanced, offering a range of visual, mental and physical clues. Austin Panic Room is now expanding across Texas and even to Maryland.

Details:

• 4-10 players per game, each game sold to capacity
• $25 per person
• Ages 10+
• Open 7 days/nights per week

Central Austin – 1205 Rio Grande St. – Website

2/ Lockout Austin

Each game at Lockout Austin involves a storyline whose characters are created to maximize interest and keep every player amused. Depending on the game, a known live actor may be in the room (like in Casino Heist), or you may have a secret helper assigned to your group. You never know! The rules are always changing to keep the mystery alive.

Lockout Austin has also created mobile escape rooms. If you want an off-site experience, give them a call and let the game come to you.

Details:

• 2-8 players per game, each game sold to capacity
• $25 per person
• Ages ideally 13+ due to adult themes; exceptions can be made in advance for younger children
• Open Tuesday-Sunday

South Austin – 1700 S. Lamar Blvd. #330 – Website

3/ The Seventh Room

The Seventh Room’s spin on the traditional escape room includes multiple rooms and scenarios that are live-actor heavy. Instead of staying in one room with the goal of escaping or solving the riddle within an hour, participants go through up to five rooms to solve all of the clues in each one. The live improv actors in the rooms provide back stories, riddles and clues.

For each clue solved, the group gathers a clue ball. The goal is to solve as many clues in each room as possible. With an average of 10-12 minutes per room, though, there are far more clues in each room than any group can find while passing through. This takes some of the pressure off, as it becomes the game room equivalent of a Little League team where everyone gets a trophy–a real feel-good adventure.

For those with a cutthroat spirit, never fear. At the end of each game, the clue balls are counted. The groups with the most solved clues earn a place on the leaderboard. The beauty of The Seventh Room is that you can assert your dominance, but you also can’t fail.

Details:

• Up to 8 players per game, each game sold to capacity
• $29 per person
• Ages 8+
• Open 7 days/nights per week

North Central Austin – 911 West Anderson Lane, Suite 116 – Website

4/ 15 Locks Austin

A photo posted by 15 Locks (@15locks) on Mar 31, 2016 at 5:19pm PDT

Our northernmost contender, 15 Locks, not only offers the usual escape room tropes, but also boasts the only (mostly) dark room in Austin. Unlike trendy dark restaurants, in this escape room the players don’t have to feel their way through the clues. Instead, they must find hidden flashlights before continuing with the game.

15 Locks has the largest single room game in Austin that can host up to 24 people. As a nod to our techie scene in Austin, 15 Locks incorporates a lot of tech-based puzzles into their games.

Details:

• 2-24 players per game, each game sold to capacity
• $25 per person
• Ages 9+
• Open 7 days/nights per week

North Austin – 2113 Wells Branch Parkway, #4300 – Website

Each of these Austin escape rooms has a way out for those who get panicky for real, though this rarely happens. Someone is constantly monitoring each group and will answer a limited number of questions in each room. Corporate and large groups and are welcome at each location, though it’s a good idea to call ahead whether you’re going with a friend, your niece or on a large, team-building mission. You can expect a bit of tech, math, science, reading, logic and physical manipulation in most of these games.

Warning: Escape rooms are strangely addicting.

 

@theAustinot wants to know:

Which Austin escape rooms do you recommend?