An escape room requires a team to solve a series of puzzles in order to “escape” from the room in which they’re playing. Imagine an adventure video game but in real life. The concept originated in Japan and has since proliferated across major cities throughout the world, attracting all manner of nerd and adventurer. Though these rooms vary by location, they all bear certain similarities: theme and story, immersion and teamwork.
Like most things in life, not all escape rooms were created equal. We’ve culled a list of the best escape-room companies in the Bay Area, with recommendations on their best puzzle room and tips about difficulty and team size.
Palace Games
Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
The old Exploratorium building has been converted into a puzzler’s heaven. Palace Games offers two rooms — the Great Houdini Escape Room and the Roosevelt Escape Room — both considered the most difficult in San Francisco. These two rooms are hailed as two of the best in the America, and enthusiasts often travel from other parts of the country just to try them out.They feature impressive technological wizardry and weave in satisfying historical narratives. We suggest bringing 8–10 people and tackling Palace Games only after you’ve become an escape-room veteran. Most people who have successfully “escaped” have either cleared San Francisco’s other escape rooms or are software engineers who write algorithms for a living.
EscapeSF
602 Kearny Street, San Francisco
EscapeSF is a great choice for smaller teams. Most of the EscapeSF puzzles require two to five players and are capped at an hour. There are four choices — Blind Tiger, Escape from Alcatraz, Space Bus and Escape from Antique Room. Blind Tiger, a speakeasy-themed room, is the most difficult and most well received, but Alcatraz has also been met with praise and is considered a great choice for beginners. You start out the Alcatraz puzzle trapped in a tiny cell. EscapeSF puzzles are also mostly automated and have the level of immersion you’d expect from a city that prides itself on innovation.
Omescape
Varies by location
Omescape offers the most variety at a consistently high quality and has the most options for the escape-room novice. The majority of their puzzles are housed in a complex in San Jose, but they also run a few games in Richmond. Almost every puzzle takes place in a multiroom setting, and the wide array of thematic options — including a deadly pandemic, a tall ship, cats and a penitentiary — can satisfy a variety of teams. The rooms range in automation, with everything from a laser maze just like in an episode of CSI to a few nonvisual puzzles. Forgotten Treasure and Kingdom of Cats are recommended for beginners. Penitentiary may be a little more difficult, but it offers a dazzling sequence of automated puzzles.
SCRAP (REAL ESCAPE GAME)
Varies by location
SCRAP has the most diverse offerings, ranging in location from San Francisco to San Jose to Los Angeles. The rooms vary in quality, but all follow a similar formula, albeit with a different theme. Escape from the Time Travel Lab in San Jose is highly recommended and a great choice for beginners. It allows a maximum of 11 players and takes 1.5 hours to complete. Escape from the Puzzle Room is their best offering in San Francisco and is a great choice for beginners, accepting teams up to 11 and running for an hour.
Runners-Up
Paradox Escape Rooms (check out Wonderland), Kuma Escape, Beyond Escape and REASON are also based in the Bay Area and are worth a trip if you’re an escape-room junkie. Each of them has at least one stellar escape room that puzzlers can enjoy regardless of their level of familiarity with the escape-room concept.
Which game is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
