Escape room in the pocket. Are the board games an alternative for real escape rooms?

Increasing popularity of escape rooms is a commonly known fact. This brain training entertainment is not as often chosen as cinema, however, escape rooms are familiar for many people around the world. Sometimes there is no possibility to book some room and play - there could be a lot of reasons, like pandemic, no escape room nearby, friends having no time to go with you, many more. And what now?

There are two solutions I know - live cam escape room and escape room board/card game. Today I am going to reflect on the phenomenon of card and board games based on escape room idea. Live Cams another time, I promise!

Games based on escape rooms have been known for years now. It started from computer games in the 1980s. Many years later - more less 20, in Japan the first known escape room was built. And that entertainment found a fertile ground. Real escape rooms found a lot of enthusiasts. Thanks to this the industry can evolve and develop. Changes are easy to observe - from the first generation of escape rooms, based on padlocks and classic riddles to immersive theaters full of electronics and unexpected solutions. 

And then someone thought “Let’s create an escape room in the box for everyone and everywhere!”. That's the simplest and basic description of card and board escape room games ever made. But simple doesn't mean bad. Games based on escape room idea are excellent options when you just can’t or don’t want to go to the real one. And unlike the majority of the real escape rooms, you can play solo. Mostly these games contain cards, less often other elements like markers and boards. The main goal of all games is to solve all puzzles and riddles and to reveal the mystery, duh. 

Now there are a lot of publishers producing escape room games. Also there are many parts of the original ones. So based on the BGG website, I chose 6 highest rated games I want to tell you about today. Let’s take a look at them!

6. Escape the Room

Mystery at the Stargazer's Manor is the first of three currently released ThinkFun escape games and was released in 9 languages. What is the backstory?

“It’s 1869 and the town’s well-respected astronomer has not been seen since the untimely passing of his wife. Recently, strange things have been happening at his manor...”

Game box contains a scene card, 5 envelopes - sealed, some secret items and a solution wheel. What is that wheel?  That's the heart of this game. It is a decoding table, but that's all I'm gonna tell you. The speed of solving mysteries counts, like in a real escape room. Playing in a 3-5 players team you have 2 hours to finish all puzzles. For a 6-8 members team - it’s 1,5 hours. Are you ready for an adventure in the mystifying manor?

5. Deckscape

There are 11 parts now and the highest rated is Test Time - the first title in dV Giochi’s escape collection. Game was published in 13 language versions. Deckscape (because deck of cards, do you get it?) is a card game based on riddles and puzzles inspired by a real escape room.  In this scenario the team, as the most brilliant students of Doctor Thyme, selected to the doc’s experiment, has been locked in the laboratory. And you need to find the way out.

In the box you can find a pack with game cards, clue cards and instruction book. And that’s it! The simplicity of this game and its portability are indisputable advantages. Deckscape is dedicated for 1 to 6 players over 12 years of age but I bet if you play with your kid or younger sibling or just junior mates - you can smash it!

4. Escape Tales

The Awakening is the first game of the Escape Tales series. This game, like the previous one, was published in 13 language versions. It is an escape room style card game with no time limitation (like in e.g. Escape the Room). The game focuses on the story and player’s “exploration of it, all while engaging with the puzzles within and making choices deeply immersive”. Are you strong enough to help a despairing father performing an ancient ritual? His daughter's soul is now in your hand.

The game is dedicated for a group of 1 to 4 players over 12 years of age. The Awakening is scheduled to run for 180 to 360 minutes. That’s quite long! In comparison with the previous two games, it’s the longest one. A game box contains 122 game cards, 9 special cards, 18 cards of locations, board and 18 red marks. There is also a smartphone app that will be needed to pass the game - into the app you write down answers of the riddles and puzzles. Interestingly, all games of the Escape Tales series have more than one ending. Therefore, you can play more than once.

3. Escape Room

Cards and board? Boring! Escape Room: The game is the most extensive game in this statement. Why? Besides cards and board The Game contains also Chrono Decoder - a plastic machine that counts your time and is needed for the hint.

Escape Room is a game for 3 to 5 players. You have 60 minutes to solve each of 3 scenarios with different levels of difficulty. What else can you find in the game’s box? Answers decoder, 16 plastic keys and 24 hint cards. You can play in one of 14 language versions. Or all of them - it’s up to you. My advice - start with the easiest one.

2. Unlock!

Buy one game, get 3 scenarios! Box of Heroic Adventures contains the story based on the well-known celebrity of the detective world - Sherlock Holmes, adventure in Wonderland called In Pursuit of the White Rabbit and Insert Coin. Every scenario has its own difficulty level - Insert Coin is the easiest one and Wonderland adventure is the most challenging. 

Heroic Adventures is a triple card game based on riddles and puzzles for maximum 6 players. You can also play solo if you are brave enough! The average time to run for each scenario is 60 minutes. Like in the Escape Tales series you will also need an app. What’s in the box? You will find there are 180 cards of a few different types - objects, machines, codes and others), 1 sheet of paper and 1 booklet. Game has 8 different language versions.

1. EXIT: The game

Here we are - that’s the king of the escape room style games. EXIT: The Abandoned Cabin is already in age but most players confirm that it is the best escape room card games of all times. It is also the greatest escape room series on the game market - there are more or less 28 EXIT games now. The game also has the largest number of language versions in this rank - 20. Biggest flaw - in this game you can play only once. But EXIT isn’t expensive and you can exchange most games with others.

In a box you can find 1 book, 1 decoding disc, 86 cards, 3 mystery elements and 1 instruction. You and a maximum of 5 other players have no more than 90 minutes to escape the locked cabin somewhere in the middle of the forest. 

Escape room enthusiasts took the floor

I asked a group of 50 escape room enthusiasts to fill in the form about their experience in real escape rooms and games based on them. The questionnaire was also about opinions about escape games to play at home (or whatever players want).
Answers are given mostly by young persons - the greatests groups of interviewees were people in age 25-34 (36%) and 35-44 (28%). 96% of all people agreed they even once played in an escape room board of card games. 

Everyone who joined the study was in a real escape room minimum once, but the majority - 48% of interviewees, have more than 9 but less than 100 escape rooms played in their life. The chart below presents the results of the question about the number of played rooms.

Interviewees voted - most played escape room game

Most recently chosen by the interviewees was EXIT by Kosmos. Game popularity is linked with the high range on the BGG service. Some players suspect that the popularity of this brand may be due to the fact that it was probably the first escape room based card game. Therefore, ThinkFun’s Escape the Room on 6th place (as well as due to BGG ranking) and Identity Games International B.V.’s Escape Room on 5th place (3rd according to BGG service) was released the same year - 2016.  In 4th place players chose Deckscape. On the podium, apart from the winner Exit, there are also Escape Tales with a bronze medal and Unlocked! with a silver medal of popularity.

Now we know that a lot of people, especially escape room enthusiasts, know this kind of board game. But what do they think about it? The fact that interviewees are familiar with some object doesn't mean they even like it.

I like escape rooms, and I like board games! What's not to love

I also asked my interviewees about their opinion about this kind of game. The questionnaire received 82% positive comments. Most of them admitted that an escape room based game is a great option when you can’t book a real one. Because you have some crawling on all fours responsibility, for example.

We have a toddler so we can play after he goes to bed

My friends (who have children) appreciate the escape game in a box, because when the children go to sleep, they have the option of an escape room puzzle game at home.

Depending on the gathered opinion, board escape room games are also life-saver during sickness, pandemic time, or just a good idea for evening chill.

They're a good 'stop-gap' when one can't get out to play a real game.

They are nice way to play with the family in our pajamas

Games saved our lives when the pandemic closed an entertainment industry. Otherwise, when I want to stay at home - escape board game works great!

What are the other advantages? Maybe it is not as immersive as a real escape room, but still fun. Most people said that the big pros are small size and portability, also low price and possibility to play solo or in a small group (e.g. with spouse or neighbors’ dog, as you prefere).

And - I think, the most important - it is still a challenge to our brains. Puzzles and riddles, depending on the game, are easier or harder, more or less pleasure, however, the goal does not change. As in a real escape room, as during playing a board game, you keep your mind thinking and being creative. 

The worst thing a person can do is stop using their mind.
 

They are fun and interesting as board games, not as immersive as an escape room

As you can imagine, there are also opponents of this kind of activity. And it's great! Because thanks to them (and their opinions) the industry is still developing and improving their products. 30% interviewees admitted that this entertainment is totally not for them or they don’t like some aspects of escape board games. What aspects are these? I was shocked, because the most common reason was… Too long gameplay time.

To be honest, for me board games are definitely too long- they are taking like 3-4 hours for one scenario- sometimes is a good option, but if you're in the escape room 90 minutes it's definitely too long and games sometimes start to being boring.

Other popular disadvantages are illogical riddles, a lack of immersion, and too easy puzzles with unhelpful hints.

They are either super easy or contain logic leaps. They have hints that can get you past the leaps so I suppose they aren't different from an in person escape room in that aspect.

And some people left frustrated by lack of original thought.

Let’s sum all the evidence

Board and card games based on escape rooms can’t give you as many emotions as a real escape room, because, duh, it's impossible. These are two completely different experiences that can’t be compared. They have some similarities, but it is like comparing flying a real plane and playing an airplane simulation. Indisputably board games are highly popular, and among them are games games. The number of editions 82% of asked escape room enthusiasts claim that this kind of board game is fine and gives a lot of satisfaction and fun - not as escape room, but like a puzzle and riddle brain challenge you can face at home. So let’s try to answer a question - can the escape room board game replace a real escape room game? No, definitely not. Can it be an alternative to an escape room? According to my interviewees’ answer - yes, it can be. And for some people - it is.