Anyone who has been bitten by the escape room bug is sure to enjoy an escape room board game. And since many real-life escape rooms had to close for a long time due to the pandemic, substitute solutions for game enthusiasts boomed – escape room board games found many new fans.
There are, of course, a whole range of online escape games, but board games that do without smartphones, tablets and PCs altogether, or hybrid forms that combine an escape room board game with an app, for example, are incredibly exciting and take the escape room experience to a whole new level.
What is an escape room board game?
An escape room board game is about solving puzzles together at home in a cozy atmosphere, which are wrapped up in an exciting story. In contrast to electronic games, board games are much better suited to cozy game evenings with family or friends. After all, we all stare at various screens and displays far too much anyway, don’t we?
To help you find your way around the constantly growing range of this type of escape room game, we present the – in our subjective opinion – best 5 escape room board games here.
The 5 best escape room board games: Rated by OPOLUM
Escape Room Board Game #1: Exit! The sunken treasure
The EXIT series has gained a large fan base among escape room board games in German-speaking countries in recent years. In our opinion, EXIT – The Sunken Treasure is the ideal introduction to the ever-expanding world of these games.
This escape room board game should be completed in 60 minutes if possible and is perfect for an entertaining family evening, as it can be played by 1 to 4 people and is guaranteed to be fun for children aged 10 and over! As this game can only be played once, it is available from around € 10.
Escape Room Board Game #2: Escape Adventures – of heroes and legends of the gods!
While almost every escape room board game uses playing cards, the game Escape Adventures – of heroes and legends of the gods! consists of a book and a folding plan called “Codematrix”. Puzzles have to be solved, the book has to be cut up correctly, it is folded and glued.
The story is set in ancient Greece and is extremely appealing and clearly illustrated. This version is also ideal for a family evening and children aged 10 and over, but is much more difficult and challenging than the Exit! game mentioned above.
A unique experience in the truest sense of the word and therefore also available from around € 10.
Escape Room Board Game #3: Unlock! Escape Adventures
The first two games presented here are exciting and well-made, but have the decisive disadvantage that they can only be played once. After all, some of the included materials have to be destroyed during the adventure.
The great advantage of the UNLOCK series is that it can be played and passed on again and again. What’s more, UNLOCK combines its board games with a specially developed app and can therefore be played on a smartphone – but even better on a larger tablet!
UNLOCK! Escape Adventures is the first package in this innovative series and contains three completely different escape room board games at a price of around € 72. Two of them can also be played alone, the third game requires at least 2 participants. In general, all three games are ideal for 2 to 6 people.
Escape Room Board Game #4: Betrayal at House on the Hill
This spooky board game is perfect for 3 to 6 people. The puzzles, enriched with horror elements, should be solved within an hour.
Due to its great success, an expansion of Betrayal at House on the Hill has already been developed, but is currently (July 2022) only available in English. The expanded version is called Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow’s Walk. Twenty more rooms have been added here, including the attic, a previously unexplored and particularly creepy level.
Available for around € 27 and suitable for people aged 12 and over. However, Widow’s Walk can only be played by puzzle fans who already own the first part mentioned above.
Escape Room Board Game #5: Escape Room – The Game
The basic version contains 4 exciting cases, is aimed at players aged 16 and over and is available from around € 24.
The central element of this escape room board game is the so-called “chrono decoder”, which constantly shows you the remaining time. This original machine also has four slots for different keys, which contain further clues to help you solve the cases. If you insert the right key at the right time, you will hear a sound of relief. If you get it wrong, you will be punished by an unpleasant acoustic roar and a loss of time.
The Escape Room – The Game Starter Set contains four different cases: Prison Break, Virus, Nuclear Countdown and Temple of the Aztec. Once you have the starter set, a wide range of new adventures in this series opens up.
Finally experience escape room games live again!
Since spring 2022, despite the coronavirus pandemic, the situation doesn’t look too bad and analog escape rooms like our Escape Room Hamburg are being stormed! That’s why you should definitely sign up for a real-life escape room experience again.
But even if the real escape rooms should be closed again due to health policy considerations (but let’s remain optimistic) – the OPOLUM tries to offer you individual dates for the outdoor escape room game on almost every day of the year. Against the picturesque backdrop of Hamburg’s warehouse district, you can experience an exciting and educational Outdoor Escape Game Hamburg with (almost) any number of friends!
