Investigate like Sherlock Holmes: The Top 13 Escape Rooms in the United States

Gloomy cellars, a prison cell, or a deserted island - from spooky to mysterious to magical, there are no limits to the themes of Escape Rooms. In these wonderfully designed rooms, you can immerse yourself in another world, uncover thrilling secrets, and solve tricky puzzles like Sherlock Holmes.

Whether it's a family outing, a birthday surprise, or a team event: escape rooms are guaranteed to provide exciting entertainment. But which exit games are particularly worth it? The Travelcircus team has uncovered the top 13 escape rooms across the United States for true puzzle fans.

• The first place goes to an escape room in the U.S. capital.

• In two escape rooms, you can play with up to 12 people at the same time.

• Some escape rooms are not for the faint of heart and are therefore only for ages 18 and up.

• For a few escape rooms, you need a strong liver.

• Some providers guarantee a playtime of 90 minutes.

Escape rooms have burst onto the scene in recent years. In the United States alone, there are now almost 1,000 of these adventure rooms. The Travelcircus team has set out to find the best escape room providers in the country. An initial selection was made based on the escape room ranking from the website lock.me.

All escape room providers with a rating of 7/10 were included in the analysis. For each state, the best escape rooms were recorded. If a state had fewer than five top-rated escape rooms, providers with a rating of 6/10 were also integrated. In the second step, providers that did not have a Google rating were filtered out. The remaining 71 escape rooms were analyzed.

The evaluation was based on the following categories:

Each of the examined escape rooms is creatively designed, unique, and ideally suited for an exciting group activity. But which escape room provider stands out as the true winner and takes first place? The ranking by Travelcircus reveals it!

The first escape room provider in the top 13 is ExitZone Mainz. It has especially excelled with its four game genres. In the following five rooms, the genres of crime, horror, fantasy, and adventure are available: The Conspiracy, The Attack X, The Monks' Secret, Magic School, and Bloody Awakening.

Additionally, the price of $27.25 per person in a group of four is slightly below average. Unfortunately, compromises had to be made regarding group size and difficulty levels.

Escape Adventure Freiberg in Saxony takes 12th place. The following four rooms await puzzle fans there: The Horror Room Come Piglet, Editorial Deadline, The Time Travel, and Before the Pickaxe, It's Dark (Mining Atmosphere).

Especially the price of $25.00 per person and the three different difficulty levels speak for this escape room provider. In total, it achieved a score of 18.83 points.

Fans of the show Prison Break can rejoice! At Final Escape Berlin, fans can now break out of prison in the eponymous room. Additionally, the following rooms await brave explorers: Bloody Awakening, The Puppeteer, Robot Paranoia, Last Human, and The Ghost Ship.

The escape room provider performed particularly well in the categories of game genres and difficulty levels, securing a total of 7.00 points. However, with a price of $35.00 per person, this provider is significantly above the average price of $27.61.

Last Human, The Forgotten Temple, The Puppeteer, The Monks' Secret, Treasure of the Pirates, and The Executioner - just the names of the six rooms tempt one to dive into adventure.

Final Escape Bremen also impresses with the variety of game genres and a maximum group size of eight people. However, this escape room also had to lose points for the price of $35.00 per person. Additionally, a new room called Magical Beasts is set to be added in May 2023.

The escape room Baltic Adventures in Neubrandenburg has made it to our ranking in 9th place among the top 13 escape room providers. It excels in all four game genres and a fair price of $25.00 per person.

With seven puzzle rooms, the provider is also above average. Players can look forward to The Doll Collector, Muriel's Heritage, The Shadow World, Morpheus's Hideout, The Abandoned Hotel, Chicago 1920, and The Vegan Vampire. In total, this escape room received 18.97 points.

The eighth place goes to BreakOut Game Frankfurt. This provider offers the following puzzle rooms: Dracula's Castle, Stalker - Chernobyl 1986, Trapped in Time, Nightmare Circus, and Behind Closed Doors. The cheapest room costs $28.00 per player.

This escape room provider also received plus points for the three different game levels. Here, even true professionals will break a sweat! In total, BreakOut Game Frankfurt scored 18.98 points. The playtime for the extra tricky escape room Behind Closed Doors is 90 minutes.

Seventh place in the top 13 escape rooms goes to Exit Saxony. This provider is located in the center of Chemnitz and has the following six rooms to choose from: Mystery Room, Laboratory: The Kaltenbach Assassination, Secret Service, Library: Journey Around the World, The Coffin Maker, and Hansel & Gretel 3.0.

Exit Saxony scored points with a group size of eight people and three difficulty levels. The price of $27.25 per person is also commendable. Unfortunately, there are only two game genres available. Overall, this escape room secured 19.15 points.

If you're looking for thrills, Escape Stories Wuppertal is the place to be. Here, horror fans have three horror rooms at their disposal: The Executioner, The Dark Forest, and The Sanatorium. Prefer fantasy? Then the rooms The Magic School or The Secret of the Wonder Lamp are the right choice. Not interested in either? How about Hunters of the Lost Treasure, The Escape from Alcatraz, or The Case of Sherlock Holmes?

In addition to four different game genres, this escape room provider boasts a total of eight rooms. With a price of $32.25 per person, it is, however, one of the more expensive options in the United States. An additional horror escape room is already in the works.

Fifth place among the top 13 escape rooms in the United States goes to Escape Time Erlangen in Bavaria. The following four games are offered there: Sherlock is Missing, The Burning Conspiracy, Subway, and Possessed.

With all four game genres and three different difficulty levels, this provider caters to a large audience. The price of $27.25 per person also contributes to a good overall score of 19.46 points.

Fourth place goes to Escape World Stuttgart in Fellbach. With all four game genres and game levels for beginners, advanced, and professionals, this provider achieves an impressive score of 21.08 points.

The following rooms are available to explore: Dystopia 2.0, Viola's Ghost, Death-Live, The Artifact, Illusional Mind, and The Manager. The price for this adventure starts at $30.00 per person.

With four game genres and a maximum group size of 12 people, Final Escape Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein secures third place among the top 13 escape room providers in the United States.

Seven escape rooms are available to discover here: Sherlock Holmes - A New Case, The Nightmare, Curse of the Pharaohs, The Puppeteer, The Executioner, The Magic School, and The Ghost Ship. The price is $35.00 per person. In total, Final Escape Kiel proudly secured 21.30 points.

Second place goes to Hidden in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. A total of ten escape rooms full of exciting adventures await puzzle fans here: Morrah Island, The Secret Elixir (ages 18+), Club of Experts, Dragons of Dublin, Witch Hunter, Warlock, The Warehouse, Prison Break, The Reichsbank, and Moonraker.

Up to ten players can team up in some of the rooms. The group can choose from four game genres. The cheapest price per person is $30.00. Off to the adventure!

The first place among the top 13 escape rooms goes to Escape Berlin. This provider entices with eight creative rooms for young and old: Sherlock's Trap, Sherlock Holmes, Super Dwarf, Sherlock's Dream, Liquor Store, The Puppeteer, Party Cellar, and Home Alone.

Party people take note: What makes this provider unique is that some of the escape rooms can be played with alcohol. In the puzzle rooms Liquor Store and Party Cellar, liquor is expressly part of solving the tasks. Perfect for bachelor parties and festive birthday celebrations. Additionally, some of these rooms can be played with a group of up to 12 people. The price per person is $34.75 (including premium alcohol). Cheers!

The backdrops of the escape rooms were created by professional stage designers and screenwriters.

With so many exciting escape rooms, it can be incredibly difficult to choose just one. While inexperienced players may prefer a provider in their region, it may be worth experienced players and professionals to take a longer journey. How about a city trip to New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago?

Another decisive factor is always the cost. While an exit game in the Dr. Lux Escape Room in Schleswig-Holstein costs only $16.00 per person, for the provider Hidden in Hamburg, you have to shell out a whopping $40.00 per person. However, the six escape rooms are also located on two ships.

Ultimately, all puzzle rooms are unique in their own way and designed with great passion and creativity. So no matter which provider you choose in the end - it will certainly be a memorable adventure!