If you’ve ever been to Houston, you’ll have noticed how many fun things to do there are. There are many parks, museums, theme parks and sport events to choose from. Why not try an escape room? There are many fantastic escape room locations in this city. I had no idea it would be so hard to rank them. All the rooms on our list are of excellent quality and design to help guarantee the best escape room experience.
How much do Houston Escape Rooms cost?
Houston Escape Rooms costs an average of $35 per player. Most rooms are public, you can only play in a private room if you buy the entire room. Of course, there are some exceptions. For example at PanIQ Escape Room Houston, you don’t have to rent the whole room; just pay a slightly higher per-room price.
Best Escape Rooms in Houston
So here’s our list. We have taken a number of factors into account. Design, puzzle quality, story, originality, enjoyability. We scored these and together, with all members of the team, we came up with a list of the best-ranked escape rooms in Houston:
- Chainsaw Massacre – PanIQ Escape Room Houston
- The Wild West – PanIQ Escape Room Houston
- Military Bunker – PanIQ Escape Room Houston
- The Man From Beyond – Strange Bird Immersive Escape Room
- Escape The Titanic – Escape It
- Piece Meal – Alternate Reality Escape Rooms
- The Abandoned School Room – Texas Panic Room
- The Prison Break – The Escape Game
- Hotel’s Secrets – Quest Shark Adventures
- Mission Escapossible – Exitology
#1. Chainsaw Massacre – PanIQ Escape Room Houston
While I personally expected this room to be in the top 3, I did not expect it to be the number one. The story itself is not your average cozy tale, so it can be divisive among players. However, the level of elaboration of the story and the quality of the puzzles is such that it makes it a first-place contender. I’m definitely glad that the guys at PanIQ chose this theme. Where most escape room designers would rather skip, they took the plunge. The theme is creepy, but it does not get too gory or disgusting. It perfectly balances out.
For new and enthusiastic escape room fans over 14, to experienced players with hundreds of rooms escaped, I am happy to recommend it! Many puzzles are easy enough to guarantee players enjoy their time in the room, regardless of experience. We took 4 members of our team out. It is perfectly enjoyable with a larger group, since there is plenty of space for more, and we found that in some cases a fifth player may have been preferred.
- Prices: $32 and $36 per person, depending on public or private game.
- Players: 2-7
- Booking: PanIQ Escape Room Houston
#2. The Wild West – PanIQ Escape Room Houston
The second room on our list is also at PanIQ Escape Room. They have shown to be a very well put-together team. The story goes: You and your fellow outlaws from the Wild West have been locked in a jail cell. The Sheriff is out for a ride and left his key in his room. Now’s your time to escape! The theme is simple, but plays out great! The room itself is family-friendly, so I would recommend it for the whole family. Of course, it is recommended that for the puzzles in the room, children playing should be 10 years old or older.
The purpose of this room is purely entertainment. It’s not often that you find an escape room styled like this. Some of the puzzles are downright hilarious! The first half-hour flew by without our team noticing. Of course, we were hooked, and managed to escape 10 minutes before the 60 minute playtime was completed. We completed the room with three people, so if you have experience of escape rooms you can escape perfectly with three people!
- Prices: $32 and $36 per person, depending on public or private game.
- Players: 2-7
- Booking: PanIQ Escape Room Houston
#3. Military Bunker – PanIQ Escape Room Houston
The next escape room on our list is the great Military Bunker. The story could be a movie: You are on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. After a member of your criminal organization was captured by the government, they have enough information to put you behind bars for years. Your only hope is to break into the military bunker and destroy all records of the interrogation. So there you have it, a great starting point, the rest is up to you.
We recommend at least 4 people to participate to be sure you succeed. It is possible with less people, however the 60 minutes will quickly become tense and thrilling. The puzzles were of great and very sophisticated design. We found ourselves scratching our heads, is this a puzzle?? There are plenty of surprises to find! Guaranteed amazing escape room experience overall.
- Prices: $32 and $36, depending on public or private game.
- Players: 2-7
Booking: PanIQ Escape Room Houston
#4. The Man From Beyond – Strange Bird Immersive Escape Room
To be honest, this was one of the rooms we were most curious about. On their website you can see a number of awards that this escape room has won. We may have set the bar high, because at some points in the room we felt like it didn’t jump it. Make no mistake, this is a great escape room with fantastic and innovative ideas! In our opinion, however, we did not like the room enough to put it higher on our list.
The story follows: Your party is attending a seance when suddenly, everything goes wrong! A ghost appeared during the seance and now you have to escape. One of the most interesting things about this escape room is that it features a live actor. It’s a really interesting innovation that we saw in Atlanta too.
- Price: $47-$55 per person, depending on your group size.
- Players: 4-8
- Booking: strangebirdimmersive.com
#5. Escape The Titanic – Escape It Houston
A real classic theme was chosen for the next escape room on our list. Who doesn’t know the story of the famous Titanic? I won’t go into details, but the story is excellent. The design of the rooms and placement of decorations is appropriate. However, some of the puzzles are a bit out-of-date compared to other escape rooms. Overall, this does not take away from the experience, but if you are experienced in escape rooms you may notice the flaws.
I really liked that they put care and effort into providing the most lifelike props possible in the room. It really does feel like being on board the Titanic. Overall, the room is easy to medium-level difficulty to escape.
- Price: $24.99 per person
- Players: 2-10
- Booking: escapeithouston.com
#6. Piece Meal – Alternate Reality Escape Rooms
The excitement for this room was the most shared among our team members. I personally liked it, and so did the majority. I have to say, the room is disgusting. I mean, the design fits the theme very well! If you do not like that sort of thing, though, don’t try it!
The story is a bit simple: You and your party are on the side of the road when someone chases you into an old house! This room is definitely not designed for children. If you like horror movies and want an adrenaline rush, go for it! The majority of puzzles are okay, overall.
- Price: $37.50 per person
- Players: 2-8
- Booking: alternaterealityescape.com
#7. The Abandoned School Room: Texas Panic Room
We were lucky to have the opportunity to try this room. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, this escape room is not open to the public. We hope to try it again in the near future, because we came home with a great experience. The story is engaging and comedic: you need to find blueprints before the students return to the classroom from a field trip!
It made our list because of the well-constructed puzzles. They follow each other in a comprehensible way, making the room not too complicated. Most of the puzzles themselves are easy to solve. Not all escape rooms need to be a cold and scary room with no hope of finding a way out. This is an easy room with a high exit rate. Recommended for beginners, or anyone who just wants to have fun without too much exertion.
- Price: It was $32 per person
- Players: 2-10
- Booking: texaspanicroom.com
#8. The Prison Break – The Escape Game
Our top escape rooms in Houston list would not be complete without a prison story. You can’t go wrong with this one. We loved this room. Unfortunately, the reason it’s not at the top of our list is because of the unoriginal theme. Every city has at least 1 or 2 escape rooms that do this kind of story. Unfortunately, it’s getting a bit boring.
The execution is otherwise excellent. Puzzles are ok, hints were understandable. We were listened to while playing. Unfortunately with many of the puzzles we knew in advance what to do, because we had done so many rooms with similar themes. If it’s your first time trying to get out of prison, this should not discourage those who want to try a good story.
- Price: $37.99 per person
- Players: 2-8
- Booking: theescapegame.com/houston
#9. Hotel’s Secrets – Quest Shark Adventures
You’re stuck in a hotel that might have some secrets hidden, but there’s been an earthquake in the city! Uncover these secrets to escape the hotel before it collapses! What else can I say? For me it’s a mediocre story. Somehow the theme of both an earthquake and the hotel don’t fit me, but this is my personal opinion. The escape room itself was not bad.
They used ingenious puzzles throughout the game. The design is a special highlight, using bright cheerful colors. It’s a bit like the company itself. Clownish. It’s a relatively large escape room that can fit up to 10 people. For us it was moderately difficult, as indicated on their website.
- Price: $30 per person
- Players: 2-10
- Booking: exitlabhouston.com
#10. Exitology – Mission Escapossible
This escape room was difficult to decide where to put it on our list. I would have ranked it higher, but when all the votes were tallied, it ended up in tenth place. The story itself is not that strong. You have a warlord who wants to destroy the world with a weapon of unprecedented power. Our task is to stop it. The puzzles they used were very modern and technologically very clever. However, we often had the feeling that less would have been more.
Great escape room experience overall. Granted, it wouldn’t have made our list if it wasn’t! It just somehow didn’t come together as well as the others. There were 4 of us in the room, but it is recommended to have at least 6 people, which may have affected our personal experience. I would put it in the category of hard rooms.
- Price: $30 per person
- Players: 4-10
- Booking: exitologyescaperoom.com
The above list is our subjective opinion. None of the companies paid us to make the list or to be featured prominently on it.
last update: 29/09/2022