Houdini’s Secret Room: A Fun Escape Room At Home

Last weekend, my family got locked in a secret room in Houdini’s Mansion and had to try to escape. They had to use a series of clues that Houdini left behind in order for them to get out of there. They only had 1 hour before the walls caved in and they would all perish, leaving no trace. They managed to escape the allotted time and make it back to our house. They were so relieved!

Of course, my family didn’t truly go to Houdini’s mansion, but they were transported there through an Escape Room at home game from Escape Room Geeks. This was the second Escape Room at home that we have done this year, and I have to say that everyone really liked it.

How the Escape Room at home works

After you purchase the Escape Room online, Escape Room Geeks sends you the files that you need by email. You have to print out the challenges and there are a few steps to set up the game.

One of the things that I really liked about this escape room was the ease of setting it up. Other than printing everything out, it only took me about five minutes to do the prep steps for the game. The last at-home escape room that I did took me about an hour to get everything set up.

I also liked the fact that they send you two options for the game, one if you are setting it up for your family and not playing along and one if you want to play along with them. Last time I didn’t have an option; I had to set it up, and give clues along the way if needed, but I couldn’t play. I still didn’t play this time, but I had the option to if I wanted to.

 

What is included in the game?

There are three main challenges in the game for the team to solve. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but each of the challenges has multiple sections so they can take a bit of time. We found that challenge 2 took the most time to complete, while challenge 3 was by far the easiest.

All the puzzles are included in the game; you just have to print them out beforehand. You are also sent instructions for setting up the game, the script that you read at the beginning to kick off the game, invitations for the escape room and victory posters that you can use for photos at the end.

You have to provide your own glue, scissors and pencil to complete the challenges.

Tips for Playing the Escape Room at Home

I definitely recommend turning on some creepy music while playing the game. It adds to the ambience.

Print the entire game in color as there are some of the games that require looking at things in color and will be harder if you print in black and white.

The creators of the game suggest using a box with a combination lock to put the last two challenges in. Players have to unlock the box with the right combination to get to the next set of challenges. I didn’t prep the game until right before playing so I didn’t do this, but I think it would have made even more like a true escape room had I done this.

Things to Note

The game is recommended for kids ages 9-13 and I would say that this is accurate. My 11-year old had a good time and the challenges were indeed challenging for her, along with my 21-year old niece and 40+ husband. My 6-year old did have a difficult time as the challenges were too hard for him.  He ended up having fun after he was made the official deliverer of the guesses and then receiver of the new challenge, but just keep in mind that this isn’t really for younger kids.

Cost

Houdini’s Secret Room escape room game is $29 for the game.

Until the end of October, the game is on sale for just $19.

Would I recommend this game? Absolutely! This was a great family activity and everyone in the family really enjoyed playing.