Escape Room
Real-world puzzle-room game — a team is 'locked' in a themed room and must solve chained puzzles to escape within 60 minutes.
What is Escape Room?
Escape rooms are live-action team puzzle games invented by Takao Kato of SCRAP in Kyoto in 2007 and exported globally from around 2012 (Puzzle Room Los Angeles, ClueQuest London). A team of 2–12 is 'locked' inside a themed room and has 60 minutes to solve a chain of interlocking puzzles — combination locks, hidden compartments, cyphers, technology, physical challenges — to escape. Over 50,000 rooms operate worldwide as of 2024, in every genre from Sherlock Holmes to zombie apocalypse.
Quick facts
Category
Escape & Immersive
Type
Team sport
Players
2–12
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇯🇵 Japan
Estimated origin
2007, Takao Kato / SCRAP (Kyoto Japan) — global explosion since 2012
Olympic
No
Popularity
global