Escape rooms are one of my favorite pop culture topics.
In case you’ve resisted the zeitgeist, escape rooms are physical puzzles that challenge participants to solve mysteries. The goal? You guessed it, escape a room.
Over the last decade, escape rooms have taken off. But the trend is older than you might think. The first physical escape room challenge came from a Kyoto man named Takao Kato back in 2007.
But the idea of escaping a room using problem-solving skills first emerged in the early 1980s with the video game Planet Mephius. The point-and-click game included multiple room-based puzzles, requiring players to think their way past the door.
The idea stuck, going on to influence new game releases in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Fast forward to 2024 and you can find escape rooms in most major cities around the world. From Paris to Buenos Aires to Atlanta, they’re staples for adventurous thinkers on the hunt for a complex challenge.
But I was more than a little shocked to learn that Atlanta is the US’s escape room capital in terms of the number of providers and escape rooms. (Nashville, to my great surprise, is a close second.)
If you’re heading to Atlanta on the hunt for a good time, you might want to add escape rooms to your itinerary. Start with one of the providers listed below. They’re highly rated by escape room enthusiasts while also being accessible to first-timers.
Escape rooms? In Atlanta?
Atlanta isn’t a new hub for escape rooms. In fact, it was one of the first US cities to explore the trend.
Back in 2013, Seattle opened the very first US-based escape room called Puzzle Break. Only a year later in 2014, Atlanta’s Paranoia Quest set up shop in Georgia.
In quick succession, other operators in the city opened their doors. Breakout Games (recommended below) and Project Escape ATL followed shortly after in the mid-2010s.
Today, the city has around 155 distinct escape room themes and challenges that have been carefully crafted by its devilish masterminds. From alien invasions to art heists, Atlanta’s escape rooms are distinct, engaging, and very brainy.
While you might be imagining solving hardboiled mysteries while locked in a small room, Atlanta’s escape rooms offer something for everyone.
Need extra hints because you’re more focused on laughing with friends than solving problems? There’s an escape room for you. What about team-building exercises for new teams at work? Yeah, that’s available, too. What about terrifying haunted house-esque challenges? You’ll have more than a few options at your fingertips.
In other words, there’s an escape room for everyone in Atlanta. Here are some of the best.
Best escape rooms in Atlanta
Breakout Games
Welcome to the most varied and experienced escape room provider in Atlanta. There are currently ten escape rooms available with Breakout Games.
These cover a range of themes from escaping a volcanic eruption on an island to sneaking away from kidnappers to fleeing an asylum after the lights are cut.
Breakout Games gives players a 60-minute period to solve a diverse series of puzzles, including physical and mental challenges. Guests can take on a room alongside a handful of friends or with a single partner in crime.
It’s also a beginner-friendly option, as players can ask for more hints if they get stuck.
The Escape Game
Spread out across two locations in the city and offering eight different escape rooms, The Escape Game is one of Atlanta’s newest and hippest providers.
Its original location (The Battery) has a five-star rating from over 4,300 reviewers on Google—that should say enough. But let’s dig into what makes this company distinct.
The Escape Game offers a very high value in terms of its production. In other words, it looks and feels more believable than other escape rooms.
Its games cover themes like prison breaks, mishaps in outer space, and—one of my favorites—a gold rush-themed challenge. Its escape rooms are ranked in terms of difficulty, letting you choose the challenge that’s right for you.
PanIQ Escape Games
PanIQ is a Hungarian-American escape room brand that operates internationally. That means you’re benefitting from tons of experience, which has helped PanIQ enter Atlanta’s escape room market.
Similar to The Escape Game, elaborate productions are part of the magic. PanIQ also offers a unique range of themes.
Their Medieval Madness room has piqued my interest, along with its Wizard Trials challenge. While its number of escape rooms is limited, they’re distinctly in the realm of history and fantasy—topics that aren’t heavily explored elsewhere.
Big Escape Rooms
Big Escape Rooms is another smaller-but-solid option. In addition to recreational escape rooms, they also offer team-building challenges, family-centric escape rooms (nothing too scary or difficult), and ice-breakers for new coworkers.
Its seven unique themes are also covered in great detail on the website, including factors like difficulty, escape rate, and the number of clues offered.
Escape rates are kind of a big deal in escape room culture. Highly seasoned puzzlers are usually on the hunt for new challenges with low escape rates. Their ‘outbreak’ escape room has an escape rate of only 19%.