Would your tween or teen love to have an Escape Room birthday party at home but you have no idea where to begin? It's actually pretty easy to pull together and a whole lot of fun for the guests- which is why an Escape Room party is one of our favorite kids birthday parties! Here's everything you need to host an Escape Room for kids for less than $100!
The Escape Room Birthday Party Invitation:
I created these cool party invites which can be printed and mailed or sent out as an email attachment. You'll find a download link to a blank invite you can use (for free!) at the end of this post.
You can either fill in the party information by hand or upload the image to PicMonkey to add text. (Check out my tutorial on how to use PicMonkey to create birthday party invitations!)
Escape Room Games for Kids
For your escape room party you'll need to have a compelling story and set of clues you can give to the kids. Solving the complex puzzles and figuring out the clues allows players to move to the next stage of the game (most escape room games have 4 stages). But creating an escape room game by yourself would be a serious challenge! Which is I suggest purchasing one of these 3 game sets:
*Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you purchase through these links. It’s a great way to support a blogger!
ThinkFun has two different escape room games for kids that are perfect for tween and teen birthday parties! “Mystery at Stargazer's Manor” is the easier of the two (intended for kids 10+), and is based on the story of Richard Harrison, a retired astronomer who has disappeared. The game takes place inside of his observatory where players have to find clues and solve puzzles to stop the impending disaster!
“Secret of Dr Gravely's Retreat” is a more challenging escape room game (intended for kids 13+) that follows this story line: players are the lucky winners of a free stay at the Foxcrest Retreat where the famous Dr Gravely is known for indulging his high-end guests in luxurious spa treatments. But upon their arrival the guests learn that this spa is not what it seems- and players need to solve the increasingly complex puzzles and find the clues to escape the asylum!
SpinMaster's “Escape Room the Game” is actually 4 different escape room games in one box! And the cool thing about this set is that it uses an electronic chrono decoder that keeps the countdown clock as well as well as serves as the solution verification system using a set of plastic keys that you have to place into the slots in the correct order based on how you solve the puzzles.
We started with “Prison Break” as that is supposed to be easiest game in the set, and we actually found this escape room game to be quite challenging! Thankfully the chrono decorder helps to keep the pace of the game going by offering hints if you've not completed a stage by a certain point in the game. In some cases this helped the team by getting them pointed in the right direction, and at other times they had already worked out that piece of logic by the time the hint was revealed!
But as you can see- our party guests barely escaped the room in the nick of time (just 3:44 left on the 60 minute clock!). And without the access to these hints…. they definitely wouldn't have finished on time!
How Many Guests Should You Invite?
Because the escape room games are centered around printed materials and clues- it is easiest to play the game by limiting the number of players to 4-6 people per game. But here's an idea if your son or daughter wants to invite more people- buy more than one game! At the beginning of the party you can draw names to put guests together into teams of 4-6 players, and then give them separate areas to play each game. One team can work on “Mystery at Stargazer's Manor” while the other team plays “Prison Break” and then after a break for cake and ice cream- teams can switch and play the other game!
If you decide to do this- keep in mind that “Mystery at Stargazer's Manor” and “Secret of Dr Gravely's Retreat” follow the same pattern of problem solving- so once a team has played one game it will be a bit easier for them to play the second game (which might be a good thing!). SpinMaster's “Escape Room the Game” comes with 4 different games in the box but they all use the same electronic chrono decoder- so you can't play more than one game simultaneously without buying more than one kit.
Do I Really Need to Lock The Kids in a Room?
Nope! While I suppose that part of the thrill of going to an Escape Room venue (and paying $15-$30 per person to play) is that you are actually locked in a room together- I just don't think it is a necessary part of the party. The kids will get so into the game and the “pressure” of trying to solve the puzzles in one hour's time that it won't matter if they are in a separate room or even outside on your patio!
Props for Your Escape Room for Kids
A birthday party is always more fun and festive with props! And since most of these games are set back in an earlier time- it's kind of fun to put out some hats and accessories for your guests to wear while trying to escape!
Fedoras, mustaches, glasses, feather boas, and lace gloves all make for fun props! And don't forget to put out some steno pads and pens for the kids to use while solving the puzzles!
Escape Room Birthday Party Cake:
A simple sheet cake with a magnifying glass drawn in icing and the birthday child's name is perfect! I love this beautiful cake that was featured over on The Ribeira Crowd!
Escape Room Birthday Party Favors:
I love giving party guests a favor that they can use for a long time (rather than candy or plastic toys), so I take some group photos of the party guests after they've donned the props and accessories, but before we've played the game.
Then while the kids are playing- I quickly print copies of the photos on my color printer, and then place them in a 4×6 black picture frame for each guest. I put a small sticker on the corner of the frame that reads “Thank YOU for coming to my party”. (These little tags are included in the free downloadable party pack below!) I think framed photos make the perfect party favor!
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Ready to Download The Free Escape Room Birthday Party Printables?
Awesome! Click here to join the MomOf6 Party Planners Community! Once you confirm your subscription they will download right to your desktop or device. The download includes the party invitation and thank you note.
Please note that these printables are for your personal use only and are not to be distributed or sold. These printables will download as a pdf file which can be saved and printed. If you would like to upload these printables to PicMonkey to personalize them, you'll need to change the pdf file to a jpg file. You can find great instructions on how to convert a pdf to a jpg here.
Would you like to see some more ideas for kids birthday parties?
- Amazing Race Birthday Party
- American Ninja Warrior Party
- Poker Night Party
- Minecraft Party
- Cutthroat Kitchen Birthday Party
- Cupcake Wars Birthday Party
- Spa Birthday Party
- Art Birthday Party
- Or check out all of my Kids Birthday Parties here!
Or ideas for kids birthday party games:
- 100 Truth or Dare Questions for Tweens (free printable game!)
- 50 Would You Rather Questions for Tweens (free printable game!)
- Photo Scavenger Hunt for Tweens (free printable party game!)
- Video Scavenger Hunt for Tweens (free printable party game!
- 10 Great Birthday Party Games for Tweens (tons of ideas from around the web!)
- 10 Awesome Backyard Games for Tweens! (perfect for parties!)
Or You Can Shop for These Awesome Party Games!
*Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you purchase through these links. It’s a great way to support a blogger!
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