We’re escape room veterans that have done 350+ escape rooms and have compiled our favorite Portland escape rooms. If you book any of these rooms, let your host know that you heard of them from EscapeRoomTips.com!
Due to COVID-19, all of the rooms on our list have switched to private booking (if they were not before the pandemic), meaning that only your team will be in the game.
Disclosure: We have received media-discounted tickets to at least one of the below-mentioned escape rooms. This does not affect our reviews, rankings, or recommendations.
How much do Portland Escape Rooms cost?
Portland Escape Rooms tend to be approximately $35 per person. Some companies will offer per-person discounts for larger groups or on weekdays.
In parentheses next to each game, we will list the player size, public/private booking, the duration of the game, and the cost per player. Additionally, games that we recommend for beginners are marked with🔰.
1.Steampunk Airship– Portland Escape Rooms (2-12👥, private, 60⏱, ~$30-40)
- Positives:Steampunk Airship is a large, multi-room escape with immersive, in-character gamemastering. We absolutely loved the walls lined with tactile contraptions, and the 3 in-game actors were on point throughout. Steampunk Airship is our clear pick for the #1 Escape Room in Portland – if you can only do one escape room in Portland, make it this one!
- Negatives:The layout and structure of the game make it hard to experience the whole game – you’re mostly only going to experience a part of the game, and your teammates will see the rest. The room can get chaotic.
- Tips:We recommend 4-6 players for enthusiasts, although beginners can bring more. They will not run your game if you have any less than 4 booked in your slot.
2. Lombino’s Casino – In Search of an Exit(2-6👥, private, 60⏱, $35, 🔰)
- Positives:Lombino’s Casino is a puzzler’s room, with excellent puzzle logic and flow in an appropriately themed 80’s poker room. The story develops in fun ways and the set hides some memorable moments.
- Negatives:We don’t have much to say here. This is a great game.
- Tips:We recommend 2-4 players for enthusiasts, although beginners can bring more.
3. Secrets of Niburu – Hour to Midnight(6-10👥, private, 60⏱, $35, 🔰)
- Positives:Secrets of Niburu is an atmospheric game featuring elaborate, weighty props scattered around the whole space. The set ties together all of the design choices to make this game a mystical, mysterious adventure.
- Negatives: One of the main puzzles in the game felt like significant busywork.
- Tips:We recommend 3-5 players for enthusiasts, although beginners can bring more.
4. Alien Zoo – Escapism Portland(2-8👥, private, 60⏱, $27-$35 for 3+,🔰)
- Positives:Alien Zoo is one of the rare Portland escape rooms with all-private bookings and no traditional locks whatsoever. The room is an eclectic and colorful assortment of fun puzzles and gives off a handmade and humorous vibe.
- Negatives:This room can at times feel more like a collection of assorted puzzles rather than a cohesively-themed experience.
- Tips:We recommend 2-4 players for enthusiasts, although beginners can bring more.
5. Assassin’s Deadly Game – Hour to Midnight(4-8👥, private, 60⏱, $35, 🔰)
- Positives:Assassin’s Deadly Game is a bomb defusal mission set in a normal apartment environment. The game features a variety of fun, tactile puzzles cleverly hidden throughout the apartment.
- Negatives:The set is fairly ordinary, especially compared to their other game: Secrets of Nibiru.
- Tips:We recommend 3-5 players for enthusiasts, although beginners can bring more.
6. Portlandia – Escape Games PDX(3-10👥, private, 60⏱, $35, 🔰)
- Positives:Portlandia is a truly Portland-themed game that celebrates the city’s weird, eccentric culture. The puzzles are solid, creative, and pay a loving tribute to the city. We appreciated this as visitors!
- Negatives:This is not a high-tech game at all, this is at its heart a solid, lock-based game done well.
- Tips:We recommend 3-5 players for enthusiasts, although beginners can bring more. The company’s newest game is “Film Noir”, which we haven’t played yet.
7. Fortune Teller– Portland Escape Rooms(2-8👥, private, 60⏱, ~$30-40, 🔰)
- Positives: Fortune Teller (formerly Madame Neptune’s Voodoo Curse), true to the style of the company, is an in-character gamemaster driven game, with quite a few fun, mystical moments. The gamemasters are the true highlight.
- Negatives:This is a magical game with some magical moments, but many of the puzzles are fairly standard.
- Tips:We recommend 2-4 players for enthusiasts, although beginners can bring more.
9. Arcade– Portland Escape Rooms(2-12👥, private, 60⏱, ~$30-40, 🔰)
- Positives:This room is packed with 80’s video games references. Our excitable gamemaster was cheery throughout and added an positive energy to our game.
- Negatives:There are some paper-based puzzles in the game that ended up feeling repetitive.
- Tips: You get three hints throughout the game, unlock-able via finding “hint tickets” in various compartments in the game. Pace your use of these hints, as some of the puzzles are tricky and you might need all of them. We recommend 4-6 players for enthusiasts, although beginners can bring more. They will not run your game if you have any less than 4 booked in your slot.
More Escape Rooms
If you’re interested in a list / map of all Portland Escape Rooms, John keeps an updated list on his blog,EscapeRoomer. We did two games (Steampunk Airship and Arcade) with them and enjoyed meeting their team!
We cover other West Coast destinations as well. Check out our lists at:
- Best Escape Rooms in Seattle
- Best Escape Rooms in Sacramento
- Best Escape Rooms in San Francisco
- Best Escape Rooms in Los Angeles
- Best Escape Rooms in San Diego
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Photos in the collage are collected from Portland Escape Rooms, In Search of an Exit, Mental Trap, Hour to Midnight, Escape Games PDX, and Labyrinth.
