With an abundant amount of activities that you can do in the city of Dubai, escape rooms are becoming more prevalent as a choice for a group of friends or family to get together and test their teamwork and wits against the clock. In short, escape rooms are venues where a group of people are locked inside a room or a series of rooms and have a time limit to solve all the puzzles inside and finally escape. Each room usually contains a theme, whether it be breaking out of prison, or robbing a bank, the back story and context adds a layer of immersion that keeps you on edge throughout the experience.
What I love about them is that it’s all focused on teamwork. It’s not something you do on your own. With a group, there’s diversity in the skills between the team members. Some may excel at mental puzzles, while others are keener at observations and spotting patterns or even brute strength. The great thing is no one knows what is inside the room and it’s all part of the adventure to explore together.
There is a surge of adrenaline as you scramble through various clues to figure out the next step, the next puzzle. The feeling of twisting that last lock or punching in the last digit of a passcode to unlock the door is truly satisfying. You run out of the room with sighs of relief, hands up in the air, your teammates high-fiving you, it’s an amazing experience.
And don’t fret if you find yourself stuck, the staff are willing to offer hints should you really need them. As an avid escapee (yes, I made that up and yes, it means super room escape enthusiast), I had the opportunity to visit several escape rooms in Dubai with my wife and friends (who are also escapees) and compiled a list of the best ones you should try!
1. Phobia
Phobia has 2 locations (both are close by) and to be honest, we’ve tried almost all of their rooms because they’re that good! The rooms at Phobia are beyond what any of us expected. The amount of detail and thought process behind each of their rooms is superb. The props are surreal and the production value is very high. The moment you step in, you can see that the design and experience for the players are priority because you really feel like a character in the story as it unfolds. The puzzles are challenging but not impossible. When you finish one of them, you want to do another one. This is by far one of the best escape room experiences we’ve ever done.
Here is a list of rooms they currently offer:
Vault – You live inside an underground bunker after a nuclear war. The ones who were exposed to the nuclear radiation have turned into zombies and are trying to break into your bunker.
Impossible Mission – You are top secret agents hired by the Mafia and you have been assigned the task of stealing treasure from the Museum of Arts.
Dark Room – Little girl Annabelle lost her life right in the playroom and her soul turned into a vengeful spirit. Your eyes are useless. You need to use all your other senses to navigate the room and solve the puzzles.
Wizard School – You are a student at Hogwarts and the school is in danger from the one who must not be named. Along with your friends, save the school from the Dark Lord.
Sherlock – Revolving around the antics of Sherlock Holmes, you and your friends get to play the role of Watson and help Sherlock solve the murder mystery. Find the killer and the crime scene before the cops convict an innocent man.
Live – Based on the Saw movies. You are trapped inside a maniac’s lair. You have to find an escape route before the mad man comes back to kill you.
Use the discount code “DOT” when you book a room at Phobia for 10% off
(Valid until May 31, 2018)
2. No Way Out
A relatively new venue in Dubai (opened in mid 2017) and they are bringing the bar higher than ever. We played their School of Magic room and was pleasantly surprised! The amount of fancy mechanisms they incorporated into their puzzles were astounding. Without spoiling it for you, halfway through the experience, we really felt like we were wizards! They are also one of the first, if not the very first venue, to use live actors as part of an escape room – how cool is that?!
Maniac – Dr. Hannibal Lecter is serving his years in prison for terrible murders, but it’s still not safe outside. Not everyone sees him as a psychopath killer, there are some fascinated by him. It seems like he’s got a copycat. You have to outsmart him!
Da Vinci – Leonardo da Vinci’s challenge awaits everyone to test their skills in solving puzzles, finding clues and working as a team. Get ready to encounter complex mechanisms, legendary inventions, and, of course, beautiful Renaissance artwork! True inspiration for players of all ages.
School of Magic – School of Magic is in great danger! Discover the world of Sorcerers and Magic! Cast spells, use magic wands, solve puzzles, and defeat dark followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Great fun for the whole family.
The Ring – These mysterious deaths are on the front page of every local newspaper. Are you curious enough to face the reality? The dark atmosphere and constantly growing sense of danger make this game incredibly tense. There’s a great chance you will be screaming and dashing around the room. For those brave souls seeking unforgettable emotions – a mixture of pure fear and excitement.
3. Escape Hunt
Escape Hunt has a unique experience where you can split into 2 smaller groups (i.e. 3-4 in each team) and compete against each other. Both teams are entering into identical rooms with identical puzzles and race to get out as quickly as possible. Not only do you need to focus on escaping, but there’s now added pressure to beat the other team! If you don’t have 2 teams, that’s fine – they have several other rooms you can try which are still very amusing.
Deadly Prison – You are falsely accused of murder and sent to prison, where you learn that prisoners have gone missing. You have 60 minutes to break out of your cell, solve the mystery of the disappearing prisoners and find evidence to clear your name, before the guards return from their hourly rounds. Can you do it?
Bank Job – You are world-renowned thieves who have hacked into the Bank of Dubai’s mainframe and temporarily disabled their surveillance system. Can you steal the famous Pink Star Diamond and escape the bank before the surveillance system reboots?
Leather Apron – You are London detectives investigating the most dangerous and wanted serial killer in history. The suspect has just left what you believe is his secret den and you have only 1 hour to gather evidence before he returns. Or will you be his next victims?
4. Jumble
Beyond the regular escape room experience, Jumble offers a brand-new perspective called the urban maze. Instead of going through one escape room, their venue offers a 2-hour or 4-hour package. We bought the 4-hour package and despite having over 40 attempts, we were only able to complete 4 rooms. The rooms are challenging but quick. You spend only a handful of minutes through each one. If you fail, you have to exit and go back in from the start. We definitely felt the fatigue after 4 hours of Jumble-time as there were quite a few physical challenges. But I can’t express how much fun we had here.
I hope you are as excited as ever to try this fantastic team-building activity the next time you and friends/family decide to go out. Escape rooms are great to get away from reality – even if it’s only for 60 minutes! Challenge yourself with new experiences full of riddles and puzzles that put you and your friends to the test!
