Help…Get me outta here! Popular escape rooms on Oahu

Have you heard about escape rooms? While relatively new, they are wildly popular in Hawaii.

In an escape room, a group of people try to “escape” a room.  Each room has a different scenario, something you are trying to escape. You use things within that room to solve puzzles, find clues, and work together with your team. Usually, you have about 60 minutes to get out.

It’s fun and affordable – prices range from about $29-$38 per person. It’s a great way to challenge yourself and do something different during your stay here. They also make great rainy day activities.

While it seems simple, it’s quite challenging. Some of these games have less than a 20% success rate! Are you up for the challenge?

1. Breakout Waikiki

   You may have done escape rooms back home, but I can assure you, they are nothing like Breakout Waikiki. I love about Breakout Waikiki because they have made their games Hawaii-themed. In each room, you have 60 minutes to breakout by cracking the codes, solving the riddles, and probably most importantly – using your gut.

   President Obama garnered a lot of press for Breakout Waikiki when he came here during his Christmas vacation with his family in 2016.

   I think that the different scenarios are so much fun, and they all have a different amount of players. Even if you are just on vacation with one other person, you can find one that works for you.

   For example, “Room 13” is for  2-8 players. You wake up, trapped in a hotel just off the Waikiki strip. Who cares how you got here, the only question now is: can you escape?

   “The Hatch” is for 4-8 players. Hidden deep in the heart of Kauai is an underground bunker filled with secrets. You’ve made it there, but can you make it out alive?

   The “Ala Moana Stock Exchange” is for 4-8 players. The famous Hawaiian market is under siege from dirty traders who have only one goal: to destroy it all! Can you stop them in time?

   “Mission Manoa” needs 3-8 players. A quaint market in the Manoa valley becomes the scene of your escape as enemy forces finally manage to trap you. Can you get out in time?

   Pricing: Ranges from $30-$42 per person depending on how many people are in your group.

   Booking: When you book a room, it will be reserved for only the people in your party. Book in advance on their website.

2. Scaventour

   Scaventour is part escape room, part scavenger hunt. If you’re interested in an escape room but would rather be outside racing around Waikiki, consider Scaventour.

   Scaventour is similar to other breakout rooms, but with one major difference. Instead of taking place in a game room, it takes place outside all over Waikiki!

   Players must find and open many locked cases and bags. What they find will lead them to the next location around Honolulu. They have 60 minutes. It’s part escape room, part scavenger hunt, part treasure hunt, part feeling like you are in a famous code-breaking movie (have you ever wanted to feel like they are in the Da Vinci Code?)

   You will have a guide who acts as the game master. The game master helps you along the way and gives you some cool tools to solve the clues. The game master helps keep you on track so you don’t wander around aimlessly.

   Most groups in Hawaii will want to play the versions suited for 2-12 people (adults and children).

   The “Tourist Trap game” is the longest Scaventour game and spotlights military history and nature. It begins at the Army Museum on the Hale Koa property on Kalia Street in Waikiki.

   The location of the game is perfectly suited for people in hotels on the west side of Waikiki, including the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Outrigger Reef, Sheraton, Trump Hotel and Halekulani Hotel.

   The volcano eruption has left many people trapped in Waikiki, suffering through the terrible environmental conditions. People desperately want to escape the island. The Scaventour Society has some tickets to leave the island tonight, but they are only giving them to people who can complete this course in under 60 minutes. Want to leave this Tourist Trap? Work with your friends and family to solve the puzzles and escape the volcano.

   The route is 1.63 miles, and you will unlock 15 locks. It usually takes 58 minutes to complete.

   “Duke’s Revenge” is also perfect for visitors staying in Waikiki since it begins at the Stones of Life on Kalakaua (between the Duke Kahanamoku statue and the Waikiki Police Substation and across from the Hyatt).

   The premise of the game is that when Macedonian Hacker Natasha “Duke” Dudko’s boyfriend, Rocky found out about her plans to disrupt the cybercurrency market, he broke up with her and broke her heart. Now she has set in motion a revenge plan to shut down the entire market. Rocky has gone missing, but he left a backpack that has clues to find the keys to decrypt the nefarious plan. You have 60 minutes to find the key before the entire market collapses.

   This route is 1.55 miles, and you will unlock 15 locks. It averages at 54 minutes to complete.

   Pricing: $29 for adults, $24 for children. You can pay an extra $35 to ensure that your game is private, with just the people from your group.

   Booking: Visit their website.

3. Room with a Clue

   Room With a Clue is another live escape room in Honolulu. You use clues, puzzles, and hints to find a way to escape a locked room. Room with a Clue also provides you with game masters. They guide you when you need help.

   Room with a Clue loves hosting visitors to the islands. Check out some of their rooms, which I think would be perfect to do during October since they are kind of spooky!

   “Museum Robbery” can accommodate 4-8 players. I like this game because it’s different from other escape rooms. Your team is separated! You must communicate with each other to steal a large and rare gem that’s guarded by heavy security.

   “Haunted Manor” is for 2-6 players. Imagine you’re trapped in an eerie haunted manor. An evil spirit is trying to possess you, as it has done to many other victims. According to legend, it takes over your body, slowing draining the life out of you before capturing your soul! Knowing the demon’s name gives you power over it and will be used as your key to freedom.

   “Island Task Force” can accommodate 4-8 players. In Island Task Force, You are part of the Island Task Force of Hawaii, consisting of the best on the island. On a recent mission, an agent was found dead. Further investigation leads to your worst fears: there is a traitor among us. You have your suspicions but need proof. Your mission – if you are willing to accept it – is to enter the safe house, uncover the murder weapon and determine the true identity of the agent.

   Pricing: $30-$38 per person, depending on how many people you have.

   Booking: Visit their website.

What do you think? Would you consider doing an escape room in Hawaii?

Posted by: Bruce Fisher on Oct 4, 2017