The 12 best escape rooms in San Diego
Beyond the sunny weather and noisy seals, San Diego has some amazing escape rooms to play. Here's where to find them.
MindFox Escape
Overwhelmingly Positive
7404 Trade St, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
- Escape room
- IRL
“Did this room with just the Capy-boys. First of all, theming and idea for this room are awesome. My kids loved the black and white aesthetic, and so did I. Game was mainly locked based, but the mechanisms for the clue were varied, and had plenty of "wow, cool" moments using tech. Difficulty for this room is actually decent. Recommended for 2 enthusiasts, or up to 4 beginners. Note that the room is not very large, so more than 4 would be crowded. We did in with about 11 minutes to spare, using only about 2 clues. Our GM Charlie was great. Excited to eventually come back and try their other, harder room with the full group!”
CapybaraDad
38 games played
MindFox Escape
Overwhelmingly Positive
7404 Trade St, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
- Escape room
- IRL
“One of my most favorite escape rooms of all time! 😁 We escaped this room by the skin of our teeth. 😅😮💨 I love, love the theme of this room and the storyline. I love that the puzzles were creative and challenging ... and the props in the rooms just create the perfect ambiance. There were also multiple rooms ... 🤭 So you may think you're about to escape, but nope ... there's another room with new sets of puzzles to solve. 😆 Overall, very fun room. It deserves all the awards it got through the years, a must escape room for Sherlock Holmes fans. 🔎”
FleurDeLiz
76 games played
Quicksand Escape Games
Very Positive
1001 Garnet Ave, San Diego, CA 92109, USA
- Escape room
- IRL
“This was a fun throwback to the 90s that we really enjoyed and would strongly recommend especially for SD. We also did The Diner at Quicksand but liked this room more because it didn’t have any illogical puzzles and it had a bit more tech. We especially appreciate how many puzzles Quicksand includes in each room—you really get your money’s worth in puzzle solving! That’s why we’re giving this room a ❤️. We were a team of 2 enthusiasts, and we got out with 1:26 left on the clock. That made us so happy bc it meant the room was a bit of a challenge and filled with enough puzzles to keep us quite busy the entire 60 mins! The only cons with this room are the same we found with The Diner: A lot of physical locks requiring 4-digit codes, but it often wasn’t clear which code went with which lock, so you had to try the same code on multiple locks, which wasted time. Also, you have access to a lot of partial puzzles, so it seems like the room is non-linear but actually it is super linear bc you can’t complete most puzzles at first as additional info/pieces are locked until you solve another puzzle. For that reason, we don’t recommend more than 2-3 for enthusiasts or people will just be spinning their wheels trying to solve things they really can’t, and it doesn’t make sense for more than 2-3 people to work on the one active puzzle. Again, the staff here is great and very accommodating. Parking is hard and/or expensive in this area, so plan accordingly!”
nonfoodpics
270 games played
“Freaking scary! BUT I'm so glad you can opt for an experience W/O live actors! Whew! 😮💨 So then it wasn't too bad ... 😅 I guess it's more of spooky rather than scary ... although I was very sus in the beginning because they blindfold you and separate you from your group. The 1st 10 mins. or so I was vigilant for any live actor jumpscares. Overall, it kept me on edge, but not enough to cloud my thinking to solve puzzles. 😁”
FleurDeLiz
76 games played
![Heart Of Bastet [prev. Red Giant]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_654/f_auto/v1/store/s/4a9b0cdc-3342-4107-92d2-2d103d5bedf4.png)
Lara's Labyrinth
Very Positive
2110 Hancock St, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
- Escape room
- IRL
“Very fun room! Such amazing set design and props for atmosphere and puzzles. The theming was amazing throughout and had some really fun challenges to overcome. There were two pretty finicky puzzles that didn’t work or were very particular about the way they needed to work, but overall we had a great experience that I’d recommend to anyone!”
Invisibo
106 games played
Lara's Labyrinth
Very Positive
2110 Hancock St, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
- Escape room
- IRL
“This game was very thoughtful and well done. Most puzzles were unique and not something I’d seen in over 100 games. High tech with no traditional locks or combos. Excellent use of props and clean design. The GM gave us extra time since no rooms were booked behind us which we really appreciated since this room was extremely challenging due to multilayer puzzles and difficult starting points. Some worn out text on one of the puzzles made it difficult to read and pop out. Some of the puzzles triggered early before they were perfectly complete and overall I think this non linear game was difficult to get into a flow due to tricky starting points. Beautiful set and definitely challenging.”
KReven
115 games played
“This was a very fun and exciting game! The set design was fabulous and the tasks were very novel for me. The Escape Game has really mastered set design - this was our fourth room with them and we have been wowed with each one ("The Depths" was my favorite even though we did not successfully escape that one). I really loved how our group was split into two cells at the beginning and how we had to work together to reunite. This was my 16th game (12W-4L) so I consider myself a novice. Our group was composed of seven players with similar statistics (5 adults, 2 tweens) and I thought this was a hard game. We received a couple of hints and escaped by the skin of our teeth (17 sec). The last task was funny.”
BeatCal
48 games played
The Escape Game
Very Positive
232 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
- Escape room
- IRL
“What a fun room! There were some puzzles we hadn’t seen before and the puzzles fit the overall spy theming very well. The set was well made and did not feel worn out. The only downside of playing games with this company is that they have public bookings, meaning strangers could join your room. I wish The Escape Game would take a page from the other 99% of escape rooms and allow private bookings (without having to pay $360 to buy out 8 spots in a room 🙄). Nobody wants this.”
UndercoverBlobfish
134 games played
“This was a very fun game! The props were very detailed and in tip-top condition. The puzzles were very novel for us - many were tough but not impossible. We played with three adults with 9, 7, and 6 prior games experience (only half of them successes). The GM allows unlimited hints but we were trying hard to avoid hints. However, we eventually had to ask for three hints (two on the same task). This would be a fun game for the whole family, although three to four players is probably optimal because of space. We are eager to return to try another room soon!”
BeatCal
48 games played
Steal and Escape
Very Positive
2602 Transportation Ave, National City, CA 91950, USA
- Escape room
- IRL
“A good ol test of "WHAT DO YOU SEE ON YOUR SIDE?" But everyone has a role to play, literally. Great use of puzzles and time mechanism. It felt like everything was done with intention. I would suggest 4 people, but we ran this room with 7, it was a little crowded but everyone was able to contribute something.”
Linking
186 games played
Steal and Escape
Very Positive
2602 Transportation Ave, National City, CA 91950, USA
- Escape room
- IRL
“Cool, smart home type room, puzzles were unique and spread out for fun game play without everyone standing on each other. The immersion was great with the interaction with the AI device and Jimmy was a great GM”
JustJenna2010
136 games played
Steal and Escape
Very Positive
2602 Transportation Ave, National City, CA 91950, USA
- Escape room
- IRL
“this was the room i chose for my 50th escape room, and i couldn't be happier. i've done multiple of their rooms (personally i love the neighbor) because they're all so immersive, and this one didn't disappoint!! we had a team of 3 and it was perfect!!”
kkatqueenofrap
53 games played
Black and White Cafe
MindFox Escape
- Escape room
- IRL
“Did this room with just the Capy-boys. First of all, theming and idea for this room are awesome. My kids loved the black and white aesthetic, and so did I. Game was mainly locked based, but the mechanisms for the clue were varied, and had plenty of "wow, cool" moments using tech. Difficulty for this room is actually decent. Recommended for 2 enthusiasts, or up to 4 beginners. Note that the room is not very large, so more than 4 would be crowded. We did in with about 11 minutes to spare, using only about 2 clues. Our GM Charlie was great. Excited to eventually come back and try their other, harder room with the full group!”
CapybaraDad
38 games played
Moriarty's Manor
MindFox Escape
- Escape room
- IRL
“One of my most favorite escape rooms of all time! 😁 We escaped this room by the skin of our teeth. 😅😮💨 I love, love the theme of this room and the storyline. I love that the puzzles were creative and challenging ... and the props in the rooms just create the perfect ambiance. There were also multiple rooms ... 🤭 So you may think you're about to escape, but nope ... there's another room with new sets of puzzles to solve. 😆 Overall, very fun room. It deserves all the awards it got through the years, a must escape room for Sherlock Holmes fans. 🔎”
FleurDeLiz
76 games played
The Family Cabin
Quicksand Escape Games
- Escape room
- IRL
“This was a fun throwback to the 90s that we really enjoyed and would strongly recommend especially for SD. We also did The Diner at Quicksand but liked this room more because it didn’t have any illogical puzzles and it had a bit more tech. We especially appreciate how many puzzles Quicksand includes in each room—you really get your money’s worth in puzzle solving! That’s why we’re giving this room a ❤️. We were a team of 2 enthusiasts, and we got out with 1:26 left on the clock. That made us so happy bc it meant the room was a bit of a challenge and filled with enough puzzles to keep us quite busy the entire 60 mins! The only cons with this room are the same we found with The Diner: A lot of physical locks requiring 4-digit codes, but it often wasn’t clear which code went with which lock, so you had to try the same code on multiple locks, which wasted time. Also, you have access to a lot of partial puzzles, so it seems like the room is non-linear but actually it is super linear bc you can’t complete most puzzles at first as additional info/pieces are locked until you solve another puzzle. For that reason, we don’t recommend more than 2-3 for enthusiasts or people will just be spinning their wheels trying to solve things they really can’t, and it doesn’t make sense for more than 2-3 people to work on the one active puzzle. Again, the staff here is great and very accommodating. Parking is hard and/or expensive in this area, so plan accordingly!”
nonfoodpics
270 games played
Cannibal
Lara's Labyrinth
- Escape room
- IRL
“Freaking scary! BUT I'm so glad you can opt for an experience W/O live actors! Whew! 😮💨 So then it wasn't too bad ... 😅 I guess it's more of spooky rather than scary ... although I was very sus in the beginning because they blindfold you and separate you from your group. The 1st 10 mins. or so I was vigilant for any live actor jumpscares. Overall, it kept me on edge, but not enough to cloud my thinking to solve puzzles. 😁”
FleurDeLiz
76 games played
Heart Of Bastet [prev. Red Giant]
Lara's Labyrinth
- Escape room
- IRL
“Very fun room! Such amazing set design and props for atmosphere and puzzles. The theming was amazing throughout and had some really fun challenges to overcome. There were two pretty finicky puzzles that didn’t work or were very particular about the way they needed to work, but overall we had a great experience that I’d recommend to anyone!”
Invisibo
106 games played
DaVinci Challenge
Lara's Labyrinth
- Escape room
- IRL
“This game was very thoughtful and well done. Most puzzles were unique and not something I’d seen in over 100 games. High tech with no traditional locks or combos. Excellent use of props and clean design. The GM gave us extra time since no rooms were booked behind us which we really appreciated since this room was extremely challenging due to multilayer puzzles and difficult starting points. Some worn out text on one of the puzzles made it difficult to read and pop out. Some of the puzzles triggered early before they were perfectly complete and overall I think this non linear game was difficult to get into a flow due to tricky starting points. Beautiful set and definitely challenging.”
KReven
115 games played
Prison Break
The Escape Game
- Escape room
- IRL
“This was a very fun and exciting game! The set design was fabulous and the tasks were very novel for me. The Escape Game has really mastered set design - this was our fourth room with them and we have been wowed with each one ("The Depths" was my favorite even though we did not successfully escape that one). I really loved how our group was split into two cells at the beginning and how we had to work together to reunite. This was my 16th game (12W-4L) so I consider myself a novice. Our group was composed of seven players with similar statistics (5 adults, 2 tweens) and I thought this was a hard game. We received a couple of hints and escaped by the skin of our teeth (17 sec). The last task was funny.”
BeatCal
48 games played
Special Ops: Mysterious Market
The Escape Game
- Escape room
- IRL
“What a fun room! There were some puzzles we hadn’t seen before and the puzzles fit the overall spy theming very well. The set was well made and did not feel worn out. The only downside of playing games with this company is that they have public bookings, meaning strangers could join your room. I wish The Escape Game would take a page from the other 99% of escape rooms and allow private bookings (without having to pay $360 to buy out 8 spots in a room 🙄). Nobody wants this.”
UndercoverBlobfish
134 games played
Gold Rush
The Escape Game
- Escape room
- IRL
“This was a very fun game! The props were very detailed and in tip-top condition. The puzzles were very novel for us - many were tough but not impossible. We played with three adults with 9, 7, and 6 prior games experience (only half of them successes). The GM allows unlimited hints but we were trying hard to avoid hints. However, we eventually had to ask for three hints (two on the same task). This would be a fun game for the whole family, although three to four players is probably optimal because of space. We are eager to return to try another room soon!”
BeatCal
48 games played
The Lost Expedition
Steal and Escape
- Escape room
- IRL
“A good ol test of "WHAT DO YOU SEE ON YOUR SIDE?" But everyone has a role to play, literally. Great use of puzzles and time mechanism. It felt like everything was done with intention. I would suggest 4 people, but we ran this room with 7, it was a little crowded but everyone was able to contribute something.”
Linking
186 games played
The Neighbor
Steal and Escape
- Escape room
- IRL
“Cool, smart home type room, puzzles were unique and spread out for fun game play without everyone standing on each other. The immersion was great with the interaction with the AI device and Jimmy was a great GM”
JustJenna2010
136 games played
The Missing Season
Steal and Escape
- Escape room
- IRL
“this was the room i chose for my 50th escape room, and i couldn't be happier. i've done multiple of their rooms (personally i love the neighbor) because they're all so immersive, and this one didn't disappoint!! we had a team of 3 and it was perfect!!”
kkatqueenofrap
53 games played
More Escape Rooms
About San Diego
San Diego is a major metropolis that feels less like a city as it does a series of interwoven neighborhoods that simultaneously embrace the new, while paying homage to its roots. Perched along the coast, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and just 20 miles from the border, San Diego is an idyllic destination for anyone seeking a break from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. Next time you find yourself in this beautiful place, make sure to reserve some time in itinerary to visit Balboa Park, a 1,400-acre paradise of gardens and historical architecture. Or perhaps you are the type of person willing to go the extra mile for a beautiful view? If so, Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is the place for you, and is sure to never disappoint. But if pure relaxation is what you seek, then Mission Beach is a must, with its white sands and gorgeous sunsets. Whatever your taste, just be sure to save some time to play San Diego’s incredible escape rooms, which are some of the best in all of California.
Learn More About San Diego Escape Rooms
San Diego shines as an escape room destination, and is the home of some of the very best escape rooms in all of California. Since the first escape rooms arrived in the city, San Diego has crafted some of the most imaginative escape experiences anywhere. In fact, greater San Diego is home to over 20 different escape room venues, and that number is sure to rise in the future. The Lost Expedition at Steal and Escape is an award winning room that boasts some really great, technical puzzles. Sister’s Secret at The Unlockables Puzzle Room Experience was voted the number 1 escape room in San Diego in 2018. Quicksand Escape Games’s The Diner is an exciting game that wonderfully builds on itself throughout the experience. With over 60 escape games in the entire area, you’re sure to find the perfect game for you and your group.
How Do Escape Rooms Work?
Remember those point-and-click adventure games where you’re locked in a room and have to solve puzzles to find the key and escape? Those online games were the original inspiration for the live escape rooms you’ll find all across the world today. An escape room is an immersive experience where you (and your team of 2 or more people) are locked in a room with a series of puzzles for 60 minutes. To escape and win the game, you have to look for clues, solve the puzzles, and find the key. While most escape rooms only give you 60 minutes to complete the challenge, others may have shorter or longer time limits. Many venues are private rooms where you and your team are the only players. However, some places may pair you with other groups who booked a slot at the same time. And don’t worry about getting stuck, asking for hints on a difficult puzzle is totally normal. While the original escape room (created by SCRAP in 2007) had a fairly simple aesthetic, today’s escape games often take you into a different world. Artistic set designs, secret doors, and unique interactive elements are all part of the fun. It’s like an adventure game that you can interact with in real life. But if you’re hoping to preview any rooms before you book a game somewhere, detailed images and videos can be hard to find. To keep the puzzles a secret and preserve the experience of seeing the room for the first time, most venues only offer a few photos or a short trailer about the room’s theme or narrative. The only way to know what it’s like is to go and try it for yourself!
Find the Best San Diego Escape Rooms with Morty
There are plenty of awesome escape rooms to choose from in San Diego. The goal of Morty is to make escape rooms more accessible for everyone to find and play. With Morty, you can: - Browse escape rooms anywhere in the country - Read reviews and ratings from other community members - Book a room together with your friends Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned escape room enthusiast, our aim is to help you play more escape rooms and visit more immersive attractions.
Frequently asked questions
How Do I Book an Escape Room in San Diego?
Most escape room venues don’t accept walk-ins, and time slots for popular games may fill up fast. Besides that, not every escape room is the same — some have varying difficulties, and you don’t want to get stuck playing a room that’s beyond your experience level. That’s why the best way to book an escape room in Hollywood is through the Morty app. You can get updates on new games, read reviews, compare details (including difficulty, theme, runtime) and plan an outing with friends, all on the same platform. You can even coordinate games with your friends collaboratively. Download the Morty app and book your adventure today!