11 Escape Rooms to Get Locked into
Your team is set to assemble within the themed room - perhaps a grotty prison cell, a futuristic space station or the grim alleys of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City - and the game master explains the challenge at hand before exiting the room. The door closes, and the clock begins counting down the seconds as you begin your hour-long challenge. Does that poster filled with symbols of the zodiac actually mean anything? Is there a hidden vault behind the painting on the wall? Who knows, you’ve got to be smart enough to figure it out for yourself. Good luck.
Mr X
X先生密室
A pioneering escape room
Photo credit: Dianping user TwinkleYYYYY
Over 80% of players start their journey into the labyrinth that is the world of escape rooms with Mr X, bringing in that recognition as one of the pioneering escape rooms in Shanghai.
For years, people have witnessed the broadening of player's horizons through spectacular scenery, where each piece of work is like that of a blockbuster movie and completely immerses the players into the plots they aim to unfold.
Step through the doors and you're immediately greeted with quirky gothic decor and strange artifacts to set the scene and vibe of the entire experience as you wait for your room, where one of a kind puzzles await in the surprisingly large venue.
Rooms at Mr X are designed to cater to both small and large groups, each with a different challenge that you need to solve in your one-hour time slot allowance. From the mystical room of Lost Symbols to the creppy halls of the Anderson Hotel, you're sure to be entertainted, perpelxed and probably a little spooked with these puzzle games.
Address: 550 Jumen Lu
Tel: 021 3304 1233
Price: RMB 150-229 per person
Second World
屋有島
Immersive escapes
Tickets can be pretty hard to get here, so be sure to book yourselves into a room in advance to avoid any disappointment. At Second World, you'll be hooked from the very beginning and won't want to wait before coming back thanks to the ingenious use of space, majestic mechanics, special effect and plots used in their varying game options.
But what really makes it that unforgettable immersive experience? As an escape room of terror, you won't find meaningless jump scares here.
Instead, thanks to Second World's designer, you'll weave through a stream of shocking stories that will resonate with your very core. Second World presents another time and another space; anotehr world for you to become lost in as you forget reality and even who you are.
Address: 235 Ningxia Lu
Tel: 186 1639 2528
Price: RMB 188-198 per person
Terminal
户外密室
Outdoor escapes
Photo courtesy of EPU
Wonder what the connection is between a cafe and an escape room? How can you escape from a room if you’re outdoors? Well, thanks to the creativity of Terminal’s designer, you’ll find that this particular escape room is pretty different from the rest.
Photo courtesy of EPU
Your game could start at home and you’ll “initiate” your outdoor mission right after arriving at the cafe according to an agreement.
Photo courtesy of EPU
It’s only when you unlock the secrets of the cafe with your wisdom that you’ll find the true story behind it and understand the ultimate meaning of “Terminal”.
Address: 175 Minghe Lu
Tel: 021 5637 9070
Price: RMB 128 per person
YiRenGuan
异人馆真人实景恐怖密室
Immersive horror
Photo courtesy of EPU
Get familiar with Chongqing-style horror thanks to YiRenGuan and say goodbye to those horrible scare jumps that creep up on you out of the blue.
Photo courtesy of EPU
Here, you’ll truly integrate yourself into the plot and scene that surrounds you as you experience real doom, gloom and torture (not really, though) as you desperately cling on to the need to resist submitting to fear in complete desperation of wanting to escape.
Photo courtesy of EPU
Address: 138 Pingxingguan Lu
Tel: 0180 1978 7103 / 139 1718 8264
Price: RMB 168-218 per person
Turing Live Escape Room
图灵·嘿慢吧实景动作密室逃脱
Creative puzzle
Suitable for two to three people, or more, this spot is nestled nicely on the Bund and is particularly great for couples and smaller-scale parties. Here, players travel through time and space from the perspective of the brand’s character “Turing” to experience classic stories from various periods of time.
Awesome puzzle settings, logical sequences and compact plots make it a must-visit for any puzzle lovers.
In 2018, together with the Beijing boutique secret room Heimanba, this escape room introduces several super classic puzzle themes into Shanghai alongside original themes created by over 600 veteran players.
Have you ever imagined an escape room that needs manual dexterity to complete it? Well, that’s what you’ll experience here.
Address: 16F, 205 Fujian Zhong Lu
Tel: 131 6277 7181
Price: RMB 138 per person
MC Boutique Live Escape Room
MC精品真人密室逃脱(徐汇店)
Sophisticated mechanics
As one of the initial well-known chain brands in Shanghai, this boutique escape room features originality, multiple scenes, varied mechanics, novel plots and remarkable special effects.
MC's works are usually characterized by integrity - in such a way that you won't be able to pinpoint exactly what it was about the experience that impressed you the most.
With intriguing plots and devilish audio and video that's completely on point, this shopping mall-based escape room will surprise you at every turn.
Address: 5F, 580 Tianshiqiao Lu
Tel: 400 0691 2884
Price: RMB 108-138 per person
Rubik's Cube Secret Room
魔方剧情密室/全国精选
Plot master
At Rubik's Cube, you won't feel like you're intensely racking your brains to solve the problems in front of you. Instead, you may find that you naturally follow the cues of the plot to complete the challenges.
Rubik's Cube boasts logical design and plot, as the use of virtual space is driven to create unlimited surprises in a limited amount of space.
Here, the supernatural feels omnipresent with smooth plots that fully immerses the player in the story and scene.
This year, Rubik's Cube launched the "National Collection" brand, bringing the winners of highly rated plots in various regions to Shanghai's players.
Address: Room 2201, Hero Building, 2669 Xietu Lu
Tel: 4008899077 / 177 1765 9057
Price: RMB 119-189 per person
Omescape Subway
Special recommendation
Photo courtesy of EPU
Photo courtesy of EPU
This is an innovative gameplay combines puzzle games with urban culture with a puzzle pack that can be shared by two people. Even with a one day ticket, you could probably stretch it out for a whole day with less than RMB 80 per person!
Photo courtesy of EPU
The game supports online remote interaction as well as real-time exploration offline. Information about each subway station is given in each pack, and you'll be able to play this intriguing puzzle game at the subway station, in the park or even in a mall.
Photo courtesy of EPU
For sure, you'll be pleasantly surprised by this one.
Address: Shanghai's popular business district or at home
How to get the puzzle package: Enter 地铁逃脱 in the EPU WeChat public account, epuchina
Price: RMB 128 minimum
DC Immersion Escape Room
DC浸入式密室
RPG experiences
Photo courtesy of EPU
Born in 2017, DC is a rookie brand that opened by young creatives with an unlimited stream of imagination.
Photo courtesy of EPU
The young designers of DC created this immersive escape room experience to make an RPG game (that's role-playing game to you and me) with hand-built mini model spaces and realistic scenery picturing a volcano, forest, sea and more!
Photo courtesy of EPU
At DC, you'll enter the consciousness of another person to unearth the horrifying secrets that lie within, as scene and style suddenly change around you using a variety of different mechanics and creative design.
Photo courtesy of EPU
Dive into the role of protagonist, find your "lost lover", rescue the trapped brother or embark on a fantasy adventure filled with creative imaginings of a second dimension.
Address: B1, Printemps, 1685 Jinshajiang Lu
Tel: 185 1212 3661
Price: RMB 128-168 per person
The Vanishing Chamber
消失的密室
Exquisite decor
Photo courtesy of EPU
In 2017, The Vanishing Chamber brand was famous in Guangzhou for its super luxury landscaping and challenging puzzles.
Photo courtesy of EPU
With three different themes that perfectly replicate something out of a movie, players are left in a deeply immersive venue with hidden mechanics to enhance every challenge.
Photo courtesy of EPU
Having recently opened in Shanghai, this one is definitely worth exploring if you want to enter a novel world full of fantastical plots.
Photo courtesy of EPU
Address: B1, B Block, Yinhai Building, 1685 Capxi Lu
Tel: 131 6255 5820
Price: RMB 168 per person
These escape rooms come highly recommended by the Escapegame Player Union (EPU). EPU is a union of collective escape game players in Shanghai with experiences of over 700 escape themed rooms. Keen to learn more? Follow them on WeChat: EPUchina
Bonus Mention
Pulupulu
Slumming it up
Photo credit: Dianping user 面包琪琪
With a game entertainment center, a terror maze and role-playing attractions manned by NPCs (Non-Playable Characters), you can be sure that you'll be in for an evening of horrible fun.
Photo credit: Dianping User 11丶不吃葱
Their escape rooms are closed puzzles with intriguing designs that will draw you away from reality as you're presented with a range of different dilemmas and puzzles. You'll really need to use your brains to break free in time.
If you're looking for something with a little more horror and terror injected into your evening, then the terror maze will provide just that. Pulupulu's terror maze is based on Hong Kong's old Kowloon slum that was once settled within the depths of the Kowloon Walled City - an ungoverned fortress surrounded by an uninhabited landscape filled with death, drugs and murder.
Covering an area of 1,500 feet and a 1,200 circuitous route, there are more than 10 hidden areas for you to uncover, complete with claustrophobia-inducing narrow corridors, body bags and, yes, zombies.
Address: 139 Miaojiang Lu
Tel: 021 4008517139 / 021 6012 5776
Price: Around RMB 150 per person.
Cover Photo Credit: Dianping user 怀英
Please note: the majority of these escape rooms will offer puzzles and challenges that are predominently in Chinese, which may make puzzle solving all the more challenging. For some, you'll be able to work your way through by sheer logic, and some (such as Mr. X) will have basic English as prompts.