Within the past few months, a few new escape room companies have opened up. This includes Escapology in Happy Valley and Cipher Solver in Vancouver. For those of you in the know, Escapology is a franchise, with locations all over the world (I’ve done their rooms in Florida, San Diego, and Chile). To date, I have no knowledge of Cipher Solver. If you have, please comment below. I’ve updated the list and map of Portland-area escape rooms.
The county has moved out of Extreme Risk, which means that some escape rooms can open. As of February 22, 2021, these are the rooms that appear to be open and bookable or at least bookable within the next week or so. This list covers Portland; Happy Valley; Tigard; Tualatin; Beaverton; and Vancouver, WA. Not all rooms may be available. See here for a list of other information and maps of all escape rooms in Portland, Oregon. There may be errors here but, hey! I’m just one person.
If other rooms are open and bookable or if there are any errors here, please let me know! If you’re still not ready to do rooms in-person, check out which of these local companies have virtual experiences. Gift certificates are another great way to support your Portland-area escape rooms.
Image credit: “A cornucopia of Spring. Portland Farmers Market. May 2018” by drburtoni is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
So, not much has changed since the summer. With the COVID-19 pandemic, escape rooms in Oregon are still closed for in-person escapes. Some companies have online options for remote escapes with an in-room camera person or online interactive escapes. The only one I’ve done is:
The Truth About Edith at Mad Genius Escape Co. Get yourself and 3 other people and try it out. It’s one of my favorite remote escapes.
Other online escapes include:
With the Governor’s grouping of Clackamas and Washington Counties in with Multnomah, it is unclear when escape rooms in Portland or the surrounding area will open. For now, it looks like Vancouver, Washington is the best option for in-person escapes. Jurassic Tours: Back to the Past is now open at NW Escape Experience.
“You have been invited to crazy Doc Braun’s laboratory to experience his latest invention! Introducing Jurassic Tours! The very first adventure tour through time! Go back to the Jurassic Era and on a guided tour and witness real life dinosaurs in the wild! Relax! What could go wrong?
With the COVID-19 pandemic, escape rooms went on the back burner for in-person escapes. As things begin to re-open around Portland and Vancouver, WA, some escape rooms are coming back. Here is some information about the escape rooms (as far as I know) that have re-opened or announced they are opening soon. If you are comfortable with the safety precautions, please visit your local escape rooms.
ParadigmQ is open in Vancouver. We actually got to do Sasquatch on Site last week! It was a lot of fun and recommended. (If you like the rooms at Escape Games PDX, you’ll like the rooms here). Amnesia is also currently available for booking, (according to the employee I talked to, even if you played Amnesia at Escape Games PDX, this is all new puzzles, so we are looking forward to trying this one). My understanding is that Out of the Past and Into the Future will be available for booking soon, so stay tuned.
Northwest Escape Experience is now open. As of about June 5th, they were available for booking their 3 rooms:
Stumptown sent out an email announcing they planned to reopen July 2nd, “barring any other unforeseen events (Alien first contact, Volcanos, Chupacabras, etc).” However, as of June 12, their facebook page stated: “The governor has put a seven day pause into effect. Stayed tuned to this page for how this may impact our re-opening plans.” Stay tuned.
TBD. I would expect rooms in Tigard, Lake Oswego, Beaverton, Happy Valley, and Tualatin to be the next to open, as they are in Washington County and Clackamas County, in Phase 1 awaiting Phase 2 reopening. Escape rooms in Portland-proper (and Gresham) will likely be later as Multnomah County is yet to enter Phase 1.
Remote escape rooms with an in-person camera view are available in Portland. It is not the same as the in-room experience but it can really scratch the itch. I’ve done a dozen or so remote/avatar rooms all over the world over the past couple months. Some of them are a lot of fun. A good listing is found at Escape the Review.
As you can see from the reviews, Mad Genius Escape Rooms has one of the top rated remote play games with The Truth About Edith. This is an “hour-long timed adventure sprinkled with interactive theater and a good dose of humor.” If you like the Mad Genius rooms as much as I do, you’ll have fun with this one.
(Note: I may be missing some but hey, I’m just one person. Please contact me if I missed anything or have some incorrect information here. Thanks.)
Mad Genius is one of my favorite escape room companies in Portland. Battle of the Ancients is probably my favorite but Cat Lady is one of the most fun and unique escape rooms ever. Now, Edith Humphreys, AKA The Cat Lady, is back!
The Truth About Edith is a remote-play virtual escape for 4 people to play online. Each person needs a computer, internet connection, Zoom, and Chrome or Firefox. Don’t worry if you have, or have not, played Cat Lady. The virtual game is $80 for 4 players.
“Cat Lady and The Truth About Edith are completely different games with completely different puzzles. If you have played our physical Cat Lady game, there will be a couple of little inside jokes for you in The Truth About Edith. You do not need to have played Cat Lady to understand or fully enjoy The Truth About Edith.”
This could also be a unique gift option for someone facing a birthday celebration under stay-at-home orders. Can’t do a virtual escape? It looks like you will be able to play the in-person version of The Truth About Edith after reopening.
There are a few holiday-themed escape rooms available for escapers in the Portland area.
At Paradigm Q in Vancouver, The Hour Before Christmas will allow you to help save Christmas! For 2-8 players, $32 per person.
“Santa has been checking his list and he realizes right before he supposed to leave for his big night that he has forgotten the code to unlock all of Christmas Cheer! Can you help Santa save Christmas in time?”
At Northwest Escape Experience, CSI: North Pole will give you another opportunity to save Christmas! For up to 8 players, $30 per person.
“Ho, Ho, No!!! It’s a Christmas emergency! An elf has gone rogue and stolen Santa’s Naughty and Nice List! Without it, Santa can’t deliver presents to all the good boys and girls in the world! Do you and your team of crime scene investigators have what it takes to solve this holiday caper in time to save Christmas?”
(I guess the only options for saving Christmas are in Vancouver, Washington.) So get out there and save the holidays!
Another new escape room company? Yes! A regular Google Maps search yielded this new company out in Gresham. Cine Escapes has opened with 3 currently bookable rooms and another listed on their website that shows as available as of about October 2nd, as follows:
Cine Escapes is on a public booking system, priced at $30 per person. Open Wednesday through Sunday, Cine Escapes is located at 204 NE 2nd Street in Gresham. We look forward to checking it out.
While navigating the Escape Games PDX website, there was an announcement for: New Location! New Games! New Puzzles! A click leads to paradigmq.com, a new escape room in Vancouver, WA. ParadigmQ states it is “Vancouver’s Largest Escape Game Company.”
There are currently 4 rooms listed under their Games tab but only one appears to be bookable at this time. “Out of the Past” is $32/per person, with a 2-person minimum, and is available based on public booking 6 days a week (sorry Wednesday).
“How you made into the old west and smack dab in the center of an old gambling hall, you just aren’t sure. What you do know is, you’d dearly like to get back to your present. There is one way to make it happen, but it will take all your skills and the exact right timing or you might be stuck on the prairie forever!”
Other rooms listed on their website are:
ParadigmQ is a sister to Escape Games PDX. We recommend Escape Games PDX and are looking forward to trying the new rooms at this new company just across the Columbia River. What are your thoughts on ParadigmQ?
Stumptown Escape Games‘ new speakeasy room is now bookable.
EscapeRoomer 