It’s high time to retire your Monopoly board. Forget those repetitive old party games. (Everyone’s sick of musical chairs!) Instead, why not race against the clock to escape a horde of hungry zombies and save your pizza? Or, experience the adrenaline surge of saving the world, with only seconds to spare? With printable at-home escape games, the fun of commercial escape games comes to the living room at a fraction of the cost. Looking for creative family fun? Escape games will wow your kids every time!
Designed to be downloaded, printed, and prepared in around 30 minutes, printable escape games can provide an engaging family activity that they’ll always remember! Turn off the television, gather the kids around, and disappear into a new world for an hour as the family tries to complete the mission and escape.
Kids Love Activities That Challenge Them and Let Them Solve Problems
Everyone wants to be the hero. Kids want to be involved, not simply reading plaques or staring mindlessly at someone else’s work. That’s why most children’s museums offer interactive exhibits. They hold attention, teach, and entertain all at once.
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Escape games pull kids into the fray by allowing their imaginations to soar. Let your family star in their own epic adventure story. The entire experience is designed to spark creative thinking and stimulate the imagination.
Meanwhile, no one even notices that their entire intellect is being engaged. In order to escape, adventurers will often need to solve a series of puzzles. So players will be exercising their minds to solve ciphers, math problems and physical-sense puzzles. Nothing beats that “aha!” sense of satisfaction when you finally get the answer right!
This means escape games at home work wonderfully as a theme for a kids’ party. Depending on the size of the group, print one copy of the game or several. (Four to six is the best size for a small group). If more than one group exists, give a prize for finishing the fastest with the fewest hints! The kids love the competition.
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Make sure everyone fully participates (no wallflowers!) by assigning each person the lead on a different puzzle. Tell them that the puzzle suits their skill set. With confidence and a challenge in front of them, they will eagerly seek the solution.
Escape Games Engage Kids – They’re Real-life Video Games (Special Effects Not Included!)
Kids immerse themselves in escape games from the word “go.” They feel the clock ticking towards the end of the hour. They tackle each puzzle as if their life depended on it, and with mummies, zombies, and other creepy crawlies about, it just might!
Kids love video games for the alternate universe that they create. While they’re playing, the outside world ceases to exist. Fun for them… but not so fun for anyone trying to talk to them!
Even if the game’s world resides in the dining room, the kids buy into the story. In an instant, your house can be transformed into the throne room of an Ancient Egyptian pyramid!
For that hour, escape games bring the family together. The whining stops. Fighting stops. Everyone bands together to reach a common goal. It’s the fun family activity we’ve all been waiting for!
Just be prepared to celebrate hard when you finally escape! Players high-five, dance a jig, and scream victory long into the night. It’s a high that kids absolutely thrive off of. An evening escape room at home will have the whole family charged up and ready to solve the next one!
Escape Games Provides Stealthy Learning Opportunities
What’s the best way to ruin a kid’s day? Tell them that the family is going to play a learning game tonight! Eyes will roll. Chins will meet chests. Kids associate “learning activities” with homework, forced labor, and death-by-boredom.
Escape games excite kids, and teach them a thing or two at the same time. Kids get to disappear into the game, solve the puzzles and escape! Meanwhile, no one notices that they’re actually learning… But learn they will! Escape games exercise several real-world skills. They teach teamwork, critical thinking skills, and problem-solving. They force kids to exercise patience and provide an outlet for focused creativity.
There are escape games designed for home and school. They bake the learning in! Because the game is printable, all of the work is mental. Every problem requires creativity, attention, and teamwork.
So what’s the best way to make a kid’s day? Tell them that the family will play printable escape games tonight. You’ll never see a kid happier to learn!
How to Play Escape Games at Home – It’s Easy!
No frantic party stress. No game-night prep overload. Printable escape games can be set up quickly and easily. All you have to do is download and print.
For a quick, instant setup, you can cut premade puzzles out, throw them on the dining room table, and begin. Everyone will dive into the puzzles and have a blast! No one will think twice about decorations. Think of it as a collaborative board game.
Alternatively, some people go all out, turning their house into King Tut’s tomb (sand not advised). These setups take far longer, but people will love the extra effort for a kids party or themed event. It’ll feel just like a real escape room!
Most people split the difference. They hide puzzle sheets around the room and put up printable posters for some extra ambience. Some even add a couple of their own props for extra stylish flair. The host completely controls the level of decoration. But the level of decoration does not control the fun. Any setup will lead to an evening of great entertainment!
Plus, there’s no need to worry about spoilers while setting up the game. Setup can occur without seeing solutions to the clues, allowing the person setting up the game to play. Often, hints are available for use during the game, if needed. Sometimes there are even links to Spotify playlists, for background music while playing!
Printable Escape Games Provide Maximum Fun for a Minimal Investment
At $30-50 per player, the costs for a commercial escape room game add up quickly. For a family of four, your budget quickly soars past $100. If the kids bring friends, the costs approach $200. Ouch!
Printable escape games provide a great family activity for a family-friendly price. Get the same fun and excitement as commercial escape rooms for a fraction of the price, and often less than the cost for one person to play a commercial escape room game.
As a bonus, families get to use the game as many times as they like! Serve it up as an activity for a kids’ party one week and recycle it for another kids’ party or adult get-together the next time! The possibilities for repeated use of the printable game abound!
Whether for a family activity or kid’s party, an escape room game is bound to blow them all away. Download the game, print, decorate, then try to escape! The real win isn’t the escape, but the lifelong memories of fun, laughs, and excitement that brings everyone together.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Looking to get a jumpstart on your holiday shopping? Check out 25 Awesome Educational Toys & Games For Kids This Christmas for even more entertainment options beyond escape games.
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