Easy escape room games include EXIT: The House of Riddles (rated 2 of 5), the Level 1 adventure in any Unlock! box, such as The Island of Doctor Goorse, Deckscape: Test Time and, for ages 5 to 7, EXIT Kids: Riddles in Monsterville. For a hard game, pick EXIT: Dead Man on the Orient Express, rated 4 of 5.
Escape room difficulty rating — The level a publisher prints on an escape room game, such as EXIT's 1-to-5 scale or Unlock!'s Difficulty Level 1 to 3, to compare its own scenarios with each other; it does not line up with other publishers' scales.
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The short answer
The easiest escape room games to start with are:
- EXIT: The House of Riddles, rated 2 out of 5 for ages 10 and up, with no app.
- The Level 1 adventure in any Unlock! box, such as The Island of Doctor Goorse in Unlock! Escape Adventures.
- Deckscape: Test Time, the deck Meeple Mountain recommends to newcomers.
- EXIT Kids: Riddles in Monsterville, picture puzzles for ages 5 to 7.
At the other end, hard escape room games include EXIT: Dead Man on the Orient Express, rated 4 out of 5, and the Level 3 adventure in each Unlock! box.
Behind those picks is one rule: “easy” and “hard” only mean something inside one series. Every publisher of escape room games prints its own difficulty level, and the scales do not line up. EXIT: The Game rates titles out of 5, and some covers also carry a word label such as Beginner. Unlock! gives each of the three adventures in a box a Difficulty Level from 1 to 3. Deckscape prints no rating at all in its rulebook, so you rely on reviewers. Hasbro’s Clue Escape boxes state a difficulty such as 3.
So the useful question is not “is this game easy?” but “where does this box sit on its own publisher’s scale, and how does that match my group?” This guide explains each scale, the factors that make a game feel harder than its number, and a decision grid at the end.
How each publisher rates difficulty
| Series | Scale | Easy end | Hard end | Players, time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXIT: The Game (Thames & Kosmos) | 1 to 5, some boxes labeled Beginner | The House of Riddles (2 of 5), The Enchanted Forest (2 of 5) | Dead Man on the Orient Express (4 of 5) | 1 to 4, 1 to 2 hours |
| EXIT Kids | Ages 5 to 7, picture puzzles | Riddles in Monsterville | n/a | Family play |
| Unlock! (Space Cowboys) | Difficulty Level 1 to 3, one of each per box | The Island of Doctor Goorse (Level 1) | Squeek & Sausage (Level 3) | 1 to 6, about 60 minutes each |
| Deckscape (dV Giochi) | No printed rating | Test Time, per Meeple Mountain | The Curse of the Sphinx, The Fate of London | 1 to 6, 30 to 90 minutes |
| Clue Escape (Hasbro) | Stated difficulty, such as 3 | The Midnight Hotel (3) | n/a | 1 to 6, about 90 minutes |
EXIT: The Game
EXIT boxes sold in the US state a difficulty out of 5 on the box and in the listing. The House of Riddles is rated 2 out of 5 for ages 10 and up and needs no app; The Return to the Abandoned Cabin is 3 out of 5; Dead Man on the Orient Express is 4 out of 5 with 90 to 120 minutes of play. Thames & Kosmos also groups four titles into a Beginner Bundle, and some advent calendars carry a word label: The Missing Hollywood Star is marked Beginner on the cover.
The number reflects the puzzles, not the length. An EXIT game at 2 out of 5 still uses the decoder disk and asks you to cut and fold cards, so read the instructions carefully even on an easy box. For younger children, EXIT Kids is a separate line for ages 5 to 7, with image-based puzzles and a simple decoder wheel.
Unlock!
Unlock! builds the difficulty curve into every box. Space Cowboys lists each adventure with its level: in Unlock! Escape Adventures, The Island of Doctor Goorse is Level 1, The Formula Level 2 and Squeek & Sausage Level 3. On the box, the level appears as one to three lock icons. That makes Unlock! a safe buy for a mixed group: play the Level 1 adventure first, and you learn the rules before the hard one.
The app also changes how hard the game feels. It runs a 60-minute timer, gives several hints per card, and takes minutes off the clock when a penalty card comes up. Playing without the timer, which the app allows, removes most of the pressure.
Deckscape
Deckscape’s rulebook gives no difficulty rating and says no prior knowledge is needed. Reviewers fill the gap. Meeple Mountain calls Test Time a good first Deckscape and warns that The Curse of the Sphinx and The Fate of London are not for players new to the genre. Scoring adds two minutes per error, so careless guessing makes your result worse, not the game harder.
What makes a game feel harder than its number
The printed level measures the puzzles. Four other things change how hard an evening feels.
- Time pressure. A visible 60-minute timer, as in Unlock!, makes the same puzzle feel harder than an untimed one. Turn it off for kids.
- How help works. EXIT gives each code a first clue, a second clue and a solution card. A generous help system turns a 4 out of 5 into a long but finishable evening; a strict one does the opposite.
- Linear or parallel. In a linear game, one stuck puzzle blocks the whole table. Games that open several puzzles at once let one player keep going while another is stuck.
- Group size. Two players have fewer ideas; six players crowd the cards. Three to four is where most boxes play best.
Easy, standard or hard: a decision grid
| Your group | Pick | Example |
|---|---|---|
| First escape room ever, adults | EXIT 1 to 2 out of 5, or Unlock! Level 1 | The House of Riddles; The Island of Doctor Goorse |
| Family with kids 10 and up | Unlock! (three levels in one box) or Clue Escape | Unlock! Escape Adventures |
| Kids aged 5 to 7 | EXIT Kids | Riddles in Monsterville |
| Has done a venue escape room | EXIT 3 out of 5, Unlock! Level 2 | The Return to the Abandoned Cabin |
| Experienced puzzlers | EXIT 4 out of 5, Unlock! Level 3 | Dead Man on the Orient Express |
| Two players, short on time | Deckscape | Test Time |
| Large group | Two easy boxes played side by side | Two Level 1 adventures |
Moving up a level
Climb one step at a time. After two games at 2 out of 5 in EXIT, try a 3. After the Level 2 adventure in Unlock!, try a Level 3. If your group needed more than three help cards on one puzzle, stay at the same level for the next game. Time is a good signal too: finishing well under the time on the box means you are ready for the next level.
Before you buy, read how an escape room in a box works to understand each checking system, then compare the best escape room board games and the best escape room games for home. If none fits, you can set the difficulty yourself with a DIY escape room. All guides are in the Escape Rooms at Home hub.
Key facts
- Every Unlock! box contains three adventures of about 60 minutes, each with its own difficulty level from 1 to 3; in Unlock! Escape Adventures, The Island of Doctor Goorse is Level 1, The Formula Level 2 and Squeek & Sausage Level 3. Boxes are rated for 1 to 6 players aged 10 and up.Space Cowboys, Unlock! (English), 2026
- EXIT: Dead Man on the Orient Express carries a difficulty level of 4 of 5 and is listed for 1 to 4 players aged 12 and up, with 90 to 120 minutes of play and materials for single use.Asmodee Canada product page, 2026
- The Deckscape rulebook gives no difficulty rating; it lists 1 to 6 players aged 12 and up and about 30 to 90 minutes, and adds 2 minutes to the final time for each error marked on the score sheet.Deckscape: Heist in Venice rulebook, RulesPal, 2026
- Meeple Mountain recommends Deckscape: Test Time as the entry point for beginners and does not recommend The Curse of the Sphinx or The Fate of London to players new to escape room games.Meeple Mountain, Deckscape mega review, 2020
- The EXIT advent calendar The Missing Hollywood Star carries a Beginner difficulty rating on the front of its box.The Opinionated Gamers, 2024
FAQ
What is the easiest EXIT game?
Start with an EXIT title rated 1 or 2 out of 5 or labeled Beginner. The House of Riddles is rated 2 out of 5 for ages 10 and up, and Thames & Kosmos sells a Beginner Bundle with The House of Riddles, The Sunken Treasure, The Mysterious Museum and The Haunted Roller Coaster. For children aged 5 to 7, EXIT Kids uses picture puzzles with no reading.
Which escape room games are the hardest?
Look for the top of each publisher's scale: EXIT titles rated 4 out of 5, such as Dead Man on the Orient Express, and the Level 3 adventure in each Unlock! box. Among Deckscape decks, reviewers single out The Curse of the Sphinx and The Fate of London as poor first games.
Is Unlock! easier than EXIT?
Not as a rule. Each series rates only its own scenarios, so an Unlock! Level 2 and an EXIT 3 out of 5 cannot be compared directly. Unlock! gives three levels in every box, which makes it easier to start low; EXIT lets you pick one box at the level you want.
What difficulty should a first escape room game be?
Pick the lowest or second-lowest level of the series: 1 or 2 out of 5 in EXIT, Level 1 in Unlock!, or Test Time in Deckscape. A first game also takes longer than the box says, because part of the time goes into learning how answers are checked.
Sources
- Space Cowboys: Unlock! (English), adventures and difficulty levels
- Asmodee Canada: EXIT, Dead Man on the Orient Express
- RulesPal: Deckscape, Heist in Venice rulebook
- Meeple Mountain: Deckscape mega review
- Meeple Mountain: EXIT: The Game mega review
- The Opinionated Gamers: EXIT Advent Calendar, The Missing Hollywood Star
- The Opinionated Gamers: Unlock! The Formula