Trapped in a Room with a Zombie! A Room Escape Adventure

This blog contains affiliate links and is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps keep this content free.

Bloody handprints are smeared on the wall and I can hear the chain rattling in the next room. I’m surrounded by a group of 10 strangers and we are all staring at each other while we contemplate our impending doom; we are about to get locked in a room with a zombie.

Trapped in a Room with a Zombie! A Room Escape Adventure

It sounds like an unlikely scenario, however I willfully signed up for this. When I first discovered room escape games in Prague earlier this spring I was hooked. The thrill of being trapped in a room for an hour and working through clues to find a way out was something I knew I wanted to do again. That’s when I heard about Room Escape Adventures which offered the ‘room escape’ experience with the added twist of a live, blood-sucking, brain-eating zombie….dun Dun DUN!

I arrived at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago and made my way up to the sixth floor. It was a Wednesday evening, classical music was floating down the halls, and the building was completely desolate. Was I walking straight into a Stephen King horror novel?

Entrance to the room escape game

At 6:30 p.m. a door down a lone corridor opened and we were met by an assistant who gave us a quick briefing.

  • You have 60 minutes to escape the room.
  • There is one hungry zombie chained to the wall. 
  • Every 5 minutes a buzzer will sound releasing the chain from the wall by another foot.

And that’s when we were left to our own devices.

Our group walked into the room a little too hesitantly with eyeballs darting from left to right.

“But where is the zombie?”

We were still trying to identify our predator’s position when the thing leapt out at us and we all jumped several feet back.

Wild-eyed and wearing a lab coat like some deranged scientist, the creature tugged on its chain which at this point was keeping it back from us at a relatively safe distance.

The clock had started ticking.

Zombie posters on the wall

How does it work?

The thing about room escape games is that you never know what you’re looking for. You know you need to find a way out, but this could come in the form of absolutely anything. The first task at hand is to rummage through the entire room and examine EVERYTHING. Open, pull, push, and lift things. Look underneath, on top, and behind objects. Shake, twist, and align anything you can get your hands on. Once you find the first piece to this mind puzzle, things start moving forward. Of course, this game is even trickier because you have a zombie to contend with!

Not only do you want to stay away from the zombie because it is scary, but you also want to avoid its grip unless you want to end up in the ‘quarantine zone’. Since the zombie has a vicious virus that can spread onto the other players, once you are touched by the zombie you can no longer physically participate in the game. You can still verbally communicate with your team, but you can’t actively search for clues. Of course, avoiding the zombie becomes harder and harder  as the hour progresses and the chain grows longer, so…avoid the zombie!

And now let’s talk about team work. The pros about going into a room escape game as a group are that you have to work together. The cons of going into a room escape game as a group are that you have to work together! Yes, more people means more brain power, but you also need to communicate your findings with each other in order for this to work! Our group of strangers initially struggled with this, which meant we kept revisiting some of the same clues again and again because we didn’t realize someone else had already solved what needed solving. We also accidentally misplaced one of our final clues (how!?!) which ultimately was the reason we fell prey to the zombie. I had a fun team to work with, but if you can, I suggest you go with a big group of friends. The added bonus of going with friends is that you already know how they think and it’s easier to communicate with them under pressure.

And lastly, you will get some help if your group is stumped. In the last room escape game I played in Prague, it was just Sam and me with a walkie-talkie to buzz for help if we were really stuck on something. However, in Trapped in a Room with a Zombie, the assistant who gave us the briefing also came into the room and quietly observed from the corner. She didn’t speak the whole time we were there, but she did point and tap at things if she saw that we were really struggling with a clue and needed some guidance.

We are the losers of the room escape game

Like I mentioned, our group wasn’t able to beat the clock this time! So far this game has a 29% escape rate, which means there is a 71% chance you will get eaten by the zombie. And even though I ended up as zombie bait, I really did have a good time as did the other players.

So you wanna get trapped in a room with a zombie?

If you’re looking for an off-beat evening that may have you screaming and dashing around the room, then you’ll want to check out Trapped in a Room with a Zombie.

Room Escape Adventures has various locations across the United States. I attended their game in Chicago, however, you can also find them in Atlanta, Boston, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. This is a popular game so you’ll want to register a few days in advance through the Room Escape Adventures website.

Tickets are $28 USD per participant – not a bad price to spend an hour fearing for your life!

Would you spend 1 hour trapped in a room with a zombie? 😉 

Join the Conversation

47 Comments

  1. I have never heard of this, but sounds like a really great game. I love solving clues and am really competetive too. I wonder if I would manage to escape! The zombie would probably become my prey in the end 😉

  2. says: Emily

    I like the idea of the room escape game and it does sound interesting with a zombie but I also think I would be freaked out and not able to make great decisions to help my team out under that kind of pressure!

    1. says: Audrey

      Haha, yeah, it does add extra pressure and extra hurdles…especially when the zombie snatches a clue you need to use! 😉

    1. says: Audrey

      I hope you get to try them sometime, Stefania. These escape games are starting to pop up all over Europe and North America.

  3. says: Candice

    This sounds like a lot of fun, but I’m kind of a scaredy-cat in real life. I do have a special love for zombies, though. You make it sound like it would be worth the terror.

  4. This is very exciting, would definitely try it if our US visas get approved. Missed out on this last time around in Chicago. Also did anyone get really scared or was caught by the zombie ?
    Great post, thanks for sharing.

    1. says: Audrey

      No one in our team got caught by the zombie this time, but there were definitely a few screams as we tried to stay away from the zombie. It was all in good fun. 🙂

  5. says: The Guy

    Hi Audrey, this looks like fabulous fun. I’ve never heard of these before but with the concept I dare say it will grow in popularity.

    I’ll keep an eye out for this the next time I’m in the US. I don’t tend to visit those cities but hopefully it will grow as a business soon.

    I love the photo of you all after the event with the captions 🙂

  6. says: Franca

    I’ve never heard of this Audrey but I have to admit that it looks like fun! I’m quite good at solving mysteries and following clues, I’m not very competitive but I like to have fun. I’m wondering if there are other places where they do something similar, in Europe perhaps?

  7. says: Karyn @ Not Done Travelling

    Alright, so I know what I’m doing when I get to New York…

    And lol, I love both your faces in that photo. I would give you hugs, but you’re zombies now, so….you know… 😉

  8. says: Katie

    I am practically obsessed with the Walking Dead, so I would obviously love this. It might even be worth the trip to Chicago for! I had no idea this even existed 🙂

  9. says: Vanessa @ Green Global Travel

    Oh, wow, never heard of anything like this but on computer games for getting yourself out of rooms. Bringing that to life sounds like fun and maybe a bit scary! I’ve had a huge fear of zombies and avoid all media relating to it, but this might conquer it!

  10. says: Justine

    For some reason this sounds so incredibly fun to me. I love zombie movies and I’m kinda obsessed with the film Night of the Living Dead. Although I’m sure once I was in that room I would freak out and get eaten within two minutes…

  11. says: Charlie

    This is such a cool idea, I love it! Unfortunately, there’s no doubt that I’d be way too scared to actually do it. I’m a wimp and zombies scare me, I can’t even watch the Walking Dead. Still awesome idea.

    1. says: Audrey

      I wish I could have too! Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures of the zombie or the game room because that would spoil the surprise and it might reveal some clues. 🙂

  12. says: Glamourous Traveller

    Hahaha looks awesome but way to scary for me! There are however zombie runs I would consider. Like 5 km runs where you’re ‘chased’ by zombies, which is deff an incentive to keep running and running faster!

  13. This looks AWESOME!!! Being a life-long mystery books lover, I’d love to get a chance to play detective! I will have to check into the Los Angeles location when I’m back in Southern California for longer. Thanks so much for sharing this!

    1. says: Audrey

      They do! Room escape games seem to be a new trend. And it’s actually not that scary once you’re in there with a team…although the zombie is a really good actor. 😉

  14. This reminds of one of the saw movies when they were trapped in that house. This is such an amazing idea for travelers and where else then to do it Prague.

    I wish I knew about this last time I was in Prague. There is always next time I guess.

    1. says: Audrey

      I have never watched “Saw” – I don’t think I could handle that movie, ha! This game is definitely a lot tamer. 😉 If you’re ever in the States, it’s worth checking out. They have locations across quite a few major cities.

  15. says: Heather

    We tried the Spy Experience at the Spy Museum in DC, where we had to try to solve a mission with a group of strangers. Our group failed, too, but it was so fun trying to solve all the puzzles. I’ll have to check this out when I’m next in Prague!

  16. says: 2 tickets to Wonderland

    Wow I’ve never heard that something like that is possible (except in a horror movie)! It sounds exciting and really scary. I’d try it right away if I ever get a chance. Amazing! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  17. says: Jade

    OMG THIS SOUNDS SO FUN…..and so scary! I would probably get really stressed and be totally useless to anyone! I wish this was in more places!

  18. says: Noel Evans

    Hey! Since this blog was posted, I believe The Big Bang Theory did an episode where they tried an escape room and were trapped with a zombie. Turns out they were all so advanced in terms of their degrees, they made it out in 6 mins! Ha!

    Not sure I have the courage to actually do this but it’s sure a lot of fun being a spectator…..!

Leave a comment
Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *