What is an escape room?Simply explained – and what comes next.
What is an escape room? Simply put: a puzzle game in which your team races the clock to find clues, crack codes and open locks until the door opens. Here’s how it works – and how it continues in Vienna, without a room.
„A great puzzle game with live actors - you go on a secret mission through the city and feel like a real agent! Definitely a cool activity, something different for a change!“
„A perfect combination of suspense and sightseeing. You explore Vienna while solving exciting puzzles and trying to complete the mission. Really fun and highly recommended!“
„It was so much fun! You feel like a real agent! Despite a small technical glitch, all the actors stayed in character, and only at the end did they tell us it had not been planned that way! ;) Really well done!!!“
„Top experience. Super friendly and really thrilling. Truly recommendable“
„An absolute highlight - pure suspense! We did a crime escape adventure here and are completely thrilled!“
„An interactive crime game with live actors, where you get to stroll a bit through the first district but also reach places that are otherwise not accessible.“
- Team plays together
- Puzzles clues, codes, locks
- Time a fixed playing time
- Goal get out – or solve the task
Escape room simply explained: meaning and definition
An escape room is a puzzle game for a group: you are stuck in a room – at least in the game – and have a fixed amount of time to find your way out. The way out leads through clues, codes and locks that you can only crack together.
The name says it: you have to escape from a room. Sometimes the goal is a task instead – finding a treasure, unmasking a culprit, cracking a code in time.
Other words for escape room:
- Escape game
- Live escape game
- Exit game
- Puzzle room
How does an escape room work? What you actually do
Every escape room tells its own story – the principle behind it is similar. Four steps, from the briefing to the end.
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The briefing
Before you start, a game master explains the rules and the situation. Then the clock starts.
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Search and combine
The room hides clues: numbers, symbols, objects. You search, combine and try things out – together.
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Codes and locks
Every solved puzzle opens something: a lock, a box, the next part of the story. If you get stuck, depending on the provider there are hints by screen, radio or card.
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The end
The game ends when you have solved the task – door open – or when time runs out.
Duration, doors, playing alone: what beginners want to know
Four questions almost everyone asks before their first time – with the general answer and the one from Secret Mission.
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How long does an escape room take?
Many rooms plan for around an hour of play – exactly how long is up to each provider.
At Secret Mission: 60 to 90 minutes, around two hours including the briefing.
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Are you locked in an escape room?
The game pretends you are – and so does the name. Whether a door is really locked and how you can get out at any time is up to each provider. If in doubt, ask before you book.
At Secret Mission: no room, no locked door: you are out on foot in Vienna’s city centre.
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Can you play an escape room alone?
Many games are built for groups. Whether you can play alone depends on the provider.
At Secret Mission: bookable from one person – others can join. To be entirely on your own, choose a private session.
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Do you need experience?
For a first time, look at the stated difficulty – and ask how you get hints when you’re stuck.
At Secret Mission: none needed: difficulty 3 out of 5, and the actors subtly help you along.
What comes next: the escape game without a room
Escape room and escape game often mean the same thing. But an escape game doesn’t have to take place in a room. At Secret Mission, everything you love about escape rooms stays: cracking codes, opening locks, making decisions as a team under time pressure.
Only you’re not standing in a room – you’re out on foot in Vienna’s city centre, and instead of loudspeakers, professional actors answer as witnesses, suspects and opponents. Your decisions change how the mission ends.
What the actors do: escape room with actors Played every room? The escape room alternative Escape room Vienna at a glance From what age?
- 60–90
- minutes, around two hours with the briefing
- 1–6
- people per team, aged 14 and up
- 2–3 km
- on foot through the 1st district
Try it yourself: prices & dates
The price per person drops as the team gets bigger.
€79.99 per person as six · €99.99 per person as two
€59 per person as six · €79 per person as two
Choose your date.
Find the slot that suits you in the calendar and secure your mission online.
Confirmation by e-mail straight away · free rebooking up to 72 h before
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Every seat at this time is yours.
You are taking every seat at this time — that makes it a private session, you play alone.
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Select game language
Which language do you want to play in?
A group has already booked this time — the mission will be played in this language.
Add-ons
From €10/month or in 3 interest-free payments with Klarna.
Escape room questions, answered briefly
What is an escape room, simply explained?
A game in which a team solves puzzles together to escape from a room within a fixed time – or to complete a task. Clues, codes and locks lead step by step to the goal.
What do you do in an escape room?
You look for clues, combine what you find, crack codes and open locks. Every solved puzzle brings you closer to the goal – and it takes the whole team: one person finds the number, another the matching lock.
What is the difference between an escape room and an escape game?
Often none – both words describe the same principle. “Escape room” stresses the room, “escape game” the game, and that can also take place without a room, for example outdoors in the city. At Secret Mission you play exactly that: an escape game without a room, right in Vienna.
Is there another word for escape room?
Yes: escape game, live escape game, exit game or puzzle room. They usually mean the same principle.
Can you play an escape game alone in Vienna?
At Secret Mission, yes: you can book from one person. The remaining seats at that time then stay bookable – others can join and investigate with you. If you want to be sure you stay on your own, choose the private session for a time nobody has booked yet: you take every seat, and nobody else can join. The calendar shows the price before you pay.
From what age can you play an escape room?
Each provider decides that. At Secret Mission you can play from age 14; under 16 only with an adult in the team.
Can you play in English?
Yes – in English or German. You choose the language when you book.
Where can I try it in Vienna?
The mission NOVEX-3 starts in Vienna’s city centre: main entrance of the Peterskirche, 1010 Vienna. Games run on Saturdays and Sundays.
Enough explaining. Time to play.
€59 per person as six · €79 per person as two
€79.99 per person as six · €99.99 per person as two
Choose your date