HIGHLY recommend! Helpful staff and a crazy fun experience! We did the Art Heist escape room and had a blast!

We had an excellent time as a team of four celebrating a birthday in Nov. 2024! We finished the art heist puzzle with 2 minutes to spare. It was challenging but fun--just right. Can't wait to come back! read more

The puzzles were very fun and it was affordable. If you have done a lot of escape rooms, this one is older and is feeling the wear and tare. It is in a row house building and we thought we had missed it, but there are signs. Our game master was a little awkward, but he could be new. The puzzles were fun though and my family of 4 (kids are 10 and 14) finished with 10 minutes to spare. Close to the metro and close to eateries. read more

When you approach the building, you might miss it because it can be mistaken as an apartment unit. But there was a sign lol. We did a work place holiday shindig with about 11 of us. I don't want to give away too much, but overall, I'm just glad we figured it out with 7 minutes left! We were given 1 hour to crack the code, but sheesh! There was too many lol glad that the team were working on multiple codes at the same time. Looking back, it might be easier with a smaller group. We noticed that when there were too many voices that sometimes you look over things instead of talking it out with each other. Overall, the guy that worked there was really nice and the clues were cool. Fun times! read more

Escape Artist DC - Escape Games Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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A great experience for our tween's birthday party. It doesn't have a bar so felt more age appropriate for them. Also, the themes are not "scary" which is what our kid preferred. It's a local, small business so the game room decor might not look sophisticated but the kids still found it fun and challenging. The rooms are monitored so they could get hints if needed. There are 3 experiences. Communicating with the owner was simple and easy over email. We were able to rent the small upstairs party room and order pizza for after the escape room experience. Kids had fun, it was easy, simple, affordable and the whole party was done in 2 hours. Highly recommend for a low key birthday celebration. read more

I planned a holiday outing with my work team here and we had a great time! Despite the fact that I love not too far away, I had never noticed Escape Artist DC on the corner by Barracks Row. You really only find this place if you go looking for it, which is part of its charm. Upon entry, we were greeted by the friendly owner, who took us into the intro room where we watched a video about how the whole process worked. I have been to Escape Room Live in Georgetown and the Great Escape Room in Dupont Circle, so I and some colleagues were already familiar with the concept. He encouraged us to do the intermediate difficulty room, rather than the easier one that we had signed up for, and we were game. Without going into details that take away the magic of the escape room, I really enjoyed a few things especially about this room: 1) It has lots of techy clues. Most escape rooms have a dozen locks and things, but this one has items that you touch to other items and then they light up and something happens. 2) The clues are very artistic, literally. 3) The activities really engaged us, and for the record, we DID escape in time! This was a really fun outing for us, and I look forward to returning to try the hardest room! read more

Escape Artist DC - We got out with no hints used! - Escape Games Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Easily the best escape room I've ever visited. Escape Artist is a conveniently-located escape room in DC. It's right next to parking, amazing restaurants/bars, and easily metro accessible. It's BYOB, too - not common with escape rooms. Better yet, Escape Artist easily has the best escape rooms I've ever seen. The puzzles aren't unfair or overly convoluted - rather, they're fair and just difficult enough. No ridiculous leaps of logic, unfair math puzzles, etc. Everything feels very well thought-out, and you can tell that the puzzles were designed by Escape Artist (rather than just purchased online, like other escape rooms). My group had an absolute blast. read more

the place is small and dainty but we still had a ton of fun. it's affordable and close to a metro station which is a huge plus!

Great escape room for my son's birthday! Kept a group of 8-10 year olds challenged and engaged.

Super fun and host was amazing and kind! I'll be coming back with my friends sometime.

Was able to nab a room on Saturday within an hour of calling to see if they had any openings. I *love* escape rooms and have been trying to find a new brand that has good puzzles bc I've done all of them at Escape Room Live. This place had some real pros and cons so here goes: Pros: * Fun puzzles. This the heart of an escape room - I liked that the puzzles were hard but not impossible and we were able to figure out what to do without hints * Price. I liked the 20 pp price Cons: * Hint wall. I liked to try to solve rooms without hints. The room we did had a glaringly obvious hint wall that you have to actively avoid with your eyeballs if you don't want a hint. Really weird that they do that *Hands off approach. Instead of getting the overview by an enthusiastic employee, they had us watch a low production value video on a tiny tv. It was a little weird. In addition, instead of being able to talk back and forth to the game master, you have an ipad type thing to communicate. Just a bit strange *Production value. In general this place just doesn't feel as 'nice' as any of the other places I've been. This includes the lobby, rooms, bathrooms, etc. All those cons and still 4 stars? For me, it's about the puzzle of the room and fun factor. And on that front, this place delivered for me. (We did the great museum heist) read more

Absolutely in love with this escape room as it surely exceeded my expectations! The puzzles are very engaging, creative, and gives a good amount of challenge. My husband and I tried the Gallery Heist and Night at the Museum. They were both super fun; yet, a bit of a challenge for two people. I'd certainly recommend going with a bigger party of people as it is usually expected at most of the escape rooms. I highly recommend this place and cannot wait to go back and try the House of Pawns! read more

What a fun experience! After doing both rooms at Escape Room Live in Glover Park, I was thrilled to find Escape Artist here in DC. Once you get hooked on the premise, it's difficult to stop so it's nice to have a few venues in the area that offer this type of thing. We walked up to an unassuming row house in SE DC and into what looked like a random person's apartment. Don't let the sparsely decorated waiting room fool you, there is SO much fun to be had behind those doors! Our group of 9 opted for the Art Heist room and while I won't give any spoilers away, I will say it was much more challenging than any of us expected. Even my friends who had no idea what to expect were totally charmed and challenged by the game. The puzzles required teamwork, and it's helpful if you talk out all of your thoughts even if you think they are silly. This strategy led us to solving a few puzzles in the room. (Note: there are lots of red herrings so be strategic!) So, how does this compare to Escape Room Live? Escape Room Live: Visually more interesting - its hipstery decor comes out on top. I also like their photo props a little better. However, their puzzles are definitely easier to figure out in my opinion and they have a more cohesive theme throughout the room. Escape Artist: The puzzles are more challenging, and better still, there are more types of puzzles. Some are logic and reasoning related, while others require you to assemble something to get the clue. We liked this more since it allowed everyone to play up their strengths. I also LOVE that they change the rooms every three months so you can come back. (Hopefully they will offer an "annual pass" at a slightly discounted price that lets you come back 4 times a year.) Also, since it's such a new experience, it was incredibly easy to book our event - we called and reserved for a same day experience! Things I would change about Escape Artist DC: Better photo props (an Instagram cutout would be cool!), a larger area to take a group pictures and more of a theme to tie the clues together. Some of the solutions to the puzzles were totally random words, and it would have been cool if they related to the idea of "art heist." Minor nitpicking aside, I cannot endorse this place enough, you will have a blast! read more

Escape Artist DC - We didn't make it out in time, doh! - Escape Games Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

My wife and three of my best friends took me here for my 30th (woo hoo!) birthday and we had a blast! The man who runs it, Milind, is awesome and is very passionate about everyone having fun and he only adds to it. The game last no more than 45 minutes and he allows you a few hints. My group did it in 30 minutes and we had so much fun solving the mystery. At the end, he gave us prizes and we took some photos together. I recommend this for any friend group or even co-workers for team building. It's right in Eastern Market and just half a block from Barracks Row so you can enjoy a drink afterwards. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! read more

Yes it is true, this escape room may not have all the bells and whistles that you sometimes find in higher production quality rooms. However, I did find the puzzles very unique and clever. I enjoyed the overall theme of Night at the Museum, especially after finding out that the owner actually creates all of the art that is in the room. I did this room alone and was one puzzle away from escaping before the one hour was up. I would recommend this room for 2-4 plays. Overall I enjoyed my experience and the owner was very friendly, if I find myself back in the DC area I would come back to try their other rooms. However if you are looking for a high production value, you may want to skip on this room. Also consider the price, at $20 a person you can not expect the same kind of room that you'd normally pay $30-$40 for. read more

Looks to be a small business-type operation run by an artist, consisting of three different room-scenarios in a Navy Yard townhome. The proprietor is a man of few words, but super-nice. Location is convenient, just off of 395/695 and street parking was easy to find. Overall, it was a great experience. We did the Gallery Heist room, which we found to be very creative and challenging. I'd definitely go back again and recommend it highly. read more

3/5, more of a 3.5 If you're unfamiliar with escape rooms I've decided to preface all my escape room reviews with a little tidbit to provide context to how my reviews are written. Escape rooms are considered to be a group activity in which you and a group of others are locked in a room and have to figure out how to "escape". The riddles and clues may be different for each business you visit, as well as the technology and creativity put into their establishment. I base my reviews on the entire experience, the creativity behind the room, ease of escape, immersiveness, and the interaction with the gamemaster. The rules are pretty straight forward at each place. They'll let you know what is definitely not a clue, they will tell you what not to touch/do and how to contact them (game master) usually via a walkie talkie or sometimes a TV screen that they type on. What I just mentioned, your game master, is the person you and your team will be in contact with during the duration of your game. They'll be watching you from security cameras, which are inputted in every business you'll come across so that they can help you and ensure you don't break/steal any of their items. --------------------------------- So, moving on to the bulk of this review. Escape Artist DC was unfortunately on the lesser side of our experiences with escape rooms, but I will say it was not the worst, nor is it "bad". Our experience was fine, but it just wasn't an amazing experience. Beginning: Let me again emphasize that our experience wasn't awful or anything, it was simply just an average escape room experience. It was only two of us and we had signed up for the House of Pawns escape room, when we arrived we were told that maybe doing this room wouldn't be good because we were a duo and not a huge group. Milind allowed us to watch two different escape videos to allow us to choose if we wanted to do a smaller room. Honestly, the videos were on the cheesy side and my friend felt as if this could have been a more immersive experience had it been told in person and not through a outdated video. It's not the enthusiastic gaming experience you may get at say Escape Live or some of the places in NYC, which throws you off a bit. - One thing I want to emphasize is that House of Cards piqued our interest a lot more than the art one did but we did not feel like the emphasis of how difficult House of Cards would be was conveyed effectively to us. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but we found the room to be interesting based off the videos we watched. Had we been told with a little more force that this would be a really difficult room that would leave us stumped we would have agreed to switch immediately. Room: This escape room design is hard. I'm going to just start out with that. If you've got a group of escape masters then you may like the riddles in this room. We personally did not and looking back on everything we've done we can say that we definitely appreciate a more hands on experience. This is a smaller escape room, so there's nothing really high tech about it, and that's fine but for us we struggled a lot. And I mean a lot. But that's truly not why we give it only a three. Without giving anything away, the riddles were just too complex for two people. It was overwhelming how much we had left over and we were asking for hints like mad men. This being said you may be thinking "well it sounds like you just didn't have enough people" and that may be true, but at the same time the suggested amount of people was eight! While I'm sure people have done this before, the room isn't big and eight people in one room? Consider this as well, there is no storage space/locker area because this escape room is technically part of the actual house. All the stuff we had brought with us that day had to be dumped in the room. Can you imagine having 8 people who have coats and purses that need to come off? Overall? It was alright. You'll understand if you try it or you may have a better experience than us! We walked out content, so don't think I'm trying to convince you otherwise. It's just that when you pay around $28 dollars, which is the average for these rooms you want a great experience and this was just an average one. EDIT: It's 20 dollars before 8, which means you get what you pay for. But if you come after it will be 28. Realizing we paid the same price for this and a place called Komnata in Brooklyn highlight how drastic the difference can be. I respect Milind because I think the riddles are incredibly intelligent and take a really efficient team to solve. He's a smart man and he's been able to create rooms that test your ability to think. Give it a try and see for yourself. I can't fault him for not opening up a high tech escape business, but I find it fair to highlight that your value for your money can be better spent at more immersive escape rooms. read more

We, family of four, Loved it! My kids, of ages 11 and 6, were quite engaged. My 11 year old boy was excited and assisted well with solving "Gallery Heist". This was our first experience with an escape room and host, Mr Raj, ensured we had a great time! Escape room is very thoughtful. Puzzles to crack the locks were awesome, not lame nor extremely difficult. We love to try another room. Highly recommend it read more

We've been to several escape rooms in Chicago, LA and the DMV area. There are other rooms with, say, better production value: bigger and fancier sets, and props, that look cool. But the look becomes the best part of the experience--the actual puzzles fall flat, finding keys or codes to a series of locks. Super boring. Escape Artist DC's best characteristic is the quality of the puzzles. It's much more engaging and satisfying to solve their puzzles. So the rooms are smaller, but they are all filled with really clever puzzles that require logic, both tactile and visual. I don't need a ton of lead up, or a "game master"/theater student to convince me to have a good time. They also put together an awesome outdoor hunt for the recent Barracks Row Fall Fest. Local businesses took part, and we zigzagged along 8th St to pick up clues and solve tricky puzzles. Just like their rooms, it was challenging, clever, and fun. We just burned more calories from running around, which was a bonus. My husband and I loved it! We're big fans of Escape Artist DC. Give your brain some exercise and try all of their rooms! read more

Way too much fun!! It was our first time so getting started was a little confusing. After a couple of minutes we started to figure it out and the fun was on!! If you are looking for something fun and unique with a group of friends, this is the activity for you. This was an absolute riot and we will definitely do again. read more

Went here for the first time for a friends birthday. We had a blast! Of course, the birthday girl, made our puzzle even more challenging :) But it was a lot of fun. There was one point where we opened one lockbox to find another lockbox inside (lawl). We had a blast trying to put our heads together to figure out the mystery. I would definitely come back here. Note: I also had bought the ticket for the wrong time and the owner/guy just said,"Oh, don't worry! I can give you a refund when you come." And he did. Super nice guy and hilarious to hear others experiences from him. Great host. Great place. I hope this place does well! read more

Are you good at puzzles??? Then this is the challenge for you!! They can make it more challenging if you want too! So this place on the outside looks like a normal row house. There's currently a little paper sign in the window. Go on up to the second floor. Someone will greet you and you can wait until everyone gets there. Tip- use the bathroom before going in... you will be locked in the room for 45 mins. They will give you four hints. If you take them, getting out can be am easy challenge... unless you're like my group-- hints??? Don't need'em unless we're really stuck... Most of the puzzles are multi step... just rummage through everything and see what you get!! Its more fun with friends, so put together a group and test your puzzle solving skills!! read more

Pretty hectic with so much going on at the same time but overall a lot of fun! The hardest part was finding out where it was since it's just a rowhouse. He's still working on getting the signage up. read more

This was fun! Our group of 3 completed the Gallery Heist room in 32 minutes without any hints! This is different from the other escape rooms that I've done in the past in that they only gave you 45 minutes rather than 1 hour to escape. This room was very doable with a small group, and I think it might have been a bit crowded if you had more than 5 people. Most of the puzzles were well thought out. There was one big one where you could get the answer in multiple different fashions so we ended up not using one of the bigger clues, and were confused about that until the host explained what it would have helped with. If you get stuck, there is someone watching you from outside via a camera, and they will push hints to you with an iPad that is mounted on the wall. There was a parking lot less than 1 block south on 8th Street. Everyone was very nice, and the online booking was very easy to use. read more

Organized a group of ten for their art gallery heist escape room. Currently, there are two different scenarios (and a third room in the works!) One of my friends had already done their House of Bards/political scenario, so luckily they had a different scenario that I could do if she joined us. One of the rooms holds up to 10 (really, I think 6 would be ideal) and I think the second room is much smaller (holds 6? I would double check). It was very easy to book online, and ended up being about $20 a person. They were very flexible and accommodating. If you don't fill a room, they reserve the right to put in other people too. Additionally, the scenarios change every few months, so you can come back again for something new! Sessions are for an hour, but really it's 45 minutes of actual room-time. Without giving too much away, I will say that a larger group is not necessarily better. If you get stuck, there are clues online with a login that they recommend you look at after a certain amount of time has elapsed. The clues didn't require any kind of trivia knowledge, but were more intuitive and brain teasers than anything. My group made it out of there with one minute to spare! At the end, there's wall with photo booth accessories for you to ham it up. Overal, fun, challenging, and a great event for a group of friends! read more

When you get there: yes, you're in the right place. EADC is in the Historic District, so there's a two-month procedure the business needs to go through before they can get their sign up. If you see stars on the building, you've solved your first puzzle. This was a lot of fun. While we were waiting for the rest of our group to show up, I asked the event host about the artwork decorating the walls. Turns out they're all his! He was happy to share the stories behind a few of them while my friends and I cranked on a few warm-up puzzles lying about the office. We did the Gallery Heist, and it was quite a lot of fun. We managed to get out with 8 minutes to spare, but the posted record left 23 minutes on the clock, so I'll definitely be returning to see if I can't best the times in another room... Unique concept, passionate staff, great time. Check it out! (Then stroll down 8th Street for after-adventure drinks and debriefing...this is a great neighborhood in general!) read more

I've been to about 10 escapes over the past few years from DC to NYC. I'd say this one falls right in the middle. It's easy to miss this place since it's set up in what looks like a townhouse in DC. This isn't one of the high tech escape rooms, but the puzzles are fun nonetheless. My group did the Night at the Museum scenario which had a weak backstory but had some very well crafted puzzles. We found them to be on the easy to moderate level but still satisfying when solved. The biggest downside to this escape was the size of the group. They crammed a total of 12 people into a 2 room escape that really should have maxed out at around 8 people (that second room was TINY). Overall it was a fun escape but could have been a much better experience in a more restricted setting with a more elaborate backstory. read more

Really cool experience! I wasn't sure what to expect because it was in a house, but it was really great! The puzzles were challenging but not so challenging that it was frustrating. It seemed like a good level for most people. It was my first escape room, but my partner had done a few and both of us equally had a great time. We did the Gallery Heist since it was just the two of us, and it took us just under an hour. The area is a cool spot too if you wanted to grab dinner before or after, and there was street parking available right out front. Definitely would return in the future! read more

This is an excellent addition to Barrack's Row and so much fun. The rooms are on the second level of a row house just off 8th street SE, a few blocks from Eastern Market metro. There isn't a sign yet; just consider finding the building the start of the puzzle. If you can't find your way into the building; you will definately have trouble getting out. Friends and I did both rooms - we had 3 people in the Senate room and 7 in the Gallery. I think the smaller group was a bit more fun - with 7 you aren't involved in all of the puzzles. Both rooms contained several visual puzzles, combination locks, and logic puzzles. Solving one step gives you clues to the next. I'm not sure how many puzzles were in each room, probably a dozen? It took us about 40 minutes in each room. Milind is a perfect game master - letting us get just enough stumped before throwing us a prompt (or three!). I can't wait for the next episodes of both rooms! read more

This place was a lot of fun, it's a bit incognito to find. The rooms are well thought out and everything links to another clue. The clues make you think out of the box and keep you wanting more. The rooms are very doable with 3 people, it's going to get crowded with 10. Next time in in the DC area I'm come here again. read more

Wow. Looking from the outside this place seems like a regular old DC row house. This statement makes you think the inside is a price of cake. HOWEVER, this place is so much better on the inside than initially thought. We did the "Night at the Museum" and wow we we're in for a challenge. The host was great and puzzle even better. This is a true don't let the cover fool you treat. Go and try asap. read more

The location is in a row house, which is very normal for DC, but very confusing to our huge group as we pulled up in our 40 passenger bus. The lounge area is a little small, as we had a group of 20. We had to split up into teams of 2, so one group did the Night at the Museum, and one group did Gallery Heist. There is a room with an intro video that you watch first, and they have different language versions, as well as an ASL version. My group did the Night at the Museum room, and I will tell you--this room was difficult! This is not my first escape room challenge that I've done in DC. We could not figure it out in the time allotted. We actually did this activity as a team-building excercise for our company, and I will say that this is excellent for that. You have many different clues strewn around a room, and yet you still need to all work together even if you are all working on different clues, to be able to get out of the room. This place is also wheelchair/walker/scooter friendly. read more

Everybody had a great experience! Young detectives led the way..our host offered proper seating for our elderly detective...wish there was more time to chat and discuss the experience with the host...would have loved a refreshment afterwards because the room was so warm. read more

What an awesome team activity!!!! We had a great team worked together to solve all the puzzles!! And we were the only ones to solve it all day! #Teamwork read more

Escape Artist DC - Great team activity with Flight Club! - Escape Games Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

We brought out of town guests including three kids aged 12-16. While seven people made the space a little tight at times, we had a blast. We did the art heist room. Some puzzles are easy and some really challenging. The location near Barracks Row makes it an easy place to go to and then get dinner so can rehash all your triumphs and pitfalls. The owner is a Hill resident too which makes supporting a local owner a big bonus for me. read more

We had so much fun!! It was a little challenging but never to hard. Teamwork is key & not overthinking clues. Parking is free on Sunday & we walked two blocks to have a wonderful lunch afterwards. We are true detectives and can't wait to come back to try out your other rooms. read more

Escape Artist DC - Kelays Clue Killers did a great job!!! - Escape Games Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Had a great time and I think all in our party are eager to try another. We did House of Bards, a political investigation. It was challenging and the political theme was really just a backdrop for the puzzles, there's no reason to think it would be any less fun than the art heist scenario. There's pay parking nearby and tons of restaurants on 8th street. Traffic can be a mess, so you may want to arrive early and visit one of them before your escape room. The online booking site works well and the staff was friendly and accommodating. I highly recommend visiting, and would bring a group, teamwork is needed and you'll have plenty to talk about afterwards. read more

This was a fun experience. My girlfriend and I had a blast solving the Gallery Heist. Just try to avoid going during rush hour. The surrounding neighborhood is a nightmare to get out off. read more

After having a ball in the Gallery Heist room with my fiancé, I went back the same week with my grandmother and babysitter! Not only are the prices more fair than other escape rooms in the city, the staff is helpful/personable and the scenarios are unique! read more

Awesome! Well designed and creative. Great experience and highly recommend. Done two escapes at different places before and this one was by far the best! read more