Last weekend, we (City Editors Anne + Cat here 👋 ) found ourselves locked in a closet with little more than a bike to help us escape — just two journalists captured by the KGB in the midst of a nuclear disaster. With only one hour to escape, we did it. Kind of.

In December, we asked you, our readers, what you want to learn about Raleigh in 2022, and today we’re tackling escape rooms. Naturally, we used this as an opportunity to try out NERD Escape Room’s Chernobyl room. It was a blast. (Shoutout to Jake who gave us many, much needed clues to crack the codes.) 🔐

Here are six escape rooms with adventurous, cryptic + entertaining storylines to try in and around the City of Oaks:

🔎 Amaze Room Escapes, 3209 Gresham Lake Rd. | 3-11 players | $25/person | Plot your escape from prison, the Mysterious Room, or the Black & White.

🔎 Game On Escapes, 107 Edinburgh S. Dr., Cary | 2-8 players | $27-35 | In addition to themes like jungle, manor, and sorcerer, seasonal rooms are offered.

🔎 Nerd Escape Room,117 Glenwood Ave. | 2-10 players | $28/person | Book one of four puzzling rooms with unique storylines. Pro tip: be sure to notice the matching items in your room.

🔎 Room 5280, 123 Glenwood Ave. | 2-8 players | $28/person | Choose from four different rooms, including the spooky Dark Room with a 40% success rate (at least you’ll have a flashlight).

🔎 Tarheel Escapes, 140 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill | 3-8 players | $29/person | Game of Thrones and Indian Jones inspired escape rooms. “Snakes?! Why’d It Have To Be Snakes?” (We hope there are no snakes.)

🔎 The Tower Escapes, 115 W. Morgan St. | 2-10 players | $28/person | Escape rooms like the Sir Walter Speakeasy + the Castle of Loches.

We have a confession to make. It took us one hour and eight minutes to escape.