We are often asked, “Can a 7-year-old do an escape room?”. Absolutely, but it is very much down to the individual in question as to what experience they will have. Providing your child is able to focus on the task at hand and work as part of a team there’s no reason they can’t share the adventure. Here are a few other things to consider.
We have no minimum age at all
Some younger children simply enjoy being part of the action! With our Mission Impawsible escape room we’ve focused on a family sharing a secret agent adventure. We find that the younger visitors may simply enjoy holding the plush animals as they are rescued or the novelty of using the walkie-talkie.
The experience will very much depend on your group dynamic. If you are a group that is going to engage with the kids and make them feel part of the action then you can all have a great time. The one thing that is especially fulfilling is the sense of achievement at the end of the escape room where the kids will genuinely feel like they are the heroes of the story! We find this to be a key component to contribute to our Tripadvisor score.
Our general experience with younger visitors
Every child is incredibly different but we find these to be our typical levels of involvement based on age:
- Ages 3-5 – The Children will love rescuing the plush cats and dogs. They will enjoy a dance to some of the musical props in the room. We recommend that they are kept up to date with what is happening with puzzles and story but they’ll generally be happy to be along for the ride.
- Ages 6-8 -The key area when people are asking can a 7-year-old do an escape room! These guys will be reasonably confident in working out a few of the puzzles themselves. They will benefit from some support and encouragement.
- Ages 9-15 – These guys are capable of taking on the challenges independently but may sometimes struggle to manage to keep the whole team involved and share tasks.
How we’ve made ourselves more accessible for younger visitors
We’ve taken a few conscious steps to make Prodigy escapes and in particular Mission Impawsible.
- Never Locked in – We never lock anyone in the rooms which removes the anxiety that may be present. With Mission Impawsible we’ve constructed the entrance to be open immediately adjacent to the entrance lobby. In addition, we’ve found that the focus on breaking into the room rather than breaking out is a big confidence builder.
- One-on-One Games Master – We provide a dedicated gamemaster per experience. This means that your group is their sole focus during your visit. We find that by listening and watching the experience fully we are able to tailor suggestions and hints in a manner that validates thought processes to keep gameplay flowing.
- 100% Completion – We work with every group to achieve success! We don’t believe in groups not completing rooms and haven’t let anyone down yet. This means that you are always guaranteed a victorious ending and not left assigning blame to one another for not completing.
Puzzles that bring groups together
We go out of our way to use puzzles that are not too comparable to one another. These would encourage one member of the group to lead through all those puzzles. Instead, we try and provide a mix of puzzles to allow for different interpretations to allow opportunities for everyone to get involved. One thing that we find particularly fun is including things that are unfamiliar to younger visitors. Mission Impawsible for example uses VHS & Floppy Discs as part of puzzles. This encourages younger members to listen to their parents for assistance. We also have a multimedia puzzle that includes songs covering a nearly 25-year span to ensure that there is a mix and everyone gets to contribute.
Consider theming
Engagement will only take place if the kids are interested in the story theming. It’s worth considering the types of TV & films that they enjoy to gauge whether the escape room matches their interest. It’s also worth considering that not all escape rooms will be suitable for Kids or families. Certainly even our own The Haunting of Mount Clifton Manor would not be suitable for many younger visitors or even some adults. We leave this to the discretion of the parents. Can a 7-year-old do an escape room like Mount Clifton Manor? Of course but it may not be appropriate for everyone.
