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Step-by-Step Guide: How I Created an Escape Room at Home


Josh, September 10, 2025
Pizza-themed escape room project - example of home escape room with food theme

In our family, we've always loved playing board games and solving puzzles, but this time I decided to raise the bar and create something completely different, a real escape room in our home!

This was for my oldest son's 14th birthday, and I wanted us to celebrate together as a family! We were tired of restaurants, movies, bowling... I wanted something different that would work for all of us and fit within a reasonable budget! And that's how I set out to create an escape room in our home!

If you're looking for escape room ideas and this sounds interesting to you, you're in the right place—I'm going to share tips on how to build your own escape room, an at home escape room that you can run anytime.

The truth? It was a challenging project, but worth every moment. Our home became an arena of mystery, escape room puzzles, and rolling laughter. In this post, I'll share how you can also create an escape room at home, step by step, without a big budget or professional equipment.

Step 1: Choose a Story and Plot

Like any good movie—you have to start with a story. In my case, since my son really loves making (and eating) pizza, I decided to focus on that—it was a search for the legendary lost pizza recipe. And of course, after that, we made pizza together at home using the recipe we found!
Pizza-themed escape room project - example of home escape room with food theme
You can choose from a variety of different ideas. For example: secret agents (you have 60 minutes to defuse a bomb), a magic quest (find a magical potion before the spell takes effect), a detective room (discover who stole the cookies from the kitchen).
Just think of a story that fits your kids, friends, or family.

Tips for choosing an escape room story:
  • Write the story in 2-3 short sentences. You don't need a novel, just a framework that sets the mood.
  • Add mystery—this is a puzzle that needs solving!
  • It always helps to add humor—let your imagination run wild—it doesn't have to be realistic.
  • Set a time limit—participants only have 60 minutes to find the villain, otherwise he'll take over the world :) (the clock is ticking = more tension).
For example, check out the story of the "Toys Revolt" escape room—a ready-made escape room kit that doesn't require any advance preparation, suitable for kids ages 8+, you only need a mobile phone and lots of silly fun!
Escape Room - Toys Revolt
Escape Room - Toys Revolt
Home Escape Room - Toys Revolt

Step 2: Create Puzzles

Once you have a plot—comes the puzzle stage. This is the most fun part, but also the most challenging. I set myself a goal to use mainly things we already had at home. And honestly, I managed to create a wide variety of puzzles.
Important tip: The puzzles need to match the theme!
For example, in our case, where the entire escape room revolved around the pizza theme, the puzzles were designed according to the theme and the tasks themselves were related to pizza. For instance—there was a task of searching for notes in flour, or discovering invisible writing using spices!
Materials for creating an escape room
You're welcome to check out the escape room I created "Where's the Recipe?". There I explained step by step—how to prepare it in your home! You print the puzzles and set up your home according to detailed instructions. No locks or special equipment needed—just simple items you can find in any home!
At-Home Escape Room - The Lost Recipe
At-Home Escape Room - The Lost Recipe
At-Home Escape Room

Step 3: Connect Everything into a Complete Game

At this stage, you need to create a sequence and connection between the puzzles! What's nice about an escape room (compared to a treasure hunt, for example) is that you can create several puzzles in parallel—not every puzzle has to lead to the next one. This works well for a large number of participants—if you're organizing an escape room as a birthday celebration. When there are several puzzles in parallel, everyone can contribute, which makes the experience much more enjoyable because all players are part of the solution.
Escape room puzzle flowchart - connecting puzzles in sequence for home escape room
So how do you connect all the puzzles?
I recommend making a table or flowchart:
Puzzle -> Where it's located -> What the solution leads to.
For example:
Puzzle in drawer -> Leads to code -> Opens box -> Contains new puzzle
It's important to clear the room of unnecessary items (so there are no false clues).

Want to create an escape room for your child's birthday? Need a good activity for kids to celebrate the start of the school year? Want to choose escape room puzzle ideas yourself? I created a user-friendly platform that makes it easy to build your own escape room—with escape room puzzles for home you can set up in any room!

Step 4: Make It Special

In the end—it's not just puzzles, it's a complete experience:
  • Mysterious music in the background.
  • Dim lighting or candles.
  • Props that match the theme (laboratory—potion bottles, lab coats, glasses)
  • Posters and wall design.
  • Light snacks (everything tastes better with snacks 😉).
When you add all of these—you're not just building a game, you're creating an experience that everyone will talk about long after the game is over. In the ready-made activity kit "Where's the Recipe?" you print the file—which includes step-by-step details on how to turn your home into a real escape room!!! Set up your home and you can start playing!

Step 5: Prepare for the Big Moment

On game day—I checked that everything worked twice, tidied the house, placed all the puzzles in their spots... The result? A full hour of adventure, laughter, and a sense of accomplishment. We all had so much fun and my son asked to do it again—with friends—only this time with a new theme!
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