I've been to a couple different escape room experiences, and I thought Cville Escape Room did a lovely job! We did their archaeological room, which was very Indiana-Jones-themed, and had a great time. From what I could gather, it seems like Cville Escape Room is a family-run business, and they're all very excited to create rooms that both tickle the brain and involve a whole lot of family-friendly fun! They are very accommodating if you need help, and (at least in the archaeological adventure room) the puzzles were scattered around with lots of different options to explore and work on separately, which I tend to prefer when it comes to larger groups. We didn't have any issues with the equipment or anything, and all the staff were very pleasant and enthusiastic, which always makes for a more exciting time. Would recommend for fun, indoor activity on the downtown mall in Charlottesville! read more

We were on vacation and found this escape room online. We really love doing them, so even though it was a 40 minute drive, we decided to book a session. So glad that we did! We had a blast. The staff is incredibly friendly and kind, the puzzles are nonlinear, and the rooms are all family friendly and fun. We had such a great time that we came back the next day to do a different room. We talked to the staff about an upcoming concert and they were nice enough to make a keepsake for as an extra prize when we finished the second room. I look forward to coming back next time we're in town. read more

We recently visited during a bachelorette party and had a great time! Our game host was very helpful and nice. We did the mad scientist escape room. It was fun, but there are a lot of number puzzle locks and all of it is in one small room, so if you are used to something more grand that may be a bit of a letdown. We had a great time and would definitely return! read more

SO MUCH FUN! Just finished my second escape room here. My gf and I have done the New Orleans theme and the Dungeon theme and both were super fun and challenging. The staff is so sweet and gave us hints when we asked. The theming is fantastic. We're definitely coming back to do the rest of the rooms! read more

Production value isn't quite as high as some of the other rooms we've done in the DC area but the puzzles were fun, most were hard enough yet solvable. Our room started late, but that's because they let you finish out the room which is a bit unusual but as a player, is actually pretty satisfying (although they force hints on you at that point for obvious reasons). We did the sherlock room with just 2 people. It's a small room and I personally wouldn't want any more than 4 in there, physically. read more

This is such a fun place. I took a group of 12 year old girls here and supervised them during their experience. They picked "Jack the Ripper" and did a good job figuring out some of the clues, but the staff was also good at checking in and helping them with clues so they could actually escape. The clues were harder than I expected. The doors aren't actually locked so that made it less panicky. I'd recommend this for a fun experience on the DTM. read more

I love escape rooms and have been to multiple rooms across different cities. While the two escape rooms I've been to here haven't been the best/most clever that I have experienced, I'm still giving it 5 stars because it's the only Escape Room in Cville and if you haven't gone to one before you should DEFINITELY go! It's such a fun group activity. Fun puzzles incorporating all of your senses and different skills. Good staff that enjoys what they're doing while still being professional. This is a great location and they also validate for the nearby Water St garage. Highly recommend! read more

terrible just a bunch of locked boxes any other escape room is better if you want your knowledge tested it's not anything about

This escape room was really fun & really well done. Just challenging enough to be engaging without being frustrating. The staff was kind and excited to be there. I'll definitely be back! read more

Cville Escape Room - Escape Games Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Played the new Dark Circus game. It was full of clues and had a linear design. Each area had its own set of clues and a pathway to unlock an artifact. All of the artifacts had to be found in order to escape. Almost took us the entire time and we had 4 people. Very fun! read more

My friends and I did Paris: Le Chat et la Souris (The cat and the mouse). Our facilitator prepped us really well and was very accommodating. I wouldn't necessarily say that it was the most challenging escape room I've done, but I think it was well-designed and it was an overall fun experience. My friends and I had moments where we were challenged, but things moved along pretty fast. Would definitely love to come and try another room! read more

My family and I recently had the opportunity to be Test Subjects here Pre-Opening. The staff were great, very polite, and informative. The location could not be better being right in the downtown mall. The environment was clean, well decorated and appointed. Fortune Teller's Secret was the room we experienced and we had so much fun doing this! The room was wonderfully decorated and designed. The mysterious ambience of the room combined with the tantalizing clues and puzzles were fully emmersive. We did not know what to expect going in but had so much fun as a family and more importantly as a Team! It is a very refreshing change to do something with your family, friends, or coworkers that is interactive and completely analogue. No phones or electronics in your face is a good thing sometimes. We had such an exciting time figuring out all of the clues to finally escape the room!! It is the ultimate game night! We would highly reccomend. read more

Had such a great experience at Cville Escape Room for my best friends bachelorette party! They opened just for us on a date that they were not normally in business. Every time I needed to reach out for information, whether it was through phone or email, there was always a prompt and friendly response. They were even kind enough to offer recommendations about restaurants and other activities since I was planning everything from Abq, NM! Our group is very experienced with escape rooms and we were pleased with the difficulty level as well (we did the conspiracy theory themed room). Can't recommend this place enough! Thank you Cville Escape Room for a fun and memorable night! read more

This place is so great!! I got to test one of the rooms, and this is probably the coolest thing you can do in town. All the puzzles are great and we had a great time. read more

Cville Escape Room - Us after we finished the room. - Escape Games Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I escaped! For the first time. It was a lot of fun and we chose a room for 5. After that I can't imagine how crazy it would be with double the people but I may do it just to see! We did Jack the Ripper and it did not seem like there was a definitel order to the mystery and we did get stuck and need help a couple of times. Each time, the staff were very nice and helpful. I wish I could go back soon, but $25 is a bit pricy for an hour of fun. I do highly recommend this experience, though, and I would love to return and try another room to see how they compare. read more

This was our first experience at an Escape Room and we were blown away! One hour absolutely FLEW by and we had such a good time - the room and the puzzles within were meticulously designed, and so much care was put into the entire experience. It's great to have an hour to get away from your worries and just solve some puzzles. Great space and great staff. Here's hoping we can get in a couple more rooms before they move to their new space (which we will also be visiting for sure)!!! read more

We had a fantastic time! The puzzles in the rooms are great, just the right amount of challenge. The place is well set up and the staff are so helpful without messing up your fun. It's great for teens and adults. They do have some walk ins but it's probably best to make a reservation. read more

See all

I have done two of the rooms - The Spy Room and the Mad Scientist's Laboratory. I enjoyed both and would highly recommend either as something fun and different to do with friends or family. There is nothing scary or upsetting about the experience, although the decor in the Mad Scientist room is a little "gory" (if you can handle Halloween props you'll be fine). The staff is excellent and will give you clues if you are stuck and not sure what to do next. Thanks for a great time, Cville Escape Room! We'll be back! read more

Oh my gosh! No spoilers but we had THE BEST TIME! (I've never done an escape room before but I had so much fun and an hour went by so fast!) Great for couples ( me and my husband went and got paired up with another couple who we didn't know) and larger groups. BEST DATE NIGHT EVER. I love puzzles and trivia - just about jumped out of my skin with excitement when there was a real live cryptex in our escape. The sets were movie quality, and the puzzles great even though they were harder than I anticipated. It's torture not to give any spoilers but rest assured we spent the rest of the night talking about how we want to go back... tomorrow night !! Also staff is amazing, and it's a family business! I'm def coming back. read more

Every time I've been there (pre-covid) I've had a great time! Super fun activity to do with friends/ for a party. The staff are super helpful when you can't figure out a clue, which is awesome! read more

I've done several escape rooms in a few different states and I have to say... this one wasn't great, but I think it's your only option here. My group did the Jack the Ripper one, which I was excited about because I love serial killers. The storyline was fine... not too difficult. The setup of the room and the clues were what was challenging because they didn't really make sense. The one-room challenge was suffocating for four people to be in; were climbing all over each other. We did end up asking for hints a couple times because what we were being pointed to made no sense. We found some dead tablet on a shelf and at the end of the challenge we asked the game master about it and he said, "It's for writing things down on!" as if we should have known that the whole time and when we told him it was dead, he didn't seem to care much (didn't even take it with him to charge). The explanation of how the game worked or the mechanics (like having a board to write on) was poor. I would only recommend this because it's your only option, but please know there are much better escape rooms in the country so don't let it dampen your excitement for them. read more

I did this escape room this weekend. It was reasonably priced and the theme was about Jack the ripper. The idea was to solve a crime. I liked the experience but the door was never locked and the urgency just wasn't there to escape an escape room. read more

It was really hard to do. We had to ask for help about 15 times. It did not build teamwork, it made those who got it off on their own separated from those who did not. As someone who has run teamwork events for companies, I would not suggest this venue. read more

This was our family's first escape room and we had a blast. Everything was more than we expected. We will be coming back next time we are in Charlottesville. The staff was friendly and the room was challenging but very fun! Well worth the time and money. read more

My friends and I walked in super last minute and was able to book a room within an hour. The entire staff was super enthusiastic and clearly loved their jobs. We did the spy room and there were many elements I had never seen in escape rooms before. It was hard but entertaining. After we left I thought I might have left my car keys in the room. Even though they were technically closed their entire staff looked everywhere for my key and were extremely courteous. The experience is well worth the price and I cannot recommend this place enough. read more

The Cville Escape was SO MUCH FUN!! The entire process is very smooth. You will have a briefing by the amazing, kind, helpful staff before starting your game experience. Right now there are two rooms to choose from, but the owners explained that they will be opening a third room within the month. I had never done an escape room before so I was honestly a little nervous that I would not 'be a good problem solver or clue finder'. No worries on this- the clues are fun to find and within 2 minutes in the room I was totally into the experience and having a blast! We did the Fortune Tellers Secret room and it was incredibly well done. The staff will step in (only if you ask or get stuck). I would highly recommend this as a 'Must Do' in the Charlottesville Area. I will be back very soon to do the other Cville Escape Rooms. read more

What fun! This was our first escape room experience & it was a ball. My husband & I joined four others for the Fortune Teller's room, and one challenge after another unfolded before us as we got closer and closer to success. It took us 53 minutes altogether. Incredibly creative, and a great way to work with others, whether you know them or not. Check them out! read more

My husband and I were excited to try out the Charlottesville Escape Room, and (finally!) snagged a couple of slots for the Fortune Teller room. When we entered the premises we were ushered into a conference room where we were to put our cell phones in a briefcase (really?) to be kept with us, but out of sight/ mind. Since we've played Escape Rooms before, this seemed a bit odd to us. You're told never to take pics or ruin the experience for others, and it just seemed like overkill to us but whatever. We entered the Fortune Teller's room with another couple. It was a bit of a tight squeeze with the four of us, but all in all it was a great room. It had your typical combo locks that all Escape rooms have, plus enough variety in the puzzles to make it play on the strengths of all players. After playing that room, my husband and I were keen to tackle yet another room (We're from the D.C. area where Escape rooms are WAY more expensive, and we figured this might be the only chance we had to play here more than once). The second room we played was the Archeologist Room. Unlike other Escape Rooms, C'ville doesn't rate their rooms on difficulty, just on the number of players you might need. This room was a 8-10 person room. We'd played and escaped from 8-10 player (difficulty 9 out of 10) rooms before by ourselves, but we weren't prepared for this one. This is a privately owned Escape Room, with one guy apparently designing each room (so we were told), and I give MAD props to him for the design and difficulty. It's a beautiful room, and the ending is sweet. That being said, it had around 30 total combination locks. 30. Which means if you give yourself 60 minutes to get out of a room, you have less than 2 minutes to solve each lock. And some of the clues were pretty obscure, so you WILL need a ton of people. You will also be VERY sick of combination locks by the end of this room. Unlike the Fortune Teller room, there wasn't much variety to the puzzles, which was too bad because it has such a great feel and theme to it. All in all, I think it's a great place to go with friends (or on a date!) and well worth the money we spent. We had a great time, and I'd definitely go back to check out other rooms. read more

Love this place and the people who run it! Very challenging and fun. Second time here and definitely not the last!

Our experience was awesome! We were alone (2 of us) but up to 8 people can solve a room at a time. The staff was kind and energetic, and really got into the game. I highly recommend it! read more

Our first experience in an escape room ever. And we loved it, will definitely try again ! The team is very friendly and makes sure you are having a great experience. I recommend this place to everyone, experienced or not. read more

I think this might be the first time I have ever posted a public review online. It is all too common for people to post reviews when they are angry, and I believe that most never post when they have a good experience. I state this up front so that the excellence which I experienced can transcend any deficiencies in my writing. Yes, I was so impressed that I have gone out of my way to post a review! What is the Escape Room? I didn't know what to expect. I have never heard of such a thing before. I went with some friends (who also had never been to a place like this). I thought that it might be like those murder-mystery things. Nope. There's plenty of mystery, but not like that. I walked in without any clue or context. This Escape Room is actually several rooms (but you only do one room). Each room has a theme to it. You walk in with your group - and if you are like me you stand there and try to figure out what you are supposed to be doing while everyone else is feverishly looking for clues to solve. For each clue solved you get rewarded with.... Another clue! There is a final clue, if you solve it then you win ("Escape"). There's no mistaking the final clue, once you get it you will know. It was very satisfying each step of the way, and I could not believe how fast the time went by! Why a five star rating? The staff was super friendly and polite. The theme and ambiance of the room were inviting (this is not some scary thing - totally family friendly). The clues were meaningful and well thought out. I didn't feel like I was taking a test (though in reality I think it is a test). The smiles per dollar were excellent - much better than watching a movie. The location is better than convenient - it gives me a reason to enjoy more time on the downtown mall. I feel like the downtown mall has always been lacking something to do. Sure, it is an excellent destination for food - there are so many excellent restaurants there. But, what do you do before/after that? Watch a movie (yeah, sometimes)? Go shopping? Not me. I prefer experiences over things. I had the best day ever on the Mall. I started with coffee and a snack at the Mudhouse, went across the way to the Escape Room, and then walked to the Bebedero for dinner (and desert ). In all, excellent. The C'Ville Escape Room is the addition to the Downtown Mall we have all been waiting for. read more

I was afraid this would be super cheesy or super hard. It was a perfectly set up room with perfectly hard puzzles. I will be back as soon as possible to try their other room. I hope they can keep up with demand and keep it fresh. I had a ridiculously amazing time. This family business is fun for the whole family. read more

I've done quite a few escape rooms and always had to travel outside of Charlottesville to compete one. I was so enthused when I saw the room was opening on 20MAY. I did the "Fortune Tellers" room and it was great, my team and I had a lot of fun and I cannot wait until we complete the "Spy's Demise" room. Wish I was still going to be here for the "mad scientist" room. Great group team builder, date night, and friends night out! read more

Great fun -- took a group of 12 year old boys for an experience. Well designed, and a very smooth experience. Highly recommend for middle school and up! read more

So much fun! Our room was kind of scary but the staff immediately sensed that my son was scared and came in and made him feel more comfortable. The clues were awesome mind benders and there was great satisfaction when you figured them out. The staff was also very helpful when we got stuck to keep the experience going. I can't wait to go back! read more

We all had an enjoyable time. The staff was friendly and helpful. My only issue was that the room we did allowed for 8 people. That was really too many for that size room , especially if you are with another unknown group and/or there are any control freaks in the group, which is what we experienced. It would have been even more fun with fewer people or if we had known everyone in the group. Definitely worth a try. read more