Games like Escape the Crate: 4 alternatives
For games like Escape the Crate, compare The Conundrum Box for adventure themes, EXIT: The Game for a shorter puzzle box, and Finders Seekers for a monthly delivery. Our games are another option for ages 12+ or 14+ who want a story to follow through printed clues. You can also keep playing Escape the Crate: it now sells games individually, so a subscription is no longer needed.
We make Puzzling Pursuits, one of the choices below. Start with the format and play time you want, then choose a setting that appeals to your group.
Escape the Crate is not a subscription box any more
Escape the Crate changed from subscriptions to individual game sales in early 2026. Its current FAQ confirms that it continues to sell games and release new titles.
Use Escape the Crate's official site to choose a mission and reach its shop. Check the format and delivery details for the game you want.
Can you still buy the older Escape the Crate games?
The missions page includes older titles as well as games currently for sale. Check the shop listing for the format and availability of the mission you want.
Some older adventures are being released as virtual games. This is how to check the options:
| Their tier | What you can do with it |
|---|---|
| Missions 22 to 56 | Check the shop for available physical boxes |
| Special releases | Check each release for format and availability |
| Missions 12 and 14 to 21 | Check for any announced re-release; availability varies |
| Missions 1 to 11 and 13 | No longer offered as boxes; being released as virtual games |
Each box stands alone, so you can start anywhere. Games run about two hours, most split into chapters so you can stop halfway, and their FAQ suggests 2 to 4 players with up to 6; solo play also works. You need a phone or laptop to enter answers and pull hints. If your group likes to divide up the clues, look at how a game organizes its puzzles before choosing. We explain the types of puzzle you find in an escape room if you want to know why some feel harder than others.
Their FAQ recommends ages 10 and up, with a warning worth taking seriously: "this box is designed to be challenging for adults, so it might cause some frustration for very young players."
The Conundrum Box, for adventure themes
The Conundrum Box is worth comparing if you liked Escape the Crate's adventure themes. Its stories include fantasy settings and expeditions, and you can buy individual boxes or choose a monthly subscription.
Escape From Neverland has you save the island from Captain Hook after its famous inhabitant has left. The publisher lists 1.5 to 3 hours and medium difficulty. Themed recipes and suggested music are included if you would like to plan the rest of the evening around the game.
The Conundrum Box's general guidance is around 12+ for children playing independently, with adult help for younger players. Check the specific title's requirements before choosing it for your group.
EXIT: The Game, for a shorter puzzle adventure
EXIT offers compact adventures with physical puzzles and a decoder disk for checking answers. Check the specific edition's age rating and playtime before choosing.
For the closest feel to an Escape the Crate adventure title, EXIT: The Sunken Treasure is the one we would name. You are diving a wreck for the treasure of the Santa Maria when something goes wrong and you end up trapped underwater. Thames & Kosmos put it near the gentle end of their own difficulty scale, so it is a reasonable first one.
EXIT: The Sunken Treasure is for 1 to 4 players aged 10+, with 1 to 2 hours of play.
Standard EXIT games may require marking, folding or tearing components and are sold as single-use experiences. Choose one if the solve matters more than passing the finished game on. The separate Kids line is replayable.
Ages vary by title across the EXIT range, so read the specific box. The Secret Lab and The Forbidden Castle are 12+, The Sunken Treasure and The Sacred Temple are 10+, and the Kids boxes start at 5.
Finders Seekers, for a monthly puzzle box
Some people came to Escape the Crate for the rhythm of a box arriving. Finders Seekers offers a monthly subscription. Check the current plans and destinations before ordering.
Each box centers on a real-world destination, with puzzles related to its history and culture. Check the current lineup before ordering if you have already played some of its games.
Finders Seekers is for 1 to 8 players aged 10+ with adult help, with 1.5 to 3+ hours of play per box. Check its current subscription plans for pricing.
Finders Seekers suits groups who want to avoid murder stories. Their playing page states the content is "always family friendly (no murders or violence)", and adds the useful caution that the game "is challenging and designed for adults." Keep the adult-help guidance in mind when choosing it for a child, and if that is who you are shopping for, our guide to escape room games for kids sorts the whole category by age. We also went deeper on the whole family end of this category in games like Finders Seekers.
Escape the Crate's catalog is mixed on this point, and they say so themselves. Their FAQ notes that some boxes involve "a murder mystery to solve or mythological monsters to fight" and that everything is presented "in a PG way" with no graphic violence. The age rating will not tell you which is which, so read the description of the individual title.
Finders Seekers also answers the question of whether you can hand a game on. Their FAQ says you can, as long as you resist writing on the items, and their puzzle websites stay up indefinitely with no deadline for finishing.
Which of these should you buy?
Use the table to compare the format and recommended age. Check product pages for current prices and stock.
| Game | Format | Players | Time | Ages | Buy it if |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escape the Crate, standard box | Individual adventure | 2 to 4 suggested, up to 6; solo supported | About 2 hrs | 10+ | You want another mission from the same publisher |
| The Conundrum Box, Escape From Neverland | Individual box; subscription also offered | Check the title | 1.5 to 3 hrs | General guidance is 12+ for independent play; check the title | You enjoy fantasy adventures |
| EXIT: The Sunken Treasure | Single-use adventure | 1 to 4 | 1 to 2 hrs | 10+ | You want a shorter underwater adventure |
| Finders Seekers | Monthly subscription | 1 to 8 | 1.5 to 3+ hrs | 10+ with adult help | You want a destination-themed box to keep arriving |
| Down the Rabbit Hole (ours) | One-part boxed adventure | 1 to 6 | 1.5 to 3+ hrs | 12+ | You want a gentler Wonderland escape |
Where Puzzling Pursuits fits
For a first game from us, consider Down the Rabbit Hole, our gentlest boxed adventure. If you want a longer game, Cryptid, The Fifth Column and Blackbrim: 1876 each take 2 to 4+ hours across two parts for 1 to 6 players aged 14+. All use printed clues and an online companion guide for answers and optional hints.
Choose by the kind of story you want to spend the evening in.
Choose Cryptid for an expedition. You follow the trail of your vanished uncle, Dr. Herbert Hughes, into a valley where the local paper has been running some odd headlines. It has 4.8 stars from 38 reviews.
The Fifth Column offers a wartime thriller. You are in Manhattan in June 1945, stopping a Nazi plot after Germany's surrender. It has 4.9 stars from 152 reviews.
For detective work, Blackbrim: 1876 begins a Victorian manhunt. You follow the known criminal Reager Skinner through the clues he leaves behind. It has 4.8 stars from 524 reviews.
For a gentler, shorter adventure, return to Wonderland.
In Down the Rabbit Hole, you look for a way out of Wonderland through the Croquet Grounds, the Mushroom Grove and other familiar places. Flo W. called the puzzles "a great intro to how these games are played and for young players".
Down the Rabbit Hole is for 1 to 6 players aged 12+, with 1.5 to 3+ hours of play in one part. It holds 4.9 stars from 82 reviews.
See how Down the Rabbit Hole works
Nothing in our boxes requires cutting or writing on the materials, so a finished game can be passed to a friend. There is no time limit, and the companion guide lets you choose when to use a hint.
If you are not ready to spend anything, our free Puzzle Archive holds fifteen puzzles graded from introductory to expert, solved in the browser with optional hints and nothing to sign up for. Start with an introductory puzzle to try the format. Escape the Crate run a free browser mini-game called Escape: Safe-Cracker for the same purpose, if you want to try one of theirs.
If the adventure themes were not what you wanted
If you prefer a crime story to a quest or expedition, the boxes built around a single case are a different shortlist, and we have written about games like Deadbolt Mystery Society separately. If you are new to the escape room in a box format altogether and want to know what comes in a box, how to play escape room games at home covers how these boxes work in practice.
Questions people ask
Is Escape the Crate still a subscription?
No. Its current FAQ says the company changed to individual game sales in early 2026. It continues to sell boxes and release new games, so you can choose one title at a time.
Can I still buy the older Escape the Crate boxes?
Check the current shop. The FAQ says missions 1 to 11 and 13 are no longer offered as physical boxes and are being released as virtual games. Other older titles may be available as boxes, but availability varies.
Is there a shorter game like Escape the Crate?
EXIT: The Sunken Treasure is listed at 1 to 2 hours for 1 to 4 players aged 10+. It is a compact option to compare if you want a shorter adventure. Standard EXIT games use up components during play, so check that this suits the recipient.
How do Puzzling Pursuits games compare with Escape the Crate?
Our standard boxes are for 1 to 6 players aged 14+, with 2 to 4+ hours of play across two parts. Down the Rabbit Hole is our introductory option for ages 12+, with 1.5 to 3+ hours in one part. Escape the Crate recommends ages 10+ and around two hours per crate. Choose by the setting, recommended age and time you have, since age alone does not measure difficulty.
Can I pass one of these games on after I finish it?
It depends on the maker. Ours can be handed on, because no puzzle asks you to cut or write on anything. EXIT's standard line cannot, since the components are meant to be marked and torn, though their Kids line is replayable. Escape the Crate sit in between: their FAQ says you can reset a box after playing, but a few items have to be printed off a computer and put back. Finders Seekers say you can pass a game on as long as you resist writing on the items.
