Cipher Escape Rooms

My team members and I went to Cipher for a team building event. There are only 7 of us and it was interesting to see if how we would work together. I, personally, loved the theme as I felt like I was in my own episode of Criminal Minds. Other team members were a bit more «freaked out» by the theme and the handcuffs (which you do not have to wear) you wear before going into the room. The puzzles were hard but interesting and so gratifying when solved! I cannot even remember how we solved most of the puzzles, but it was a lot of fun. I like being mentally challenged vs. physically and it did not disappoint. Our team didn’t make it out BUT we do know that we would never leave anyone behind and would work together to accomplish the same goal. We needed like 10 more minutes I’m sure!
The guys we met there were great, nice, and helpful. Gave us great feedback as a team build and even offered up local dining options after.
So if you’re looking for something different to do with family, friends, coworkers, or yourself to test your escape techniques, this is a great option for you.
Note that you will miss it if you blink — it’s next door to an auto shop and across from Empire Café. Street parking.
Thanks for a great afternoon away from the office!

This was my first time doing an escape room and it was fun!
Pros:
— Cleverly designed room, fun atmosphere even if you’re technically about to «die» at the hands of a serial killer. The staff member calling in with hints on the phone was hilarious.
— My group was super late (like 15 minutes) and the staff was very accommodating. But please don’t take this as an excuse to be late — it was a rainy day so we got lucky!
— The photo afterwards is a great idea!
Cons:
— We did the captive room and it was incredibly difficult. It leads me to believe that the people who manage to escape the room are very experienced in escape rooms. We were beginners and I think we would have needed at least another hour. The fact that the «murderer» had to keep calling us for clues makes me wonder how anyone could solve this on their own. Maybe they could have a room for beginners that’s challenging but not this difficult.
— The reservation process is frustrating. I booked as a gift for a large group and I knew people would flake, but I had to pay the full amount in advance. Two people ended up not showing up and I blew $ 50+ tax. Can’t ask them to pay me back because that’s just awkward.
Oh and FYI, it’s easy to miss on Westheimer — it’s almost directly across the street from Empire Café with a yellow sign.
Overall it was a lot of fun and great for birthdays, bridal showers, and other celebrations.

We stumbled upon this on Friday during my son’s graduation celebration weekend. We had intentions to do Top Golf, but good olé Houston weather did not permit us to do so. My family was at a standstill as far as what to do, and my son suggested this place. I’ve always wanted to do an activity like this, so I was excited to go. IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! The six of us did the Heist room. We had a BLAST! I loved every minute! Ages 17 — 60 in our group — and EVERYONE raved about it afterwards. There was not alot of initial direction, which frustrated some. But due to our watching TV shows like CSI and Criminal Minds, My son and I thought we were FBI-​ready legitimate Super Sleuths… Turns out — we’re not. BUT! We had plenty laughs and moments of genius to make up for our failure at obtaining the relic. We’ve already planned to go again ASAP and try the other rooms! Love Love LOVE this place!

I went to this escape room for my birthday a couple of months ago. Overall, I thought they did a really good job, even though I’ve never done an escape room before.
We did The Captive room. This room, we were kidnapped by a serial killer who would be back to kill us in 1 hour. The props and atmosphere helped add to the urgency to get out.
I thought the start of the challenge was really well done, but I don’t think there was enough direction after the first couple of challenges. At least, not for beginners, like we were. I would have liked a little more guidance on where to go after we broke free from the first big challenge however, it might have just been the group we were with and the amount of people we had.
The puzzles were challenging, the atmosphere was tense and stressful (in a good way). I would like to go back and check out the other rooms they had.
You can read more details about my experience at

Celebrated a buddy’s engagement at Cipher this past weekend and it was such a blast! Great way to bring people together to problem solve. We participated in the CAPTIVE room which was a trip. Staff was very thorough with instructions and amped up our excitement before the game started. If you’re looking for something different to do check out this location!

What a super fun experience in the «Captive Room.» Definitely a first, won’t be the last, and next time we WILL ESCAPE! We were a group of 10 first timers never having experienced anything like this. So the lifelines were definitely helpful and if we would have just had a couple of more minutes, we would have found a way to escape the room! Next time we want to try the Heist room. Thanks to the guys at the front who made the experience fun and memorable.

Hands down one of the best places in Houston to do something different and exciting with your friends! The staff was awesome too! Probably the coolest game! Looking forward to another date night or even a team building event for my company! My Friends and I are already talking about going again!

I brought a group to celebrate my birthday at Cipher, and it was an amazing experience! We have all been talking about it for over a week!
The quality of the room and the depth of the puzzles far exceeded my expectations. This was the first escape room any of us had ever done, and Cipher has set the bar high!
We escaped but only with a few minutes to spare. Such a fun and awesome place! The people that work there are amazing and super friendly.

I went to Cipher while in town visiting friends. It was a blast!
«The Heist» was well thought-​out and challenging. We made it out, but almost ran out of time. The lifelines were very helpful but did not make the game easy. The people running the place were really excited about their work and were patient with our group. They were also very committed to making the experience seem very real!
I would definitely go back again!

My company hosted a client event at Cipher and had the Heist room all to ourselves. We had a blast, and I was blown away by how well the room was designed and how balanced the game was. Without giving away anything about the game, I thought the number and difficulty of the puzzles was perfect and it really does require solid teamwork, delegation, and communication to solve. The staff monitors your progress and will give you suggestions to get you on the right track if you’re close to solving a puzzle but need a little nudge.
Highly recommended for anyone looking for a fun hour of puzzles, and Empire Café is across the street for pre-​game smack talk or post-​game victory food.

No reason to go four stars when 5 will do.
Dude running the place is cool and patient. The scenario is well thought out and clues (hidden and «lifeline») are appropriate and keep the game running smooth.
Fun team building experience and i imagine it would be a cool post dinner event.
I’ve never done one of these prior and have nothing to compare it but I thought it was a good value and run well.
Btw I escaped w 30 seconds left! Good luck!

This place is fantastic. Planned this as part of a bachelor party and we had a blast. The scenario we got to try out was eerie and thought provoking with just the right level of difficulty. I haven’t tried too many escape rooms but would love to try out more of what Cipher and other Houston rooms have to offer.
Great place. Fun. Good value. Fun crew working there. Not much more to say besides check it out.

O man Cipher Escape Rooms is THE COOLEST! Came here with my bowling team for some extra-​curricular team building and we had the best time!
First, let me give a quick shout out to the gentlemen who helped us out: William Crump — that guy is a saint! dedicated to his job, super helpful, and what a hoot! this guy knows how to have a good time.
Now, on to the escape room:
Let me start by saying we did not complete the course. Not for lack of effort though. Freaking Carl’s stubby fingers couldn’t punch in the correct combination as we neared completion. We should have won! And I think we all learned a valuable lesson about putting Carl in crunch-​time situations.
Anyways, the experience was fantastic. Such a creative way to test your wits and kill an afternoon. We’ll definitely be going back.
Cipher Escape Rooms 4 Lyfe!!!

We made it out of the Captive room with 1:10 left. It was NOT easy but it was tons of fun! I was impressed with the quality of the «props» as well as the thought and planning that went into making it both challenging and entertaining. The only improvement I can suggest is to build more rooms!

I came here with some co workers the other weekend and it was a lot of fun. The place is clean (once you get through the alley to go inside) and neat inside. I think the guy who brought us in was Andy but I’m not sure I remember the name correctly. The two women and him were cool.
Anyway I liked that we got to keep the key to our belongings before we began. I also personally like the horror/​suspense type genre so I liked the captive room inside. I only wish we could’ve been detectives or something instead of the victims. Maybe we are investigating and then we realize it was a trap and get locked in.
The only thing is I would not bring anyone under 16 here (even though they allow it with a guardian I think) because of what we found inside and the storyline. I don’t consider it kid friendly at all or appropriate for younger teens. If you are considering bringing a younger audience here, I’d e-​mail them to ask them about specifics first depending on what you think is ok or not ok for your own kids.
After thinking through the puzzles that everyone did, I don’t think the puzzles were challenging enough. They were all pretty straight forward so while this adds to the overall fun of the game, I’m not sure it will be enough of a challenge for very competitive, game savvy groups.

I booked a whole session for my 19^th birthday party. From the very beginning, they were so helpful to me by explaining the theme without giving anything away and offering me a holiday promo code as I was paying for all my guests. On the day of, half of the group got there 15 minutes early while the other half got a little late. The Cipher staff was very understanding of the difficult parking situation and didn’t mind waiting at all. The two people at the front were very interactive with everyone and we talked while we were waiting. The room itself was SO FUN and we actually escaped with time to spare! Check us out as 3^rd place on the creative leader board!!! All in all, it was an amazing way to spend my birthday and the captive room was sooooo so so fun. ¹⁰⁄₁₀!

Seriously, I don’t think I’ve had this much fun for my birthday since I was… like, 5. My entire group is still talking about it! We had a pretty wide range of ages and it was fun — and challenging — for everyone. Even my 75 year old mother enjoyed herself! :D
The employees were great — and patient — and the Game Master was superb! Great location, great puzzles, and totally immersive — I think everyone was shocked to realize how quickly that hour flew by! We got out, but just barely! I don’t think we’d have minded either way — but it’s always nice to escape from a serial killer on your birthday :) Haha!
Do NOT miss this experience! …Also. Take me with you. I wanna go back now!!!

Had a GREAT time. This was our office Christmas outing and it was a great alternative to just the boring dinner and dessert.
Let me just say that we didn’t make it out and it was really challenging. But we laughed and learned some things about each other — in that who we want or don’t want to be locked in a room with, ha!
Located in a great area, the people who run it are so friendly, very informative, and seem to like their job!
I will totally go again once they have opened more rooms. I really encourage you to try it!

Hands down one of the best times I’ve had in a long time. Initially we wanted to go to one of the more popular company’s but they were all booked. So we ended up booking with Cipher who apparently has only been open 4 weeks. Thus the 4 reviews on Unilocal.Even tho they are new their room is very well put together. It was very detailed and challenging. You can tell they put a lot of thought into the rooms and puzzles. We actually did end up escaping with the fastest time 56.48, yay! I honestly didn’t think we were going to make it out but they were very generous with clues. It was a very thrilling experience & we will definitely come back when they open their new room in 3 weeks. #teamluan

We had a blast here! We managed to bust out but it was definitely a challenge and we were racing around for the whole hour looking for clues. From their online statistics it looks like only a little more than 20% of groups actually escape. We were lucky to have been paired with a great group as I have heard the experience can be ruined if you get stuck with party poopers but that seems to be a luck of the draw type deal.
Overall the experience really sold us. We won’t give any secrets away but you really felt immersed in the experience and scenario they provided for you. The staff was extremely friendly but also professional.
For those who have never done an escape room before the idea is that you are locked in a room with a group of people and given free reign to try to escape. You have to figure out the clues no matter how vague and escape through a series of locks and puzzles. You are given clues throughout the process if you seem to get stumped.