‘Escape Rooms’ Opening Near Barracks Row

A residential block overlooking Southeast Freeway will soon be home to “escape rooms” from which people will pay to break free.

An activity space called Escape Artist DC will open next month off Barracks Row, at 720 I St. SE, owner Milind Raj said.

Visitors will be locked in the second-floor office space with as many as seven other people and given 45 minutes to solve puzzles that hint at how to exit.

“It is a real-life, fun, interactive adventure where the goal is to find your way out of a room you are trapped in using logic and teamwork,” Raj wrote in an email.

Aspiring detectives will have the chance to find stolen artwork or a hidden piece of legislation at Escape Artist, which is set to open in early April. In the “Gallery Heist” room, gumshoes must find a stolen painting, catch the burglar and find a way out. The other room, which has a “House of Cards” theme, has visitors try to obtain a copy of an important bill and then escape.

Another company in the District began giving the escape room experience this fall, as DCist reported.

The cost is $20 per person, but Escape Artist reduces the price to $18 per person if a group reserves a whole room.

Reservations can be booked online.

Photo via Escape Artist