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Top 7 escape the room games on iPhone, iPad, and Android

This reminds me of a puzzle

Top 7 escape the room games on iPhone, iPad, and Android
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What is an 'escape the room' game, I hear you ask.

Well, they are typically first-person games that stick you in a single room or a very small location. Your job is to get out.

The focus is almost entirely on the puzzles, rather than the story or characters. Which is what sets them apart from point and click adventures.

Got it? Good. Because there are some terrific games in this genre on mobile. Some truly awful ones, too, like RoomBreak: Escape Now!, Doors & Rooms, and Can you Escape the Apartment?.

But that's why we played the lot of them and picked out 7 you should actually play.

The Lost City
By Fire Maple Games - buy on iPhone and iPad or Android The Lost City

Most of the games on this list keep you trapped in drab, dour rooms. Not The Lost City, which has you exploring the ruins of an ancient city, shrouded by a lush rainforest.

This is a giant adventure, and you can even fiddle with the seasons to change the environment. Luckily, the game automatically keeps track of interesting symbols and updates a dynamic map of the area. Thanks, game!

Fire Maple Games also has two other escape games: Hidden World and The Secret of Grisly Manor. Worth a look if you dug this one.

Escape the Titanic
By FreshGames, LLC - download for free on iPhone and iPad or Android Escape the Titanic

The Titanic is going down. Water is pouring in from every side. The unsinkable ship is sinking. And you could get to safety if it wasn't for this broken door. And this live wire. And these busted valves.

As you jump from screen to screen, inching your way to safety, you'll be stopped in your tracks by 50 tricky logic puzzles. This game looks a little shonky and the structure is super simple, but you can't beat that price tag.

Hellraid: The Escape
By Shortbreak Studios - buy on iPhone and iPad or Android Hellraid The Escape

My favourite thing about Hellraid is that despite the fact this game takes place in a torture chamber - complete with cages, skeletons, and prowling executioners - you can still find a piano and a chess board.

Some puzzles just never go out of fashion, right? But while some of Hellraid's headscratchers are a little played out, others - including one where you posses another creature in the level - feel wonderfully fresh.

The Room
By Fireproof Games - download for free on iPhone, or buy on iPad, or Android The Room

You don't actually escape any rooms in this game, despite the name. Instead, you poke and prod and tickle and paw at a puzzle box in an engrossing race to see what's at the centre.

But with its lavish visuals, unsettling atmosphere, and tantalising - but understated - narrative, it's undoubtedly the gold standard of the genre. The sequel (and, no doubt, the upcoming third game) is equally brilliant.

DEVICE 6
By Simogo - buy on iPhone and iPad DEVICE 6

This one doesn't look like any of the other games on this list. In fact, with its inventive textual design it's closer to an ebook or a gamebook.

But it's still about solving puzzles to escape a foreign place. In this case, a curious island that seems ripped right out of The Prisoner. The only difference really is that you don't walk between locations - you read.

If you prefer something more visual, Simogo's excellent adventure Year Walk might be more up your chilly Scandinavian street.

Escape the Hellevator
By Adrian Woods - download for free on iPhone and iPad or Android Escape the Hellevator

Escape the room games rarely make you feel like you're in any danger. Sure, you'll escape. Just, when you're good and ready. But when you've got to flee from an elevator that's plummeting down a lift shaft? Then you might speed up.

Sure, the lift car in Escape the Hellevator never actually hits the bottom. And you've got all the time in the world to poison an old lady or fix a broken button. But this campy b-movie experience feels more thrilling than most games on this list.

Forever Lost
By Glitch Games - buy on iPhone and iPad or Android Forever Lost: Episode 1

You sometimes have to play these games with a notebook by your side. Because how else are you going to remember all the symbols, passwords, runic engravings, and possibly-a-hint-or-maybe-just-a-smudge-on-the-wall red herrings?

Forever Lost (and Glitch Games's other mobile adventures) has an elegant solution. You have a camera so you can take snaps of interesting markings for later. A clever idea in a clever game, which is full of inventive puzzles.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer