Escape Games

In escape games you're locked in a room or a scene and have to find a way out. There are about 400 here, many from the "saw game" series with familiar characters like The Simpsons, SpongeBob, Gumball or Adventure Time, all free and with nothing to download.

How to play

Nearly all of them use the mouse. You click objects in the scene to examine or pick them up, keep them in an inventory and use them where they fit: a key in a door, a lever in a machine, a code on a padlock. You win when you open the last exit, and you lose if the game has a timer that runs out, or if you fall into a trap.

• Click on anything that could be an object. Sometimes the important thing is a tiny detail.
• Use what you find where it makes sense, to open doors and move on.
• If an item has no use yet, hold on to it. You'll probably need it later.

The "saw games" and the rest

Most of the top games on the list are "saw games": a familiar character, from Bart Simpson and SpongeBob to Slenderman, gets trapped and has to get through a series of tests. They have a dark, scary look even when the characters come from cartoons. Alongside them are games with a different feel, like El Chavo and the haunted house or Five Nights at Freddy's, which isn't a classic escape game but a survive-the-night game set in one place. Always check what kind of game it is before you let a child play.

Practical tips

If you get stuck, go back and look at areas you've already seen. Often the key item was in plain sight but had no use until you found another one. Before you try everything on everything, think about what goes with what: a key needs a lock, a paper with numbers needs a padlock. Write down any codes or symbols you spot, because they often show up in one room and get used in another. And if a clue repeats a color or an order, that's probably the answer to a puzzle.