Entry No. 75 — the Colorado Springs file — filed under: arcade-play
Escaped In Time
A veteran-owned, family-run escape room shop with custom-built, non-franchise rooms and puzzles you won't find anywhere else. It swept the Colorado Springs Gazette's Best of the Springs in 2024, 2025, and 2026. Themed adventures range from an Illusionist room set in 1945 London to the offbeat Birds Aren't Real and Over The Rainbow, all hand-designed rather than bought as a kit.
The story
Most escape room chains buy pre-packaged puzzle kits off the shelf, meaning the lockbox code logic you cracked in Ohio is identical to the one in Florida. Escaped In Time, tucked into a strip mall at 4442 Barnes Road on the east side of Colorado Springs, operates on a completely different frequency [1.1.3]. Established in 2016 as a veteran-owned and family-operated business, every set and puzzle mechanism here is engineered and built in-house from scratch. That hand-built independence earned them a clean sweep of the Colorado Springs Gazette's Best of the Springs awards in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Instead of generic bank vaults or haunted dungeons, the room themes veer intentionally offbeat. You might find yourself infiltrating a secret government bunker in Birds Aren't Real to expose avian surveillance drone deceptions, navigating an inverted dreamscape, or stepping into 1945 London in The Illusionist to untangle historical magic tricks. There is no corporate safety net or modular prop catalog—if a drawer pops open via magnetic trigger or a hidden light reveals a cipher, someone in the family physically wired it.
What it's like
Arriving at the Barnes Road storefront, you get the calm, unhurried feel of a family shop before you're pushed into a 60-minute mental sprint. The staff and game masters keep hints light unless you specifically beg for help, letting you sweat out the hand-crafted logic on your own. Keep in mind: booking ahead is mandatory, and if you book a two-person slot without reserving the full room privately, you might end up paired with strangers looking for the same conspiracy. Local puzzle heads know Birds Aren't Real carries a notoriously high difficulty curve, so come ready to argue over details rather than brute-forcing locks.
The move: Book a two-person time slot and see whether you and your partner can crack one of the custom rooms before the clock runs out.
📍 Before you go Reservation/appointment required; book a time slot in advance. A two-person booking may be combined with strangers unless you book privately.
- 📍 Colorado Springs (east side)
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Big night
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 4442 Barnes Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80917
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- The Control Room — After racking your brain over custom puzzles, head less than two miles down the road for retro pinball cabinets and spiked slushies.
- Kilroy's Workshop — Trade high-velocity logical thinking for literal heavy-metal blacksmithing at this nearby trade school and forge.
- Cronk Art & Curiosities — Keep the weird, conspiratorial energy alive by browsing taxidermy pinned alongside tarot decks and live tarantulas.
Good to know
Do I need to make a reservation before going?
Yes. Escaped In Time operates by appointment only, so you must book a time slot in advance online.
Will we be put in a room with people we don't know?
If you book a two-person slot without selecting a private room booking option, your group may be combined with other players.
Are the room designs bought from escape room franchises?
No. All rooms and puzzles are custom-designed and built in-house by the owners rather than purchased as pre-fab kits [1.3.1].
What room themes are available?
Themes include The Illusionist (set in 1945 London), Birds Aren't Real (a government bunker conspiracy room), and Over The Rainbow.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · uncovercolorado.com · Yelp · Reddit
last checked: 2026-06-23