The need to escape isn’t a foreign concept to mums who have spent a rainy Saturday in an apartment with a bored tribe of kids. So WHY would you lock yourself in a room with your family for an hour on purpose? Because it’s FUN when its a new entertainment trend called an Escape Room.

Escape rooms are the latest fun for those not too claustrophobic to take on the challenge. Up to 10 people get “locked” in a thematic room with a fun storyline like getting off a deserted island, escaping a mysterious location, or avoiding becoming the victim of a dire curse. You are given an hour to solve problems and puzzles using clues, some as simple as a color or a number. They can be in code; they can be subtly hidden in a picture or painting, on a piece of paper, in a decorative item in the room. A Game Master monitors the room at all times and available to help if needed.

While many of these Escape Rooms are designed with cultural references and landmarks familiar to adults, there are several venues that can be fun for kids as young as 10 years old.

Last Minute Escape has one room at its Morristown location, three rooms at its Wayne location, and one room at its Montclair location. Their most popular room for kids is The Mayan Tomb in Morristown, which is best enjoyed by ages 12 and older.

My Adventure Rooms has three rooms at its Montclair location. All three are similar in difficulty, but he suggests The Swiss Original for families with kids ages 14 and older.

Amazing Escape Room has six rooms at its Princeton location, five rooms in Freehold, and four rooms in Montclair. For families with kids age 10 and older, manager Heidi Neufeld suggests Case Closed and Hemingway in Freehold, Dorm Room and Time Travel in Princeton, and Crusaders Alley and Case Closed in Montclair. Additional locations in Cherry Hill, Paramus, Bridgewater, and Red Bank Last summer, Amazing Escape Rooms modified the rooms at all of its New Jersey locations so that they’re suitable for ages 10 and older.

Puzzle Out currently operates one room in Hoboken which can be enjoyed by families with kids ages 10 and older and a second location, with two rooms, in Jersey City.