Southern Escape Room Monroe LA: All Five Rooms, Prices & What to Expect

Southern Escape Room is on Louisville Avenue, a few blocks from downtown Monroe, close enough to the river that dinner after makes sense. We went on a weekday, a group of five, and we picked one of the harder rooms on the menu.

Here's what we learned, including what we'd do differently.

The Five Rooms at Southern Escape Room Monroe

Southern Escape Room runs five separate experiences, from a quick mini game to full-difficulty challenges rated 10 out of 10. All rooms require players under 17 to be accompanied by an adult.

Cursed Bog (Mini Game): Difficulty 3 out of 10. You arrive at the Swamp Witch's hut searching for your friends. She makes a deal with your group: play her game and find the "Elixir of Life" within her hut, and she'll free your friends' souls. The easiest option and a good starting point if no one in your group has done an escape room before.

Forbitten: Difficulty 8 out of 10. After a stormy night the local villagers trapped Count Draven in his coffin, binding him with silver. If you can get to the castle and complete his trials, the count just might make you a vampire. This is the room we played.

Deadly Recipe: Difficulty 8 out of 10. You will start split up and handcuffed. You've been kidnapped by the Ball family, but Grandma has offered mercy if you help her make a special supper. You have one hour. Know this before you book with someone who has never done an escape room.

Stop and Chop: Difficulty 10 out of 10. A quarantine zone on the Texas border, a missing news crew, and clues leading to a gas station called The Last Drop. The hardest room at Southern Escape. Not where to start if your group is new to this.

Lights Out: Difficulty 10 out of 10. This game is played entirely in the dark. 45 minutes to find your keys to freedom in complete darkness. The rules stay the same, but the game changes every time.

Inside Forbitten: What the Vampire Room Is Actually Like

The waiting area at Southern Escape Room does not look like much from the outside. Inside, the decor leans hard into horror and kitsch, with a Michael Myers figure by the entrance and a neon Southern Escape sign on the wall. It sets the tone before you enter a room.

One person in the group had done escape rooms before. She walked everyone through the basics before the session: check underneath things, read sequences from different angles, and don't assume the first answer is the right one. That five-minute briefing made a real difference once we were inside.

Before entering the room, the game master walks you through the rules via a headset and microphone system. No paper clue cards, no printed instructions on the wall. The staff monitors the room the entire time and delivers hints through the same system when you ask.

We asked for all three hints.

Forbitten runs on puzzles involving codes, number sequences, and logic. Some require more than one person working simultaneously. One puzzle needed someone crouching to read something while another person called out numbers from across the room. If everyone in your group approaches problems the same way, you will get stuck. Different instincts help more than prior escape room experience.

We made it out. We used every hint available.

Southern Escape Room Prices and How to Book

Price: $29.75 per person, same rate across all five rooms. Military discount and group discounts are available. Contact them directly for group pricing before booking a large party.

Booking: Reservations through southernescaperoom.com or by calling (318) 537-6068. Advance booking is recommended on Friday and Saturday evenings. Walk-ins are possible but not guaranteed. For parties of more than 10, email southernescaperoom@gmail.com directly to arrange.

Gift cards are available on the website. A practical option for gifting an experience without locking in a date.

Use cases: Southern Escape Room works for birthday parties, anniversaries, bachelor and bachelorette parties, graduation parties, and corporate team-building. The room format forces communication between people who do not typically work side by side. An hour of this will tell you more about your team's problem-solving style than most planned activities.

Southern Escape Room is on Louisville Avenue, which puts you steps from several downtown restaurants. The group walked to Mohawk Seafood Tavern on the same block after the session, a seafood spot at 704 Louisville with plates in the $20 to $30 range. Close enough that you don't need to move your car.

The date night restaurant guide for Monroe covers more dinner options worth planning around. If your group wants more entertainment in the same outing, Surge Entertainment in West Monroe has bowling, laser tag, and a ninja course about ten minutes from here.

Which Room to Book First

First time, no experience: Cursed Bog. Difficulty 3 out of 10, and it's labeled a mini game. You learn how the puzzle logic works without the pressure of a full room.

Before you go: If anyone in your group has done an escape room before, ask them to walk the rest of the group through the basics. How clues connect to locks, why you should touch everything in the room, how to call for hints without feeling like you're giving up. Five minutes of this before you walk in saves twenty minutes of confusion inside.

Group with at least one experienced player: Forbitten. Eight out of 10 difficulty. Enough challenge to feel like you earned it.

Two rooms to save for later: Stop and Chop and Lights Out are both rated 10 out of 10. Lights Out adds complete darkness on top of that. These are second-visit rooms.

Read the Deadly Recipe description before booking. You start handcuffed and separated from your group. For the right group, it's a great setup. For a casual first visit with people you don't know well, eight out of ten difficulty plus starting in handcuffs can be too much too soon.

Plan Your Visit to Southern Escape Room Monroe

More things to do in Monroe and West Monroe if you are still planning your visit.