Games like The Escapists, for planning the perfect break

The Escapists is about acting normal by day and digging out by night. The Escapists 2 is the obvious next step, Prison Architect lets you build the prison instead, and Jailbreak on Roblox turns the escape into cops and robbers. Roam has two dig-out escape games.

How The Escapists plays

The Escapists is a prison escape sim by Mouldy Toof Studios, published by Team17 in 2015. You follow the daily routine: roll call, meals, work and showers. Between those, you collect items, craft tools like a makeshift shovel, and work on a way out. Miss roll call or get caught with contraband and the guards come down hard.

The best part is that every prison can be broken in many ways: through the vents, under the fence or out the front in a guard's uniform.

Prison escape games like The Escapists

The Escapists 2. The 2017 sequel with bigger prisons and co-op. On phones as The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout since 2019, with local co-op for up to four.
Prison Architect. Introversion's 2015 prison builder. You run the prison, so you are the one trying to stop the escapes.
Jailbreak on Roblox. Badimo's 2017 cops and robbers game. Break out of prison, rob places around the map and outrun the police, all free.

Escape tips that work in most prison games

Learn the routine before you try anything. Knowing where the guards are at each hour is worth more than any tool.

Hide your stash. Keep items in your desk or a hidden spot, not in your pockets. Cover holes in your cell wall with a poster before guards walk past. Dig in short bursts and always make it back for roll call.

Roam prison escape games

Roam is a free iPhone app with thousands of short games. Both of these are first-person dig-out escapes.

Teaspoon Jailbreak. A cell, a rug and a teaspoon. Dig your way out.
Punch Past Bedrock. A first-person prison escape where you dig through rock. Somebody is knocking, and it is not you.

Play it on Roam

Make your own prison break with Roam

Describe the prison, the guards and your tools, and Roam builds the escape. Add a new guard or a secret tunnel by asking.

Try: "prison escape from my school, the principal is the guard, dig with a spoon, roll call every 2 minutes, friends can help"

Create it with Roam See Roam

Questions people ask

Is The Escapists on mobile?

Yes. The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout came to iOS and Android in January 2019.

Who made The Escapists?

Mouldy Toof Studios made it, and Team17 published it in 2015.

What is a free game like The Escapists?

Jailbreak on Roblox is free and is built around breaking out of prison.