If you’re bored of the usual night out and want to try something a bit different, something that will give you a sense of excitement, and something that you and your mates can talk about for weeks to follow…then you must try Exciting Escapes Southampton!
Based on Shirley High Street this unassuming building may not look like it holds the key to a great night out in Southampton, but inside awaits a series of secrets ready to test your mind and give you the rush of some fast-paced fun!
The concept of Exciting Escapes is based on the increasing popularity of escape rooms, similar to the Crystal Maze experience. Your mission is to use the props and clues hidden around the room to unlock a series of puzzles, each leading on to the next until you solve the mystery and complete your challenge. Exciting Escapes Southampton has 3 different themed rooms that transport you to that time and place, including the 1980’s, 1950’s and a Police station.
When you first arrive you’re greeted by a friendly team before watching a short introductory video. The video is basically a health and safety talk but even this is in character with the event, prepping you for your mission. Once you’ve finished here you’ll be asked to pop all your belongings in the lockers provided, this means no mobile phones for cheating or spoilers!
Your games master (one of the friendly team) will then take you up to your booked room. They’ll give you the brief for your mission and hand you a walkie-talkie so they can communicate with you when needed.
As soon as you enter the room and the door closes the timer on the TV above the door starts counting down, you have 60 minutes to complete your challenge! Now to avoid any spoilers the details of the room can’t be disclosed, however as the timer ticks down you and your team need to keep up a good pace if you are to solve the mystery!
You’ll be given a clue to start with, from here it’s all about lateral thinking! You’ll have a series of puzzles and clues to solve that open locks, find hidden locations, and lead you on to the next piece of the puzzle. If you get really stuck you can contact your games master who can give you 3 clues throughout the game…as the minutes past you may find yourselves urgently requesting these!
The key to these games is to work with your team, for slightly bigger teams you may even choose to tackle different challenges at the same time so you can then piece your clues together. There’s definitely no resting, you’ll need your time to unlock all the room’s secrets and beat the clock! The pace gets quicker and you may even break a sweat, but one thing is for sure you will love every minute!
Once you feel you’ve solved the mystery you alert your games master who will let you know if you are correct, if you are then they’ll come and collect you from your room for debrief. It’s not unheard of to not complete a room, so don’t feel bad if you don’t you’ll still have loads of fun!
At the end of your session you’ll get to dress up in the selection of detective fancy dress for a photo, this makes a great souvenir of a fantastic experience!
One thing to point out is that at no point are you actually locked in the room, although it ends your session you are free to leave at any time and there is plenty of room inside for a group so you won’t feel trapped or confined.
Exciting Escapes Southampton has been rated as the number 1 thing to do in Southampton on TripAdvisor and is a fantastic reason to #visitsouthampton. Perfect for a date night, fun with friends or team building with colleagues, it’s unique, exciting and will have you and your team beaming!
