Manchester is to be the home of the country’s biggest escape room complex.
Lucardo – the breakout favourites currently based in the Northern Quarter – are splashing out £250,000 on their new home near the Trafford Centre.
Based across a staggering 9,000 sq ft, game themes will include murder mysteries, drug smuggling, secret curses and ‘proper’ prison breaks.
Director Adam Conroy said the experiences will be ‘as close to real life as you can imagine’ when the complex opens in June.
He explained: “We want to make sure people forget they are even playing a game.
“Compared to what’s on offer at the minute, this will take escape rooms beyond anything anyone will have experienced before.”
ADVENTURE: It’s 60 minutes of non-stop fun
One of the most highly-anticipated games will consist of five rooms alone – and participants could even end up speeding away in the back of a real van.
Adam added: “It will see us move away from the more traditional tasks like cracking a code to find a key which unlocks a chest with another clue inside.
“Our new rooms will be as close to real-life experiences as you can imagine. Ever wondered if you’d have the nous to escape from a real-life prison like Alcatraz?
“This will be as close as you can get to finding out.”
DETAILED: The rooms transport you into the thick of things
The new warehouse location will mark an exciting opportunity for Lucardo to grow and keep providing fun for the people of Manchester.
It’s predicated that the current team will grow from 16 to 60 staff members. These roles will man the new escape rooms, which are slated to cost up to £35,000 each.
Lucardo has also launched its first franchise, which will open in Rawtenstall at the centre of Lancashire’s Rossendale Valley, eight weeks from now.
Escape rooms running at their premises at Virginia House on Great Ancoats Street include World War II thriller Espionage, University of Magic and Gem Runner.
Gem Runner sees teams tasked with pulling off a bank heist, and The Dream requires gamers to find the winning Lottery numbers before their magic change slowly slips away.
Murder-mystery whodunnit Virginia House gives teams 60 minutes to help catch a serial killer before the next victim meets their fate.
