So the fourth city to have two or more exit games is Belfast. Exit Games UK didn’t see this opening coming, but as the official opening was only last Saturday (and historians may enjoy noting this wasn’t the first day with two different exit games opening) then a reaction time of five days is acceptable.

Unusually, The Gr8 Escape has chosen to launch with its physical site before its web site. However, the Facebook page has all the information you need (this post in particular has details of address, parking, pricing and timing) and plenty of information from the site as it was created. The Twitter feed is pretty active as well. All the social media content is unusually friendly, which is a plus point. This blends well with the lovely logo and the tagline (“Can you Craic the code?”) which sets the atmosphere well. Some exit games go for an air of tension; this is explicitly in contrast. Cool!

What else is known? The first game’s title of “Life’s a game of cards – will you have a winning hand?” gives another sense of the prevailing style. Refreshments are complimentary, and escaping the room within the 60-minute time limit earns a 50% off voucher for a future room, a free glass of bubbly or orange juice and a “I craic’d the code” certificate. The venue seems to have plenty of room to host further rooms in the course of time. The game is set to cater for teams of two to eight and prices vary from £30/team to £40/team depending on team size, with family and student discounts on top. The location seems to be reasonably central Belfast and games will be available seven days per week – to begin with, through this booking app.

And yet, and yet, despite the image this site might have given, the proprietors seem to be taking rather a degree of delight at how difficult the game has proved. Among the playtest teams taking part in the soft launch, the score was “room 8, teams 0”. So if the kudos of being the first team to beat a particular exit room appeals, maybe best to get in sooner rather than later!