Overview
Gone are the days when showing your pop culture love meant being glued to a screen. That's still on the cards, of course, but there's an ever-growing list of ways that you can interact with your favourite movies and shows beyond simply watching them. Disney does cruises, balls inspired by Bridgerton have been popping up around the country, The Simpsons got the adults-only burlesque and drag treatment, and Shrek raves involve copious amounts of dancing and the colour green — to name just a few examples. So of course an interactive IRL game based on Beauty and the Beast that has fans running around the streets was going to materialise at some point.
It's a tale as old as time, again, but in an escape room-meets-scavenger hunt way. This new game hails from CluedUpp, which has already busted out CSI, Jack the Ripper, and witchcraft and wizarding-themed activities around Australia — plus Alice in Wonderland games, too, with another based on The Smurfs also still to come.
In a year that's set to deliver the Beauty and the Beast musical Down Under as well — in Sydney from June — CluedUpp wants you to be its guest to get sleuthing. Also arriving from the first month of winter onwards, its Beauty and the Beast game involves roaming around outdoors on an adventure that takes its cues from the classic 18th-century fairy tale that's earned such a folllowing, as combined with a whodunnit-style mystery.
Beloved story? Tick. Inserting fans into said narrative? Tick again. Working in the ever-popular genre that is the whodunnit? Tick once more. Throw in the whole escape room and scavenger hunt elements, and it does sound like something that an algorithm would come up with — and a lot of fun.
Hitting Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide on various dates, this spin on Beauty and the Beast starts with the latter getting cursed again. Forget love — this time, there's challenges to complete, clues to crack and fairy tale characters for you and your mates to interrogate. Participants get involved in teams of up to six, roaming around outdoors with their phones to help. And yes, if you want to dress up to fit the theme, you can.
"We're committed to creating unique, outdoor experiences that bring people together and encourage them to have fun with family and friends," said Tref Griffiths, founder of CluedUpp Games. "With Beauty and the Beast, I'm confident people of all ages will love this magical mystery-solving adventure."
CluedUpp's game isn't officially connected to Disney's movies, but if you want some costume inspiration, check out the trailer for the Emma Watson-starring version below:
CluedUpp's Beauty and the Beast game will start taking over Australia's streets from June 2023 — head to the company's website for further details.