OPOLUM: New Escape Room Lets Players Become Smugglers
All photos: OPOLUM
(eap) After three years of planning and several months of construction, OPOLUM in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt warehouse district now has a new escape room that transports players into the world of smugglers and customs officers. The “Smugglers – The Ingenious Plan” room invites up to six people per group to solve tricky puzzles together in order to smuggle goods undetected. Live action, a historical reference to the Speicherstadt and an action-packed storyline with effects are also part of the 75-minute experience.
“After the huge success of our ‘ChainSAW’ room and our outdoor experiences, the expectations for our new escape game are naturally huge. That’s why we took a lot of time to create the perfect puzzle experience,” explains Christoph Laubis, Managing Director of Opolum. He and his team benefit from around ten years of experience in operating escape rooms: “Right from the planning stage, we took a number of things into account to ensure smooth operation: A compact design despite an exceptionally large overall area, hidden corridors for our actors, low-maintenance effects and options already built in for future expansion,” says Laubis.
The opening of the new space coincides with the tenth anniversary of Hamburg’s Speicherstadt district as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Opolum therefore made a conscious decision in favour of a story set in the Speicherstadt. There is also a co-operation with the nearby German Customs Museum (G.: Deutsches Zollmuseum). Guests who play the escape room at Opolum are reimbursed the entrance fee for the museum. “We see ourselves as an entertainment programme with a historical connection. Because we keep finding that guests want to learn more about the real-life background to our attractions through our adventures, we want to give them the opportunity to delve deeper into the history of customs and smuggling. The German Customs Museum is only a short walk away, so this cooperation is a perfect fit,” says Christoph Laubis.
Further expansion of the attractions at Opolum is planned for the coming years. In addition to the modernisation of existing experiences, the installation of a third indoor attraction is already being planned. Moreover, the further development of the premises into a modern event location for larger groups is being driven forward. ■
