Packhunt
AnEscape Thisproduction
Returning mid-2027

Outdoor scavenger hunts with a backpack of clues, back in mid-2027

Outdoor scavenger hunts · a backpack of clues · back in mid-2027

Register your interestHow it worked
An Escape This production

In short: Packhunt is the outdoor scavenger hunt brand of Escape This: teams carry a backpack of clues and an AR app along a story route through city streets. Packhunts aren’t running now. They return in mid-2027 from all five Escape This centres; games, prices and dates are still to be announced.

The idea

An escape room with the walls taken away

A Packhunt starts with a backpack. Inside are the physical clues for one story; on your phone, an app that shows the puzzles you can’t hold in your hand.

From there the city is the game board. The narrative sends your team from landmark to laneway, each answer unlocking the next stop, until the trail ends at its final destination.

Packhunts have been off the streets for a while. Escape This has confirmed they return in mid-2027, starting from every one of its five centres in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.

How a Packhunt worked →

A chalkboard arrow sign in the bush reading Scavenger Hunt Starts Here, with a dotted Packhunt footprint trail
Confirmed

What’s confirmed

  • Packhunt is an Escape This brand of self-guided outdoor scavenger hunts.
  • Packhunts are not running at the moment.
  • They return in mid-2027 across all Escape This cities.
  • The starting centres are Perth CBD, Northbridge, Manly, Sydney CBD and Melbourne CBD.
Not announced yet

Not announced yet

  • Exact return date
  • Which games return or are new
  • Routes
  • Prices
  • Team sizes
  • Minimum age
  • Game length
  • How to book
  • Any Brisbane Packhunts
Played before

The four original Packhunts

These games ran under the old Packhunt site. None is on sale now, and Escape This hasn’t said which, if any, return in 2027.

The Crooked Eight Packhunt badge — Gold Rush Fever
Manly · gold-rush mystery

The Crooked Eight

Track an 1850s bandit gang’s lost treasure through Manly’s streets.

Mindcraft Packhunt badge — An Epic Quest
Manly · for kids and families

Mindcraft

Gather elements and craft weapons to save the Manly ‘biome’ from Creepers.

The Buckens Packhunt badge — A Wedding in Peril
Manly · hens and bucks

The Buckens

Retrace a joint bucks and hens night to find the lost wedding rings.

Lost in the City Packhunt badge — A Perth Adventure
Perth CBD · from Northbridge

Lost in the City

Arrive as a visitor on a mission and solve your way across Perth.

Uses

Who used to book Packhunts

Packhunts were sold for these occasions before the pause. Group options for 2027 are still to be confirmed.

Team building

Work groups split into rival teams racing separate routes to one finish line. For corporate groups today, see Team Escapes.

Birthdays

Grown-up and children’s parties, with a café or bar close to every collection point.

Hens and bucks

Starts in nightlife precincts, plus The Buckens for couples celebrating together.

School excursions

Small teams of students aged nine and up, working outdoors on puzzles.

Where

Five centres to collect a pack from

Trail map tile for Packhunt at Escape This Perth CBD, Hay Street Mall
Perth · Hay Street Mall · Starting mid-2027

Packhunt from Perth CBD

The Basement, 712–720 Hay Street Mall, Perth WA 6000

A new home base for Perth packs in the shopping heart of the city, with routes still to be revealed.

Trail map tile for Packhunt at Escape This Northbridge, Lake Street
Perth · Lake Street · Starting mid-2027

Packhunt from Northbridge

48 Lake Street, Northbridge WA 6003

Perth’s original Packhunt collection point and the start line for Lost in the City, named again for the return.

Trail map tile for Packhunt at Escape This Manly, The Corso
Sydney · The Corso · Starting mid-2027

Packhunt from Manly

2B The Corso, Manly NSW 2095

Three of the four original Packhunts began here, and The Corso collection point is back on the map for mid-2027.

Trail map tile for Packhunt at Escape This Sydney CBD, George Street
Sydney · George Street · Starting mid-2027

Packhunt from the Sydney CBD

630 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

The old site promised Sydney CBD hunts without ever giving a start date; George Street is now a named Packhunt starting point.

Trail map tile for Packhunt at Escape This Melbourne CBD, Collins Street
Melbourne · Collins Street · Starting mid-2027

Packhunt from Melbourne CBD

259 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Victoria’s first confirmed Packhunt base, with its routes still to be revealed.

Playing now

Hunt for clues indoors until then

Pirate Island

Hunt down Calico Jack’s treasure on a tropical island, indoors this time. Playing at Perth CBD, Northbridge and Melbourne CBD.

The Dunny

A very Australian puzzle hunt in an outback long drop, from the same Manly and Perth CBD centres Packhunts start from.

School of Magic

Family-friendly wizarding rooms in Manly and Melbourne, a good pick for the age group Mindcraft used to win over.

Team Escapes

Organising a work group before Packhunts return? Escape This books whole teams across several rooms at every centre.

FAQ

Packhunt: the first questions

What does a Packhunt scavenger hunt involve?

A Packhunt is a self-guided outdoor scavenger hunt from Escape This that blends a classic treasure trail with escape-room-style puzzles and augmented reality. Teams carry a backpack of clues through real streets, following a story from one landmark to the next. Packhunts aren’t running at the moment and are due back in mid-2027.

Is a Packhunt just an escape room held outdoors?

Not quite. An escape room shuts you inside a set and asks you to get out; a Packhunt sends you out into the city and asks you to reach a destination. The old Packhunt site said so plainly, while explaining that the hunts borrowed escape-room puzzle craft and mixed it with scavenger-hunt legwork and AR.

How did a Packhunt game run from start to finish?

Under the old format, a Packhunt began with an online booking and an app link emailed afterwards. On the day, staff met the team at a collection point, gave a short briefing and handed over the pack. The team then followed the story around town solving clues, and came back to the collection point for a debrief and a team photo.

Which Packhunt games have been played before?

Four Packhunts appear on the old site: The Crooked Eight, Mindcraft and The Buckens, which started from Manly, and Lost in the City, which wound through the Perth CBD from a Northbridge start. Escape This hasn’t said which of them, if any, come back in 2027, so a familiar game could return, be reworked or make way for new stories.

Can I play a Packhunt right now?

No. Packhunts are not running at the moment, and the old Packhunt booking pages aren’t taking sessions. Escape This has confirmed the hunts return in mid-2027; until then, its indoor escape rooms are the nearest thing to a Packhunt.

Which cities will Packhunts start from in 2027?

Packhunts are set to return from all five current Escape This centres: Perth CBD and Northbridge in Western Australia, Manly and the Sydney CBD in New South Wales, and Melbourne CBD in Victoria. Each centre is expected to be a starting point; individual Packhunt routes haven’t been released.

Are Packhunts coming to Brisbane or the Gold Coast?

Escape This hasn’t announced Brisbane Packhunts. The old Packhunt site described Brisbane and Gold Coast hunts as coming soon, but the mid-2027 return names only Perth CBD, Northbridge, Manly, the Sydney CBD and Melbourne. Escape This Brisbane CBD is due to open its escape rooms in the first half of 2027, which is a separate launch.

Can we combine a Packhunt with an escape room?

That was part of the idea from the start: because Packhunts left from Escape This centres, teams were encouraged to book an escape room before or after their hunt. With the return using the same five centres, pairing a Packhunt with a room should be simple again, although no bundles have been announced.

Are Packhunts a good fit for a hens or bucks party?

They were a regular choice. Hens and bucks Packhunts started in nightlife precincts such as Northbridge and The Corso, so the group could head straight to a bar afterwards, and The Buckens was written for a combined party. Whether party packages come back in 2027 is still to be confirmed.

Who is behind Packhunt?

Packhunt is a brand of Escape This. Escape This is Australia’s largest escape room operator, and runs its own escape room design studio and escape room factory in Australia. It was named Escape Room Operator of the Year in 2025 and 2026, and it is the company bringing Packhunts back.

Inside the Escape This studio and factory →

Every question about Packhunt →

Before the packs go out

Be first to hear when Packhunts are back

Join the Escape This coming-soon list and you’ll be told about the games, the routes and the day Packhunt bookings open.

Register your interestPerth CBDNorthbridgeManlySydney CBDMelbourne CBD