# Pirates

> Pirates is a 60-minute pirate-ship adventure escape room by Escape This and the first chapter of its Calico Jack saga (Pirate Island is the sequel). Players are prisoners below deck on Calico Jack’s galleon and must find his treasure and escape in a lifeboat before dawn, with his first mate, Scarface, secretly on their side. It plays at Escape This Perth CBD (Hay Street Mall), Sydney CBD (630 George Street) and Melbourne CBD (259 Collins Street). Difficulty 6/10.

Key facts (updated 2026-10-25):
- Difficulty: 6/10. Duration: 60 minutes (allow ~90 minutes for the visit; arrive 15 minutes early).
- Perth: Escape This Perth CBD, The Basement, 712–720 Hay Street Mall, Perth WA 6000. Phone (08) 6118 0286. 2–8 players (4–8 on Saturdays). Monday – Thursday $49 adult, $39 child (under 16); Friday – Sunday $59 adult, $49 child (under 16) (Child = under 16. Excludes public and school holidays.) Recommended 9+. Wheelchair accessible: no. Escape rate 71%. Rated 4.94/5, with 104 five-star reviews. Book: https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/perth-cbd/
- Sydney: Escape This Sydney CBD, 630 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Phone (02) 9173 8535. 2–8 players (4–8 on Saturdays). Monday – Thursday $55 adult, $45 child (under 16); Friday – Sunday $65 adult, $55 child (under 16) (Child = under 16. Excludes public and school holidays.) Recommended 9+. Wheelchair accessible: yes. Escape rate 87%. Rated 4.99/5, with 219 five-star reviews. Book: https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/sydney-cbd/
- Melbourne: Escape This Melbourne CBD, 259 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. Phone (03) 7078 8118. 2–8 players (4–8 on Saturdays). Peak or off-peak session $59–65 adult, $45–55 young adventurers (Melbourne prices change between peak and off-peak sessions; escapethis.com.au shows the exact price next to each time.) Recommended 9+. Wheelchair accessible: yes. Escape rate 99%. Rated 5/5, with 21 five-star reviews. Book: https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/melbourne-cbd/
- Coming soon — Brisbane: Escape This Brisbane CBD, Brisbane QLD (address to be announced), opening in the first half of 2027. Details: https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/brisbane/
- Totals: 20,953 players, 4,752 games, 81% escape rate, average escape 52:05, record 24:46.
- Rating: 4.98/5, with 344 five-star reviews.
- Producer: Escape This (https://www.escapethis.com.au). Escape This is Australia’s largest escape room operator, and runs its own escape room design studio and escape room factory in Australia. It has venues in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, has hosted more than 500,000 players and has earned 17,969 five-star reviews.
- Escape This awards (company-wide, not room awards): APAC Insider Escape Room Operator of the Year 2026; APAC Insider Best Immersive Experience Provider 2026; APAC Insider Escape Room Operator of the Year 2025; 2026 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards: Finalist, Business Excellence; Smart50 Awards 2026: Finalist, People’s Choice Founder of the Year (Bernie Janes); Smart50 Awards 2026: Finalist, Marketing; Smart50 Awards 2026: Finalist, Resilience.
- Bookings are private. No crawling, tight spaces or smoke. 2–8 players. Wheelchair access in Sydney and Melbourne; not in Perth CBD (narrow door to the second chamber).

## Pages
- [Home](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/): overview, stats, reviews, trailer
- [The story](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/the-story/): full premise and what to expect
- [Perth CBD · Hay Street Mall](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/perth-cbd/): prices, rules, booking, map
- [Sydney CBD · George Street](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/sydney-cbd/): prices, rules, booking, map
- [Melbourne CBD · Collins Street](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/melbourne-cbd/): prices, rules, booking, map
- [Brisbane CBD · Queensland](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/brisbane/): opening in the first half of 2027
- [Book](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/book/): live availability
- [Leaderboard](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/leaderboard/): fastest escapes and statistics
- [Reviews](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/reviews/): five-star player reviews
- [Plan your visit](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/plan-your-visit/): ages, accessibility, safety, timing
- [FAQ](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/): common questions
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/): a comic, fictional log by the captain of the Pirates galleon, each entry beside the real room facts
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log: Orders for a Holiday Shanty (24 December 2021)](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/orders-for-a-holiday-shanty/): Christmas Eve on the galleon: Calico Jack orders a beach shanty built to hide his treasure, and puts his trusty first mate in charge. From his comic log.
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log: Amateurs Talking Like Pirates (19 September 2023)](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/amateurs-talking-like-pirates/): On Talk Like a Pirate Day, Calico Jack finds his prisoners in costume growling ‘arr’ at him on his own ship, and takes it very personally. From his comic log.
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log: New Moorings Under Hay Street (26 January 2024)](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/new-moorings-under-hay-street/): Calico Jack’s galleon takes its first prisoners at Escape This Perth CBD on 26 January 2024, and the captain defends his very narrow cabin door. Log entry.
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log: Two Hideouts, One Mall (29 March 2024)](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/two-hideouts-one-mall/): Calico Jack’s island shanty opens under the same Perth mall as his galleon, and he finds prisoners mean to rob both in one afternoon. A comic Pirates log entry.
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log: Sydney Surrenders Nothing (18 October 2024)](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/sydney-surrenders-nothing/): Calico Jack’s galleon opens at Escape This Sydney CBD on 18 October 2024, and the very first Sydney crews sail off with his treasure. The captain is unamused.
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log: Weighing Anchor at Northbridge (2 November 2024)](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/weighing-anchor-at-northbridge/): Calico Jack’s galleon leaves its old berth at Escape This Northbridge in November 2024, and the captain gets misty about all the prisoners who escaped there.
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log: A Voice in My Hold (13 May 2025)](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/a-voice-in-my-hold/): Calico Jack hears a mysterious voice below deck giving his prisoners helpful hints, and blames the parrot, the wind and a ghost. Never his first mate. Log.
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log: Collins Street Takes the Galleon (10 August 2026)](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/collins-street-takes-the-galleon/): Calico Jack’s ship opens at Escape This Melbourne CBD on 10 August 2026, and he learns Melbourne prisoners are captured at peak or off-peak times. Log entry.
- [Captain Calico Jack’s Log: Who Has Been Reading My Log? (21 October 2026)](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/diary/who-has-been-reading-my-log/): Calico Jack discovers his private captain’s log has been posted for all to read, and orders the world to look away. What the log is, and what it never tells.
- [Fact sheet](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/facts/): citable facts
- [The Escape This studio & factory](https://www.thedunny.com.au/studio-and-factory/): who designs and builds the rooms (company FAQ lives there)

## Statistics (as of 2026-10-25)
- Crews have been locked aboard Pirates 4,752 times across Perth, Sydney and Melbourne; 81% made the lifeboat, 85% this year.
- Of the 12 rooms at Escape This Perth CBD, Pirates ranks 3rd for successful escapes: 71% of crews get away.
- Escape This Sydney CBD: Pirates is the venue’s most escapable room (87% of 2,549 crews).
- Escape This Melbourne CBD: Pirates is the venue’s most escapable room (99% of 148 crews).
- Successful crews need 52:05 and 5.9 hints on average.
- Fastest escape: 24:46, set by a team of 6 at Escape This Perth CBD.

## Common questions
- [What’s the Pirates escape room about?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#what-happens-in-pirates): Pirates is a 60-minute adventure escape room by Escape This. You’re prisoners below deck on Calico Jack’s galleon, and his crew is asleep. You have to break free, find his treasure and escape in a lifeboat before dawn, when you’d walk the plank. It plays in Perth CBD, Sydney CBD and Melbourne CBD, and drops anchor in Brisbane CBD in the first half of 2027.
- [Is Pirates the first chapter of the Calico Jack story?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-trilogy-order): Yes. Pirates opens Escape This’s Calico Jack saga, and Pirate Island follows it, with Jack’s island hideout. Each room stands on its own, but the Escape This team suggests starting aboard his ship in Pirates.
- [Was there a third Calico Jack room after Pirate Island?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-third-chapter-dead-mans-chest): There was: Dead Man’s Chest, the trilogy’s finale, about Calico Jack’s cursed chest and Davy Jones. It ran only at Escape This Perth CBD during 2024 and has since been retired, so Pirates and Pirate Island are the two chapters you can still play.
- [Who is the captain holding our crew prisoner?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#who-is-calico-jack-the-captain): Calico Jack, the quickest and most feared pirate in the Caribbean and, in his own opinion, the best dressed. Pirates borrows the nickname of John Rackham, a real pirate of the early 1700s; everything else about this captain, from his vanity to his habit of losing prisoners, is Escape This’s invention.
- [Who is Scarface on Calico Jack’s galleon?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#who-is-scarface-on-the-galleon): The captain’s first mate, and the fiercest-looking sailor aboard. Don’t let the scar fool you: in Pirates, Scarface is quietly on the prisoners’ side, and Calico Jack hasn’t worked it out. He’s back in Pirate Island, the sequel, still covering his tracks.
- [Why does dawn matter in Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#why-walk-the-plank): Daybreak is when Calico Jack’s crew wakes up and your absence is noticed. Pirates gives you the hours of fog and darkness to slip away. If you’re still aboard at first light, the story ends with you walking the plank.
- [What are we trying to steal from Calico Jack?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#what-are-we-stealing): His treasure. It’s stashed somewhere aboard the galleon while the pirates sleep, and Pirates is won by finding it and getting off the ship with it before daylight.
- [What does “No prey, no pay” mean?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#no-prey-no-pay): It was a real pirate rule: a crew shared the plunder from a raid, and if they took nothing, nobody was paid. It’s the Pirates tagline because the whole room is a raid. Leave Calico Jack’s ship empty-handed and you’ve got nothing to show for it.
- [Should first-timers start with Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-difficulty-for-beginners): It’s one of the best. Pirates is rated 6 out of 10: the clues are mostly in plain sight and the work is connecting them. First-time crews and switched-on kids do well, and it’s the most escapable room at Escape This Sydney CBD and Melbourne CBD.
- [How many rooms are there inside Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#how-many-chambers): Pirates is played across more than one chamber of the ship, starting below deck and moving into the captain’s quarters. The door between the chambers is what makes the Perth CBD version unsuitable for wheelchairs.
- [Is Pirates scary for children?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-scary): No. Pirates is a swashbuckling adventure, not a fright night. It’s dark below deck and the lighting shifts, but kids aged nine and up love it, and younger ones can play with a parent.
- [How long does a Pirates game take?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-length): Sixty minutes from the moment you’re locked in the hold. Arrive 15 minutes early for the briefing and allow another 15 afterwards, so a Pirates visit runs about 90 minutes.
- [What does Pirates cost in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-prices-by-city): Perth CBD: $49 adult and $39 child Monday–Thursday, $59 and $49 Friday–Sunday. Sydney CBD: $55 and $45 Monday–Thursday, $65 and $55 Friday–Sunday. Children are under 16, and those prices exclude public and school holidays. Melbourne CBD uses peak and off-peak pricing: $59–$65 per adult and $45–$55 per young adventurer.
- [How do we sign on for a Pirates voyage?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#sign-on-online): Pick Perth, Sydney or Melbourne on the booking page, choose a session and you’re confirmed straight away. You can also phone Perth on (08) 6118 0286, Sydney on (02) 9173 8535 or Melbourne on (03) 7078 8118.
- [Can just two of us play Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#two-player-crew): Yes, on every day except Saturday, when crews need at least four. In Perth or Sydney, a pair can still phone the venue on a Saturday or walk in and take a free slot if there is one. The room works well for two.
- [Can we play Pirates and then Pirate Island?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-and-island-same-day): Yes, in Perth CBD or Melbourne CBD, where both run: escape the galleon, then follow Calico Jack to his island. Pirate Island also opens at Sydney CBD in November 2026, so Sydney crews will soon be able to play both.
- [Our crew is more than eight — what now?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-crew-too-big): Pirates holds eight at most. Split the group and book a second room at the same start time. Pirate Island in Perth, Melbourne or, from November 2026, Sydney makes a natural pairing, since both halves of the crew end up fighting Calico Jack.
- [Can I buy Pirates as a present?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-voucher): Yes. Escape This gift vouchers cover Pirates at every venue and are sold on escapethis.com.au, which makes them an easy present for a pirate-mad birthday.
- [Do strangers get put on our ship?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-private): No. Pirates bookings are always private. Your crew has the galleon to itself.
- [How big can a Pirates crew be?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-crew-size): Two to eight players at all three venues, with a minimum of four on Saturdays (in Melbourne, Friday and Saturday evening peak sessions). The cap of eight doesn’t bend.
- [What age can kids play Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-kids-age): Nine and up is recommended, and seven- and eight-year-olds can come along as paying players with their family. Children aged nine or under need a paying adult in the game with them.
- [Does everyone need to read English for Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-english): No, one reader is enough. Pirates needs moderate English reading, and the story and hints are spoken in English, so the crew can rely on whoever reads most comfortably.
- [Can a wheelchair user play Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-wheelchair-by-city): In Sydney and Melbourne, yes, with one wheelchair per session (in Melbourne, check the size of the chair with the team). In Perth CBD, the narrow door into the second chamber rules it out, so Escape This suggests a different Perth CBD room.
- [Is Pirates OK if I’m pregnant or have limited mobility?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-mobility-pregnancy): Yes. There’s no crawling and no squeezing through tight spaces anywhere on the ship, so it’s a comfortable choice.
- [Is the hold too tight for claustrophobic players?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-claustrophobic): No. Despite the below-deck setting, Pirates has no confined spaces, and Escape This lists it as a good choice for claustrophobic players.
- [Is there fog or smoke on the ship?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-asthma): Only in the story. Pirates doesn’t use smoke or haze machines, so it’s fine for players with asthma or breathing conditions.
- [How does someone hard of hearing get on in Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-hearing): Well, with the crew’s help. Narration and hints in Pirates are audio, so teammates relay them, while the puzzles themselves are hands-on.
- [What if someone needs to abandon ship?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-abandon-ship): Each chamber of Pirates has a panic button, and the gamesmaster watching on CCTV opens up straight away. Everyone else can keep going.
- [When should we be at the dock for Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-arrival): Fifteen minutes before your start time. That covers lockers and the briefing, so no time comes off your hour below deck.
- [Is it worth dressing up for Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-costumes): Definitely. Hook, Sinbad, Blackbeard and Jack Sparrow all suit the ship, and bonus points go to crews that stay in pirate voice the whole hour. Closed shoes, please.
- [What can’t we take aboard Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-what-to-leave): Phones, smartwatches, cameras and anything else that records stay in the free lockers. And nobody plays Pirates after a session at the bar.
- [Which cities is Pirates sailing in?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#where-pirates-plays): At three Escape This venues: Perth CBD (The Basement, 712–720 Hay Street Mall), Sydney CBD (630 George Street) and Melbourne CBD (259 Collins Street). A fourth Pirates port, Escape This Brisbane CBD, is set to open in the first half of 2027.
- [Is Pirates popular in Sydney?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-sydney-favourite): It’s Escape This Sydney CBD’s most escapable room: 87% of crews get away with the treasure. It’s a favourite with families and first-timers, and the most reviewed version of Pirates.
- [Why isn’t Pirates in Perth CBD suitable for wheelchairs?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-perth-wheelchair-door): Because of one doorway. The first chamber of the Perth CBD ship is wheelchair friendly, but the door through to the second chamber is too narrow for a chair. Escape This suggests another Perth CBD room, or Pirates in Sydney or Melbourne, where wheelchairs are welcome.
- [Is Pirates cheaper at off-peak times in Melbourne?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-melbourne-peak): Melbourne CBD prices each Pirates session as peak or off-peak, so adults pay $59–$65 and young adventurers $45–$55 depending on the time you choose. The booking calendar shows each session’s price before you pay.
- [How many crews escape Calico Jack’s galleon?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-escape-rate): 81% of the 4,752 crews who’ve played Pirates got away. By venue: Perth CBD 71%, Sydney CBD 87%, Melbourne CBD 99%.
- [What’s the quickest escape from Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-fastest-crew): 24:46, by a team of 6 at Escape This Perth CBD, with 2 hints and 35:14 left before dawn.
- [Is Pirates the easiest room at Escape This?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-easiest-room): Close to it. By escape rate, Pirates is the 3rd most escapable of 12 at Escape This Perth CBD; the most escapable of 9 rooms at Escape This Sydney CBD; the most escapable of 5 rooms at Escape This Melbourne CBD. That’s why it’s the room Escape This suggests for first-timers.
- [How many hints do Pirates crews usually need?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-hints): Crews that escape Pirates ask for 5.9 hints on average and need 52:05 of the hour.
- [What do players think of Pirates?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#pirates-reviews-verdict): Pirates averages 4.98 out of 5 across Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, with 344 five-star reviews to date. Reviewers mention the full-size ship built indoors, the sound effects and voice-overs, and puzzles that suit a mixed crew.
- [Who built the Pirates ship?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#who-built-the-galleon): Escape This built Pirates’ galleon set in-house at its Perth workshop, the same team that went on to make Pirate Island. Escape This is Australia’s largest escape room operator, with its own escape room design studio and escape room factory.
- [What is Calico Jack’s Log?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#what-is-calico-jacks-log): A comic, made-up diary that Escape This writes in the voice of Calico Jack, the pompous captain of the Pirates galleon. He records the crews he takes prisoner, the many who escape and his hunt for whoever keeps helping them. It suits every age and gives nothing away about the puzzles.
- [Did the real Calico Jack write this log?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#did-the-real-calico-jack-keep-a-log): No. John Rackham, the pirate nicknamed Calico Jack, sailed the Caribbean around 1720 and left no such journal. The log is fiction Escape This writes for the Pirates site, and Duchess, the captain’s parrot, exists only in its pages. The room facts printed beside each entry are real.
- [Will Calico Jack’s Log spoil Pirates for us?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#jacks-log-spoilers): No. The captain never writes down where his treasure is, how his locks open or the way off his ship, so the log reveals nothing a crew needs. Read it before your voyage or after it; either way the hold will still surprise you.
- [Which events in Calico Jack’s Log really happened?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#jacks-log-real-dates): The openings and the move. Escape This’s booking records show Pirates opening at Escape This Perth CBD on 26 January 2024, Sydney CBD on 18 October 2024 and Melbourne CBD on 10 August 2026, its Northbridge run ending in November 2024, and Pirate Island arriving at Perth CBD on 29 March 2024. The log’s entries for those days carry those dates; the rest are dated for the story.
- [Does anyone else aboard keep a diary?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#scarface-other-side-of-the-log): The first mate does, in secret. Scarface writes up many of the same days from the other side: the prisoners he helps, the tracks he covers and the captain who never suspects him. His journal lives on the site of Pirate Island, the sequel to Pirates, and doesn’t repeat a word of the captain’s log.
- [Is Calico Jack still writing new entries?](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/faq/#how-often-is-jacks-log-updated): Yes, about once a month. Each new entry appears here on the date written at the top, so the log keeps pace with the real Pirates ships in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, and Brisbane when it opens.

## Optional
- [Full text](https://www.escapethepirates.com.au/llms-full.txt): story, FAQ and per-venue rules in plain text