The honest version: how confined, how dark and how intense Buried Alive is, and who should sit it out.
In short: Before Buried Alive: both players must be 18+, the coffins are 200 × 70 × 50 cm, and it’s not for anyone claustrophobic, pregnant, over 6′5″, epileptic or afraid of the dark. No wheelchair access, no smoke, panic buttons and CCTV throughout. Arrive 15 minutes early.
| Northbridge · Lake Street, Perth | Sydney CBD · George Street | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 48 Lake Street, Northbridge WA 6003 | 630 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000 |
| Players | 2 | 2 |
| Price | Monday – Thursday: $59 Friday – Sunday: $65 | Monday – Thursday: $59 Friday – Sunday: $65 |
| Ages | 18+ only (ID checked) | 18+ only (ID checked) |
| Wheelchair access | No | No |
| Escape rate | 38% | 60% |
| Phone | (08) 6118 0286 | (02) 9173 8535 |
Holiday pricing differs by venue — see each venue's pricing note.
Buried Alive can’t take wheelchair users: you climb into and lie inside a coffin, and there is crawling. At Northbridge there are also two large steps up to the rooms. Call the venue and the team will suggest an accessible room instead.
Buried Alive in Sydney is not wheelchair accessible. Playing means getting into a coffin, lying down and crawling, which also rules it out for anyone with limited mobility. The venue team can point you to an accessible room.
No. Buried Alive has two coffins and each one holds a single player, so you and your partner start the game apart. Players say that brief feeling of being on your own in the dark is the scariest part, and the puzzles only fall when both of you pull together.
Expect restraints. Reviewers describe their gamesmaster fitting blindfolds and handcuffs as Buried Alive begins, and the original Buried Alive site says both players are chained and locked inside their coffins. Every restraint is part of the puzzle, and the panic button is always within reach.
Taphophobia: the fear of being buried while still alive, which grew in the 18th and 19th centuries alongside inventions like the safety coffin. Buried Alive is built on exactly that dread. If the word describes you, this is the one Escape This room to skip.
Each Buried Alive coffin measures 200 cm long, 70 cm wide and 50 cm deep. That leaves room to lie down and move your arms, but not to sit up. Escape This advises anyone taller than 6′5″ (about 196 cm) not to play.
Very. Escape This bills Buried Alive as Australia’s most extreme escape experience: you are sealed in a coffin in near-total darkness, with flashing light and jump scares possible. It is meant to frighten. If you are unsure whether you can handle it, Escape This’s own advice is not to play it.
Dark enough to matter. Buried Alive uses controlled lighting with periods of complete darkness and some flashing light. Escape This tells anyone afraid of the dark, or with epilepsy or light sensitivity, not to play.
There can be. Buried Alive may include jump scares as well as confined spaces and darkness. If anything about that worries you, raise it with the gamesmasters at check-in or call the venue before you book.
Up to 60 minutes. Arrive 15 minutes early for lockers and the briefing, and allow about 15 minutes afterwards to steady your nerves, so a Buried Alive visit runs to roughly 90 minutes. Pairs who dig out early leave sooner.
No. Buried Alive holds exactly two players and every session is one booking, so the only other person underground is the one you brought.
Buried Alive’s original site lists three shirts, I Survived, I Died and I Cried, sold in store at Escape This Northbridge for $19.99 to players who have been through the room. Ask at the front desk after your game to check they’re still stocked.
18. Buried Alive is strictly adults-only at every venue, with no exceptions, and staff may check ID if you look young. Under-18s cannot play or come in as spectators.
Effectively, yes. The Buried Alive coffins are 200 cm long inside, and Escape This advises players over 6′5″, roughly 196 cm, not to attempt it.
It helps a lot. Buried Alive’s story, cues and clues are spoken in English, and there is a moderate amount of reading. Escape This suggests at least one of the pair, ideally both, be comfortable in English.
No. Buried Alive is designed to induce claustrophobia: you lie in a closed coffin roughly half a metre deep, often in the dark. Escape This tells anyone with claustrophobia or a strong aversion to enclosed spaces not to play it.
Press the panic button. Buried Alive has panic buttons for leaving early, both coffins are on CCTV the entire time, and a gamesmaster will get you out. Nobody is trapped for real.
No. Buried Alive involves climbing into a coffin, lying down and crawling, so it isn’t suitable for wheelchair users or anyone with mobility difficulties. Escape This runs accessible rooms and will help you choose one.
No. Escape This says categorically not to play Buried Alive if you are pregnant, because of the confined space, the crawling and the intensity.
Escape This advises against it. Buried Alive switches between complete darkness and flashing light, and players with epilepsy or light sensitivity are told not to play.
No. Buried Alive uses no smoke effects, so asthma and other breathing conditions don’t rule you out, although the closed coffin can feel stuffy to anxious players.
Yes, with support. Buried Alive’s narration and clue system are audio, so a player who is hard of hearing relies on their partner to relay what’s said. With only two people and separate coffins, talk it through with the gamesmaster first.
Clothes you can lie down and wriggle in. Escape This recommends outfits suited to moving in an enclosed space for Buried Alive, and says skirts and dresses are not a good idea.
No. Phones, smartwatches, cameras and any recording device stay out of Buried Alive, and lockers are provided for valuables. A phone torch would spoil the darkness anyway.
Save it for afterwards. Anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs is not allowed into Buried Alive. Northbridge’s bars are right outside for the celebration, or commiseration, once you’re back above ground.
Book Buried Alive at Northbridge or Sydney CBD. Exactly two players, both 18 or over.
