Cluemanji, Family Escape Room in South Yarra
Family • South Yarra, Melbourne • 60 minutes • 2 to 6 players
The story
A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind. Solve the clues to find your tokens. Work together, or be trapped forever. What you have begun, you must finish. The consequences of Cluemanji end only when the room is complete and Cluemanji is reached.
At a glance
Suitable for: All ages. A bright board-game adventure with no scares, great for kids and families. Under-16s welcome with a participating adult.
A bright, playful board-game adventure with no scares, no darkness and nothing that chases you. Genuinely all-ages, and a favourite for kids, families and first-timers.
Pricing: $74 per person for 2 players, scaling down to $70 per person for 6. Children aged 9 to 13 are $42 each, with at least one paying adult per room.
Book Cluemanji at South Yarra
Not ready to lock in the whole group?
Hold your preferred time with a single-player booking ($100 a room), which secures the room while you round up your team. Everyone else pays the difference when you arrive. Booking is instant, and you can reschedule for free up to 2 hours before your start time.
Is this theme right for you?
Cluemanji is a magical board-game adventure: you have started a game you cannot stop, and the only way out is to solve the clues, find your tokens and finish it before it traps you for good. If you loved Jumanji, the game that pulls you into its world and will not let go until someone wins, this room was built for you. It is a bright, all-ages adventure, all puzzles and fun rather than fright, and a favourite for kids, families and groups of friends. Fans of the films will love the premise, and you do not need to know them to have a great time.
Why book with Rush
- Melbourne owned and operated. More than a decade building Melbourne's highest-rated escape rooms, every room designed, built and run in-house.
- A 4.9 star experience. Rated by thousands of players across our venues.
- Bespoke, never off the shelf. Every room is designed and built by our own team, not bought as a kit.
- Handmade and authentic. We work with local artists and restore vintage set pieces, so every room feels real and fully immersive.
- Always being upgraded. Our in-house team is constantly refining the tech, puzzles and sets, so the rooms stay cutting edge.
- Our delight guarantee. If your experience falls short, tell us and we will make it right.
Planning a birthday or corporate event?
Cluemanji is one of our most popular rooms for kids' birthdays and family days out. Each room holds up to 6, so larger groups split across rooms at South Yarra and play at the same time. For corporate team-building and group functions, see our team-building page or email enquiries@rushescapegame.com.au. For birthdays, parties, and hens or bucks nights, see our celebrations page. To hold a date, book a single player as a deposit.
Good to know before you go
- No experience or special equipment needed, just your group.
- Wear comfortable clothing and closed-in shoes.
- Arrive 10 minutes before your start time.
- Players under 16 are welcome with a participating adult in the room.
- You are never locked in and can step out at any time.
Escape rooms in South Yarra
Cluemanji is one of our most popular family and kids' escape rooms and one of six rooms at our South Yarra flagship, a two-minute walk from South Yarra Station. Alongside it at South Yarra are the family-friendly Monsterz and Game of the Dragon, the spy adventure Secret Agent Man, and our scarier rooms It's Nightmare and HackSaw: Chapter 2, so a group can pick their level. Easy to reach from the Melbourne CBD, Toorak, Prahran and Windsor.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Cluemanji based on Jumanji?
- It is our own original board-game adventure, made for fans of that kind of film. If you loved Jumanji, the magical game that traps you until it is finished, you will feel right at home. It is bright and playful with no scares, and you do not need to know the films to enjoy it.
- Is Cluemanji suitable for young kids?
- Yes. Cluemanji is an all-ages, family-friendly room with no horror or scares. Younger children are welcome with a participating adult, and the puzzles are designed so the whole family can join in.
- Will it scare my kids?
- No. There are no live actors, no scares and nothing that chases or grabs you. It is a Jumanji-style board-game adventure, built to be fun rather than frightening.
- Is it still fun for the adults?
- Definitely. The puzzles have enough depth to keep grown-ups engaged, so it works just as well for a team or a group of friends as it does for families.
- Is it good for a birthday party?
- Yes, it is one of our most popular choices for birthdays. Each room holds up to 6, so larger groups split across rooms at South Yarra and play at the same time. To hold a date, book a single player as a deposit, and see our celebrations page or email enquiries@rushescapegame.com.au for party or group pricing.
- How hard is it, will we finish?
- It sits at a moderate difficulty and is very achievable. Your games master gives hints whenever you need them, so most families and groups make it out with time to spare.
- How many players do we need?
- Two to six. Larger groups split across rooms at South Yarra and race head to head.
Getting here & what's nearby
160 Toorak Road, South Yarra VIC 3141. Please enter via 147 Osborne Street.
Metres from South Yarra Station, with trams running along Toorak Road and Chapel Street.
Get directions → •
Parking nearby → •
Restaurants & bars nearby →
Chapel Street and Toorak Road are on the doorstep for food and drinks before or after your game. Questions? Email southyarra@rushescapegame.com.au or call 03 9972 8021.
More rooms at South Yarra
Other Rush venues across Melbourne
St Kilda: Alice in Wonderland, The Conjoining, Treasure Island, The Last of Them | Book St Kilda
Chadstone: HackSaw: Remastered, Mission:Possible, Da Vinci Down Under | Book Chadstone
A jungle that will not release you until the game is finished. Bright, busy and about as easy to put a mixed group into as anything we have. It sits alongside five other rooms with no scares at all on adventure escape rooms in Melbourne.
Is Cluemanji a good first escape room?
It is the one we recommend most often to people who have never done this before, and to families. Bright, warm, three out of five on puzzles, and rated Not scary, which is our lowest tier and means exactly what it says: no darkness used to unsettle anyone, nothing jumps out, no horror content of any kind.
The premise is a magical board game you have started and cannot stop. Solve the clues, find your tokens and finish the game before it finishes with you. It is a jungle adventure with a countdown attached, and it is the room where a nine year old, a nervous first-timer and an adult who plays escape rooms every month can all be usefully occupied in the same hour.
That last part is the actual skill in a family room and it is harder than it sounds. Most all-ages rooms solve the problem by being easy, which bores the adults. This one solves it by having a lot of parallel work: several things can be solved at once, so the group naturally splits, and the youngest person in the room ends up holding something that matters.
A game about being inside a game
There is a small genre of fiction about games that will not let you leave, and Cluemanji is the only room we run where that idea is the explicit premise rather than the format.
Think about what an escape room actually is. You voluntarily enter a space, accept a set of rules you did not write, agree that certain objects mean certain things, and cannot leave the fiction until you have satisfied it. That is a board game with the players inside it. Every escape room in the world is quietly this, and this one says so out loud, which gives it a licence the others do not have.
It means the room can be openly playful about its own machinery. Tokens matter because tokens matter in games. Turns and sequences matter. Rules are stated and then enforced by the world. A group that starts thinking like players rather than like victims does much better in here, and watching that switch happen in a family is genuinely one of the more enjoyable things to observe from the games master's side.
The cursed-game tradition it belongs to is older than film. A game with a will of its own, a wager that cannot be withdrawn, a board that changes when nobody is watching, dice that decide more than they should, and the rule that the only way out is through. It works because everybody already understands game logic. You do not have to explain to a seven year old that you cannot just stop halfway.
The jungle, and why it suits a family room
The second half of the room is expedition adventure, which is the friendliest possible setting for a first escape room.
The vocabulary is instantly legible and none of it is threatening: the overgrown temple, the vines, the stone idol, the artefact on a pedestal, the explorer's abandoned camp, the map with a section missing, the tribal carvings, the rope bridge, the quicksand, the ruins of a lost city that the jungle has been quietly reclaiming for centuries. Everyone from about six years old upwards has the whole mental picture already, which means the room can start being fun in the first thirty seconds instead of spending five minutes explaining itself.
It is also colourful, and that matters more than it should. Almost every escape room in Melbourne is dark, because darkness hides construction and adds atmosphere cheaply. A bright, densely built room is harder to make and much better for children, older players and anyone who finds the dark unpleasant. Cluemanji is one of our brightest rooms and that is deliberate.
If you loved Jumanji, the game that pulls you into its world and will not let go until somebody wins, this room was built for you. It is our own original story, not an adaptation of anything.
How we rate scare, and why it is not difficulty
Two independent scales, because they measure different things and confusing them is how families end up in the wrong room. Difficulty is the puzzles, one to five stars. Scare is the experience, four named tiers.
Cluemanji is Not scary and three out of five on difficulty. Three is our middle rating and it is the sweet spot for a first room: enough to feel like an achievement, not enough to grind. A confident group escapes it. A first-time family escapes it with help from their games master and talks about it for a week.
Who this room is for, and who it is not
Book it if: it is a first escape room, you are booking a kids birthday, you have a mixed-age family group, you want something bright and warm rather than dark, or somebody in the group has firmly ruled out anything frightening.
Pick something else if: you are experienced players wanting to be beaten, or you specifically want atmosphere and tension.
Age. All ages with an adult in the room. It works from around six or seven, which makes it one of the youngest-friendly rooms in the network alongside Monsterz at the same venue and The Nine-Nine at Hawthorn.
Kids birthdays. This is one of our two standard birthday rooms at South Yarra. With six rooms in the building, a larger party splits across several and plays at the same time, then compares times afterwards, which is usually the best part of the day for everybody involved.
Nothing frightening. No horror content, no dark used to scare anyone, nothing jumps out, and no live actors in this or any of our sixteen rooms, at any venue, in any season including Halloween.
Claustrophobia. You are never locked in and the exit is always available. Bright, open and not built around confinement.
Language. The puzzles are deliberately designed not to depend on English fluency. Almost everything is solved through symbols, patterns, objects, numbers and physical logic rather than reading and wordplay, across all sixteen rooms. In a family room this is the difference between a child participating and a child watching, so it matters here more than anywhere.
Questions people ask before booking
Is it suitable for young children?
Yes, with an adult in the room. It is our lowest scare tier, bright rather than dark, and works well from around six or seven.
Will adults find it too easy?
No. Three out of five is a real puzzle. What it is not is punishing, so a group of adults will enjoy it and probably escape, which is the right outcome for a first room or a family session.
Is anything scary or dark?
No. Not scary is our lowest tier and it is literal. No horror content, no darkness used to unsettle anyone, nothing jumps out, no live actors.
Which room should we book for a kids birthday at South Yarra?
This one or Monsterz. Both are Not scary and all ages. For a larger party, book both and run them at the same time.
Do we need to know the film?
Not at all. The room briefs you on everything and nothing requires outside knowledge.
What should we play next?
If you enjoyed the adventure and want a harder version, Game of the Dragon at the same venue is four out of five and still Not scary. If you want the next step in atmosphere, Strangest Thing at Hawthorn is Spooky.
Our all-ages rooms, across the network
If you are booking for a family or a first-timer, these are the rooms with no frightening content at all, at every venue.
| Room | Venue | Difficulty | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cluemanji | South Yarra | 3 / 5 | First-timers and families. Bright, warm, plenty of parallel work. |
| Monsterz | South Yarra | 3 / 5 | The youngest players. Friendly monsters, no menace. |
| The Nine-Nine | Hawthorn | 3 / 5 | Comedy caper. Great for kids and for groups who want to laugh. |
| Treasure Island | St Kilda | 3 / 5 | Pirate adventure. The family pick at the bayside venue. |
| Game of the Dragon | South Yarra | 4 / 5 | Families who want a serious challenge. Harder, still not scary. |
A step up in atmosphere without real fear, Alice in Wonderland at St Kilda and Strangest Thing at Hawthorn are both rated Spooky and suit most ages with an adult.
Finding us in South Yarra
Cluemanji is one of six escape rooms at Rush South Yarra, our flagship at 160 Toorak Road, entered via 147 Osborne Street, two minutes from South Yarra Station. Easy from Prahran, Windsor, Toorak, Richmond, Armadale, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, St Kilda and the Melbourne CBD.
Six rooms in one building is what makes this the venue for birthdays. A large party splits across several rooms, plays simultaneously and meets back in the lounge to argue about who did better, and Chapel Street handles the food afterwards.
Sessions run seven days. Two to six players, sixty minutes, instant confirmation and free rescheduling up to two hours before your start time.