🎪 Coming soon · Launching 2027

UNDER THE BIG TOP

● TONIGHT GATES OPEN IN 60:00 · OPENING NIGHT

The show must go on.

It's the circus's one hundredth opening night — and the big top is dark. The retiring ringmaster hid the words that start the show, and your troupe has 60 minutes to find them before the crowd takes its seats, each of you holding clues the others can't see. Everyone plays from their own screen. No one escapes alone.

🔔 Save me a front-row seat Read the story ↓

✓ Best with 2–8 players  ·  ✓ Solo play available  ·  ✓ One price for your whole troupe — friends join free

🧸 Our friendliest room. Difficulty 2 of 5 — made for families, first-timers, and mixed-age teams. If it's your crew's first escape room, start here.
Difficulty
2/5
●●○○○
Recommended players
2–8
solo play available
Playtime
~60min
one session
Recommended age
8+
littles welcome with a grown-up

✅ What you'll get

  • A private room code + host link, emailed instantly
  • One full ~60-minute escape — one playthrough per game
  • Up to 8 players — friends join free, no accounts to create
  • Four asymmetric clue roles; larger groups play in small teams
  • Built-in host controls, hints & live team chat

💻 What you'll need

  • Any modern browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge
  • Any device — desktop, laptop, tablet or phone
  • A stable internet connection — no app, no downloads
  • One screen per player (or per team) works best

The story so far

OPENING NIGHT — THE 100TH SEASON

For fifty years, the Great Marvelli has opened every show of the Marvelli Family Circus the same way: he steps into the spotlight, raises his silver baton, and speaks the opening words — the secret name of the legendary closing act that no one outside the family has ever heard.

Tonight, he retires. And the big top is dark.

Pinned to the performers' gate, in the old showman's looping hand: "A circus isn't given — it's earned, one wonder at a time. Find my opening words before the gates open, and the show is yours." The baton sits locked in its box in the center ring. The opening words are hidden behind ten playful puzzles scattered across the grounds — the marquee, the carousel, the ticket booth, Clown Alley.

Now it's your troupe's turn. Take your places — the center ring, the illusion trunk, the rigging, and the props — and follow the trail the Great Marvelli left through his beloved circus. Light the marquee. Raise the canvas. Find the words.

You have 60 minutes before the gates open and the crowd takes its seats. Earn the circus. Start the show. The show must go on.

Pick your act — meet the troupe

Four performers, four points of view. Every clue you see is one your troupe can't.

🎩

The Ringmaster

Holds the program, the posters, and the Great Marvelli's prompt book — the show's running order answers to you.

✨ One-time ability: Grand Announcement
🪄

The Magician

Keeps the illusion trunk — trick props, trap doors, and half of every secret chalked under the lid.

✨ One-time ability: Abracadabra
🤸

The Acrobat

Works the rigging and the ropes — from the high platform, the whole circus is a map only you can read.

✨ One-time ability: Bird's-Eye View
🤡

The Clown

Runs the gags and the props, and reads the crowd like a book — the big finish is yours to land.

✨ One-time ability: One More Act

Inside the circus grounds

A taste of what's waiting past the performers' gate — no spoilers.

🪢

The Four Ropes

The storm left the canvas sagging. Four ropes, four heaves — and we do mean together.

🎠

The Carousel Cipher

Crank the carousel until the painted letters say something. Then say it back.

🎟️

The Ticket Booth

Four digits, four picture dials, one register. Better punch them in order.

🤡

The Clown's Routine

Six props on the table. Five belong in the act. One is definitely not the clown's.

Why you'll love it

🌍

Play from anywhere

Everyone joins from their own device — across the room or across the world. Just a browser, no downloads.

🤝

Real teamwork, by design

Each performer sees different clues. You literally can't win without talking to each other — nobody drifts off onto their phone.

🧸

Built for first-timers

Our gentlest puzzles: everything you need is in the clues, and kids crack them as fast as grown-ups. No trivia, no tricks.

🤹

Solo or a full troupe

Best with 2–8 players, and solo play is available. Four clue roles run the circus — hold all four yourself, or split a larger group into small troupes. Step right up.

⏱️

A race to showtime

Sixty minutes before the gates open and the crowd takes its seats. Can you start the show?

💸

One price, whole troupe

At launch, one payment — — covers your whole troupe, not per person. Best with 2–8 players; friends join free. Split among the family, it's just a few dollars each.

How it works

1

Buy at launch

When the circus rolls in: check out securely, and your private room code and host link are emailed to you instantly.

2

Invite your troupe

Share the code. Friends and family join free from any device — anything from one player to a full house.

3

Start the show

Pick your acts, start the clock, and chase down the opening words before the gates open.

The secret ingredient: you each see something different

The Ringmaster reads the program. The Magician reads the tricks. The Acrobat reads the rigging. The Clown reads the crowd. Alone, each clue is a dead end — but together they light the next lamp. It's the kind of game where the eight-year-old spots what the grown-ups missed, and everyone cheers when the marquee blazes on.

Perfect for

🎂 Birthday parties 👨‍👩‍👧 Family game night 🏫 Class & club parties 💼 Remote team building 🎪 Circus theme parties ❤️ Date night

Coming soonOne-time price

🗓 Launching 2027
Estimated launch — join the waitlist to be first inper game · your whole troupe · no subscription
  • Friends join free — one price for your troupe
  • Play solo or as a group (best with 2–8)
  • Full 60-minute escape challenge
  • Code + host link emailed instantly
  • No deadline to start — play whenever
  • One playthrough per game — once the show goes on, it's yours
🔔 Join the waitlist

Be first through the gates

One email the moment Under the Big Top opens — plus any early-bird deal.
No spam, no confetti cannons in your inbox.

Step right up. 🎪

Join the waitlist and be the first troupe through the performers' gate.

🔔 Save me a front-row seat