Since we first experienced an escape room in Brighton back in 2018, we have been fascinated and inspired by puzzle-solving activities. So much so, that we went on to develop the world’s first automated escape room followed by a unique outdoor version (currently being enjoyed across the world in TUI holiday resorts and here in the UK at Chester Zoo). We’ve also created a number of table top, murder mystery style activities using escape room-style puzzle solving, based around a number of themes including circus, spies and art galleries.

However, we would never have guessed that five years later we would be puckering up, making up, and tucking up for our latest puzzle-solving adventure based around drag queens!

I’m still not quite sure how it happened, but we somehow persuaded Haven to dip their toes (albeit in heels!) into the increasingly culturally popular world of drag. We knew, however, that we needed to create something removed from a drag show or simply dressing the men in the audience in women’s clothes (those days are gone). We needed something innovative, clever, stylish, and of course funny! So, using a proven puzzle-solving whodunnit-style formula we created ‘Guess Werk’, a game played at tables (by small teams or individuals) where players need to work out which drag queen is responsible for sabotaging the highly anticipated drag pageant!

Working with puzzle experts, five challenges were created featuring wigs, bras, lipsticks and nail varnish, with the entire format hosted on screen by legendary drag host Miss Jason, bringing to life an hysterical (boundary pushing) innuendo-filled script! (Fully signed off by the client, of course!) The players interact with visual clues that appear on the large venue screens alongside a printed Werk Book to one-by-one eliminate 10 drag queens on their suspect sheet.

The format was created with a fantastic design package spanning print, motion graphics and video, and provides a full ‘tern key’ activity that can be operated successfully with a minimal operational team.

Miss Jason (pictured in our green screen studio for the production) commented: “In 25 years of doing this job I have never been more excited to be part of a project. To be the face of Guess Werk for Haven Holidays is just great and to be involved in something so much fun is a total joy. Working with The Business Creative team was also a fabulous experience for me. I’m not used to sitting in front of a camera and working to an auto queue as I always work live. The team guided me through the session with patience and professionalism. What a great bunch to work with, cheers guys.”