A brand new immersive game experience has landed in Southsea.
Conspiracy Live is a thrilling social experience that tests the players’ smarts, cunning and ability to deceive.
After three pilots and an open day, Conspiracy is officially launching in Portsmouth.
The idea behind Conspiracy is to bring people together from all walks of life to play a game like no other and become part of a growing community.
There are 16 players in every game, each assigned a character from one of three teams at random, who then must work together to gather information through strategic gameplay and eventually eliminate all the other players.
The game has similarities to the popular BBC series The Traitors.
Attendees are invited to come with friends and family, in large groups or even come alone.
Co-founder Jon Humphrey, from Waterlooville designed the game off the back of his lifelong passion for family games, specifically Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow – a game with a similar structure – that he and his family play every Christmas.
Jon said: ‘We once spent more than 12 hours playing Wolves one Boxing Day, the game is that good! The only problem is that it requires a large number of players and it’s extremely difficult to get enough people in the same room…that’s where Conspiracy comes in.
‘We love playing games but wanted to find a way to allow everyone to have that experience, whether they have a big family/lots of friends or not. With an experience like this, they still get to experience the game, be part of a community and enjoy time with others.’
Co-founder, Steve Kitchener, from Portsmouth is the technological wizard behind the business, having created the app that is used in every game, from scratch.
Steve said: ‘Myself and Jon’s goal is to provide the ultimate “tech meets socialising” experience, to really shake up peoples’ nights out, whether they’re coming here for pre-drinks, using it as a team-bonding experience or are looking for an alcohol-free night out – and everything in between.’
The game follows the story of a typical neighbourhood, with characters including a police officer, a nurse, a landlord and more.
Players are assigned a role and have to determine between themselves who the conspirers are, while the conspirers themselves have to convince the rest of the players that they are not.
Every game has a different outcome, meaning people can play regularly and become part of the Conspiracy community.
Jon’s mum, Sandra is a huge fan and has been at almost every event since the launch.
She said: ‘The games last 40 minutes but I reckon around three quarters of that is spent laughing. You’ll be sitting next to someone you’ve never met before and 10 minutes later you’re laughing together like you’ve known each other for years. It’s becoming my favourite social activity!’
As well as bringing an extra bit of weeknight fun to Southsea, it is also bringing dozens of people into local venues, with games running multiple times a night, bringing in around 50 different people each night.
Jon said: ‘Part of the reason we decided to set it up in local venues rather than opening our own was to provide that extra custom that venues don’t typically get through the week. Trading during the week can be tough for hospitality businesses so hopefully we can give them a boost.
‘It’s also to bring people together that might be feeling alone. Someone might feel more comfortable watching a game from the bar to begin with and then join in later on, whereas walking into a whole new place can be intimidating.’
Conspiracy Live runs from The Southsea Village pub on Palmerston Road on Mondays with slots at 7, 8 and 9pm.
