23 Things I Learned At Bouncy Castle Rave

    Bouncy castles, ball pits and hard house bangers in a small corner of Brum.

    Tom Cullen
    by Tom Cullen

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    1. Regression Sessions is a night club experience designed to take you back to a freer, sillier state of being.

    Regression Sessions

    Originally based in Vauxhall, London, Regression Sessions now has a second home in Amusement 13, a club in the gay quarter of Birmingham. The music might be serious but in each room you'll find daft and wonderful toys and games from yesteryear.

    Tickets cost between £5 and £20.

    2. It's the brainchild of this man.

    Regression Sessions

    Owner, Michael Mouch, told Buzzfeed Life: "I wanted to put the smiles back into clubland. There's a pretentious front to many a musically-focussed club event. Clubs shouldn't be about dark rooms filled with techno. People aren't that moody. They want to have fun."

    3. Regression Sessions is very much a nightclub...

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    Expect hip-hop, house, garage and everything else in between.

    4. But with many a twist.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    5. There's a room dedicated to LEGO.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    People scramble for the colourful bricks early on in the night, but their popularity wanes as the night progresses. There's much bigger and better things to be playing with.

    6. There's a pile of inflatable animals, none of which remain in the building at turf out time.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    "People kept throwing the space hoppers," Michael Mooch said. "So we bought these in to satiate their thirst for launching inflatables into the air, without injury."

    7. Dudes will slip the inflatable animals under their t-shirts to smuggle them out while everyone is distracted by great bouncy castle skills.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    The pièce de résistance bouncy castle is based slap bang on the main dance floor, so you can throw out your shapes while bounding about like a toddler on a sugar rush.

    8. Not everybody's bouncy castle skills are great.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    "It's a maximum of three people at a time," said Mouch. "Mostly people behave on it, but we start to worry when men decide it's time for a wrestle."

    9. There's a free photobooth.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    And amazingly, somehow, there was no queue. The later it gets the more people seem to want to show flesh when inside, mind you.

    10. They love a good sign.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    11. And some are more sought after than others.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    You have to join a massive moving queue to get your mitts on this one. For the nine hours that Regression Sessions is open there is a conga of some form happening somewhere in the building, at all times. From the moment the sign is first found it is never put down.

    12. It doesn't matter how much you drink, Mario Kart on the N64 remains nowhere near as good as Mario Kart on the SNES.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    Perhaps they chose the more recent game because the average age of the clientele is quite young. The SNES was probably before their time. That said, there were 40-year-olds in their acting 4 years old. You check your maturity at the door.

    13. Though the toys are child-friendly, the on-stage entertainment remains an altogether more adult affair.

    14. The rules are: There ain't no rules! Except this one.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    Which is imposed with gusto. But even the rule-breakers are in great spirits. The atmosphere is stupidly friendly and I didn't see bouncers called into action once.

    15. There's an entire room dedicated to the ancient art of bubble wrap popping.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    When most of the bubbles are popped, the room is decked out with fresh wrap, halfway through the night, and the popping process starts all over again.

    16. You can have your caricature done, free of charge.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    And you *totally* should! The activities meant you could catch your breath from the dancing and keep going for longer.

    17. Giant Jenga goes on until the very early hours.

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    And it overlooks the main dance floor, so is a prime spot for a wind-down.

    18. The number of Jenga tumbles increases proportionally with time.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    Because once you've had a few drinks you become extremely confident that that tightly wedged in brick can be fired free from its wooden prison with one fast, well placed flick.

    It can't.

    NB - A downed tower is met with roars of joy from anyone within ear-shot.

    19. If you've lost your keys, they're 100% at the bottom of the ball pit.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    Good luck with that.

    20. Giant playing cards allow for a 3am game of Play Your Cards Right.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    And there's two annoyingly young, annoying talented magicians kicking about with close quarter Dynamo-esque tricks up their sleeves.

    21. There's a lot of love in the room.

    Thom Bartley / Via thombartley.com

    That's the overriding sensation. There's no awkwardness, not even when you first arrive. You'll regress within seconds and leave feeling that little bit younger.

    Until Monday.

    22. And by turf out time (6am) even Brum's legendary late night eatery, Mr Egg, is closed

    Tom Cullen / Via ichoosebirmingham.com

    It's probably for the best. You should get yourself home. And remember that Birmingham's public transport is abysmal so save money for a taxi. Assuming your wallet isn't at the bottom of that damn ball pit.

    23. It's coming to a town near you.