Professional. Lifestyle. Travel. Food. Beauty. Entertainment. And all the finer things in life.
Code of Silence: I (almost) saved Singapore from the Japanese Invasion
A Beginner's Guide to Being a Gym Junkie
Fenty Beauty Foundation & Trophy Wife Review
Krabi – The Heaven on Earth
Living the Life of Depression and Anxiety
All the Finer Things in Life
June 24, 2018 / 1 Comment
First of all, I would like to apologize for the one month delay since the last post. I moved back to Singapore much earlier than expected. Trust me, it was all hectic. But now I've settled down and have started to get the hang of the "Singaporean Life", I think it's time for me to hop back on this blogging life.
Photo is taken from https://lockdown.sg
All credits go to them
Now that I've updated my current state, lets move on to the real deal: I did an escape room!
For all of you that know me (and Clark), we're escape room enthusiasts. Our obsession can get a little unhealthy and expensive at times, especially after going to one that we absolutely love and proceed to playing the other 3 rooms consecutively.
Anyway, we came across this pop up escape room event happening on the 23rd of June. Of course, I proceeded to buy the tickets ($30 each – told you it was an expensive hobby) and off we went to this escape room when the time came.
What made it so interesting?
It's held in an actual historical place!
Happening in Fort Canning Park, inside the Battlebox where the British Command Centre was located back in WWII, it was the first escape room Clark and I did that wasn't in a simulated, artificial room. Instead we got the chance to roam in the halls of the underground history of a part of Singapore that we haven't been in.
Setting in the year 1942, the Malaya Command were discussing the imminent fall of Singapore. The players of the game were tasked to deliver a secret code to Force 136 before the Japanese reaches Singapore.
Clark and I are used to just playing in a team of two. We work well together. However in this game, we had to work with 4 other strangers to make a team of six. At the beginning, I was a little annoyed just because we were unsure of the experience those players have with escape rooms. However it turned out to be a pretty good idea as there were loads of mystery to solve within an hour, and would have been too much for just the 2 of us.
I'm not going to reveal too much of the game just because they might want to run the game in the near future. Wouldn't want to run the risk of ruining a unique experience for you!
Anyway, it's a mass escape game. With that said, I thought having an approximate of 10 groups of six was a little too much for an underground centre. There were six of us in a room trying to get a glimpse of the clues on the wax figure's uniform, followed by another 20 people coming into the room doing the same thing. Not fun. I ended having to step aside as I'm a small person and could not see anything. I thought having about 5 groups per hour would have been sufficient. In fact, if we would have figured out the game isn't linear, it would have been so much easier.
After our first puzzle solved, we decided to split up to save time. It was an absolute time saver as all 6 of us wouldn't have been able to solve a puzzle together anyway. That's what I do not like about big groups sometimes. Someone has to step out of the game as it doesn't require too many brains for one puzzle. That is just going to leave the player bored and helpless.
I know the entire game isn't a competition and there is no prize to win. But lets be honest, it is a competition when other teams are eavesdropping to steal clues here and there. My team and I ended up whispering and acting really shady so we do not give much away. For what? I'm not really sure. We're just mean like that.
Should you take part in a pop-up escape room? Hell yeah!
It might be expensive and quite nervewrecking as you have no idea what to expect. It is my first pop-up escape room so I can't let you know if I have been to a bad game. But it is a unique experience, especially when you're in a real historical site rather than a build up room in the middle of the mall.
With that said, Clark and I are excited to expand our pop-up escape room experience in August with State of Oblivion, happening in a NLB Library at Orchard Gateway.
Should you work with strangers?
Clark and I were blessed with good and cooperative players. Everyone was calm and collected in the midst of the craziness. But I guess I can see why people would hate playing with strangers. If you're an experienced player, it would suck to be stucked with a newbie. It is almost like gaming. You would hate to be partnered up by a player who has never touched an X-Box before.
So to answer this question, it is based on luck and preference. I personally would like to play with Clark because we work really well together. Our escape rate is pretty high when it is just the two of us. We have paid extra so we can play them as a duo without other players. I guess for games like these that requires a team of six, you just got to hope for the good players and take charge if they are new.
Did we get out?
Sadly, no. We weren't stuck on a puzzle but we were just terrible in math. I say a puzzle that requires algebraic skill is my downfall. We were on the right track but we just couldn't count. So I would like to apologize to Force 136. We couldn't send you the encrypted code in time because of our lack of math skill. I would also like to apologize deeply and sincerely to my high school math teacher. All of your efforts have gone to waste.
P.S I wish I have more photos to share but I got so caught up in the moment I forgot I had a phone.
Yelyzaveta Semenova
I have some friend that will like this game!!! 😀