Curious Chimeras x Thorn & Key - "Escape from Shelter"

LOCATION:  Singapore

Curious Chimeras x Thorn & Key - "Escape from Shelter"

Photo above is property of Curious Chimeras x Thorn & Key

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Escape from Shelter
📅 DATE PLAYED: November 9, 2024
🎬 GENRE: Suspense, Singapore Cultural History
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 4 ppl): 6/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 5 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 50 Mins.
💰 PRICE: SGD 20-30/ pp
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

The pirates are coming and you and your fellow villagers have nowhere to run. Running through the coast of 1800's Singapore, you find an abandoned temple and lock yourself in, only to realise that all of you are not alone. The spirits trapped there hear your plea, but only have one condition - they will keep you safe, but only if you can find a way to set them free from this place.

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

Straightforward story - You’re thrown right into the thick of it before the game even starts. The set up might be simple, but with the game masters in costume and character, and the game video hanging over our heads, it’s difficult to forget why we were here in the first place.
Puzzle placement - All puzzles hidden throughout the room might be scattered, but they all converge on a single anchor of an answer sheet - highly reminiscent of the escape room experiences similar to those produced by SCRAP.
Kept within the theme - Being set in pre-colonial, pirate-infested Singapore, the puzzles and decor certainly boosted the mood. Mahjong tiles and the Lunar calendar involved somewhere? Yes, please!
The helpline here was personal - the main actors running the game were wandering around to guide groups with hints or when asked.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

Due to the nature of this game being part of a larger festival, there was minimal process after escaping - post-show was only available for players who did not escape, and a photo wall for players who did escape.
Take note of one of their locks - your answer may be right, but the lock may get stuck. Thankfully, there was always staff around to aid with hardware issues.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

This game is one of the few that, hands down, brings back memories of my first few Escape Room experiences - Real Escape by SCRAP. Elegantly executed and in line with its event location (we were playing this in a meeting room at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore), the SGD20 I paid for this paid for itself through the experience.

Another pointer would be how this style of gameplay makes for a great environment for groups that are pieced together by single or duo players who cannot find larger groups to play with. Since the game is anchored with a single answer sheet and puzzles scattered across the place, it was easy for players to quickly get into various roles (gatherers, solvers etc…) within a short span of time, whether you were familiar with each other or not.

For any future renditions of such games, we would recommend about 4-5 people in a group. The price ranges for these games typically range between SGD 20 to 30.

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

This game is an experience that was only available during the 2024 run of the Singapore Writers Festival. However, stay tuned to Thorn & Key’s Bluesky and Instagram for further similar games!