LOCATION: Fort Siloso, Singapore
Photo above is property of Monster Day Tours
📝 ETR DECODER
🔑 GAME: The Overdue Post
📅 DATE PLAYED: June 11, 2022
🎬 GENRE: History, War
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 4 ppl): 5/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 4-8 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 150 Min
💰 PRICE: SGD 30/PP
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes
📖 THE STORY
Pepper the Dinosaur is a mailman in Fort Siloso, one of Singapore’s current historical sites and defense forts during World War II. In the middle of the war, he has hidden all six remaining postcards for safekeeping, forgetting about them until a banner on a passing plane reminded him of his task. Now in the middle of the Fort, help Pepper find all six postcards and send them to the right people before it’s too late!
Video above is property of Monster Day Tours
🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE
This puzzle hunt is part escape room, part self-guided tour of various locations around Singapore. Given the histories behind Fort Siloso as a location of cultural importance, the puzzles gave us a different perspective to experience the stories this place wanted to tell.
As a majority of this experience is independent, the game master was able to give us a thorough understanding of how the puzzle hunt is conducted and where to look for hints or help within the material given.
The puzzles were also carefully crafted - players needed both the booklet from the puzzle hunt organisers, and also be present in the hunt location to go through the entire story.
If players take their time and go through each component of the hunt, whether it's a found postcard or poster, they can also find snippets as told by different perspectives during the war. This allowed players a more balanced experience - relying on both the provided tools and environment as a whole for both the puzzles and the story, instead of leaning one way or one medium.
The experience goes beyond the puzzle hunt itself - at the end of the puzzle hunt, players receive a collectible pin to mark their success, together with other discounts. This is on top of an optional side quest that players can participate in to win tickets to other tours and hunts.
Their mascot, Pepper, is a cute and fun dinosaur that holds their puzzle hunts and tours within Monster Day Tours together.
🧩 MISSED THE MARK
The hint lifeline was at its bare minimum - we did not have a phone or radio to call for hints - so they were printed in the puzzle hunt booklet instead. However, some of these hints do end up giving players the answer directly, which took the fun and process out of the puzzles.
Fort Siloso is physically demanding - some puzzles require players to climb uneven steps, or descend through tunnels. While there was not an extreme issue with safety, this tour might be an issue with players with claustrophobia or mobility issues.
🏹 TAKE A SHOT?
For tours under their Puzzle Hunt series, this experience is part puzzle hunt, part escape room, and part self-guided tour. For those who want a different perspective, or a different way of experiencing various locations, do give this a try.
However, do take note that Monster Day Tours conducts these hunts across various tourist spots in Singapore. Each of them will have varying levels of difficulty and mobility, so do check up on their various tours for a hunt that may be suitable to you.
If you’re a completionist in any way, each puzzle hunt from Monster Day Tours gives you a different enamel pin at the end of your hunt. See if you can collect them all for more adventures!
ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO
As mentioned earlier, Monster Day Tours and their Puzzle Hunt / Ransack series covers various locations across Singapore, covering various themes such as history, food, and culture as more tours are planned.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)
Disclosure: We thank Monster Day Tours for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.
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