I am pretty excited to share about our addiction to Escape Room concept game!
Previously I have read reviews from The Little Mom and Mummy Ed and I was not sure if the kids could handle, but after we went to U Escape at Plaza Singapura during the September holidays, we all got hooked! And 2 days later, we went again, but as we did not book for it, we checked out another Escape Room and we loved that too!
What is an Escape Room?
An Escape Room is usually designed with a theme, for instance the one that we went is a CASINO room.
The ultimate aim is to break codes and locks to finally unlock the door of the room within a limited time, like 60 min.
You have to move around the room and find clues which will lead to a combination code of a lock or a key to a lock to unlock the next clue and so on.
It requires team work, wit, and creativity.
There are different theme rooms to choose from, ranging from family friendly, to more challenging ones and even Virtual Reality Scary ones. There is music played in the background which adds to the mood of the game.
Number of pax: typically from 2 – 14
How do we play?
There are many versions of Escape Rooms in Singapore.
U Escape, being our first Escape Room experience, is very suitable for kids and family in my opinion. That is from our experience of 2 different Escape Room concept between U Escape and another similar Escape Room provider.
First of all, U Escape has 4 rooms to choose from: River Quay Casino, Szechuan Secret, The Atomic Bunker and Room 13.
We were told the River Quay Casino is the most family friendly and has a more vibrant theme and Room 13 is the more challenging one. We decided to try out River Quay Casino as it might be more suitable for our young kids especially when we had the 4yo with us too.
I like that U Escape has a Game Master dedicated to guide us in our game. We were led into the Casino room and after a short briefing by the Game Master, he left us to explore the room on our own. The timer started to count down from 60 min.
Initially I thought that both Kel and I would have to break most codes since the kids may not be as witty as us, how wrong was I!! The kids were happy to explore around and dared to touch anything and anywhere, and they had better chances in finding clues than us. Usually, they get warned on itchy hands when their curiosity get the better of them in new places, but over here in this room, my first instruction to them is ”Go ahead and explore and feel around.”
Whenever we got stuck, we had 3 chances to shout for clues, in which the Game Master will type out the clue on the computer screen on the wall. Perhaps, seeing that we have 3 young kids and time was running out quick, he typed subtle clues whenever he saw that we spent too much time at a location. Each time his message comes, there will be a soft “Ding” and we would all look up at the screen for his message. Sometimes, we even talked to him, and he replied on the screen. I thought this was really, really helpful for us as there were really many codes to break and spending more than even 5 min at one part is considered too much time wasted.
There was a moment when my youngest was a little upset that he did not know what we were all busy searching around for that he started to cry. We had neglected him in our urgency to search for clues. So, I brought him to a corner and got him to unlock a door combination lock again and again by repeating the numbers to him to which he opened that lock numerous times. Thankfully for him, when the door was accidentally closed, no one could remember the lock combination anymore as we had advanced to many other locks, except me who had chanted the code, and this time the little one could open the door and beamed with pride that he helped “solve” a clue!
I would say many of the clues are cleverly thought and arranged. We were amazed at some of the ingeniously hidden ones. When the time was up, we were still left with 2 locks. The Game Master appeared and revealed the final clues that we did not solve. We left the room feeling all hyped up on the fun. The older 2 kids could not stop talking about the experience and pestered us to go again. I feel that this is a really good place for family bonding as we need to work together and use our wit to break out of the room together. In fact, we loved it so much that I suggested going again 2 days later when we went for a playdate with Master 9’s classmates.
On the second occasion when we checked out the other Escape concept place, we were a little shocked that they do not have a Game Master like U Escape. Hence, we struggled in solving the clues within only 45 minutes, compared to U Escape’s 60 minutes. There were no clues typed out for us to read and whenever we got stuck, we pressed a bell for help and a staff member would appear to guide us on wherever we were at. As 45 minutes was really too fast for us kids and mummies, I find that this Escape room provider is more suited for experts who need minimal or no help. It is certainly not so easy for young kids to start with.
If you ask me, I will tell you that we will certainly be planning Escape Room fun for the kids again! And what’s more, for the start of the school holidays from now till 30 November, just quote
“Christy15”
to the U Escape staff and you will be entitled to 15% discount!
More information on U Escape @ Plaza Singapura:
U Escape is powered by Timezone, in partnership with Breakout Kansas City (Breakout KC).
What rooms do they have?
1) Szechuan Secret (4 – 14 players): Ever fantasized about stepping into the polished shoes of brilliant CIA Agents and tackle adventurous missions? Well, here’s your chance to live the fantasy!
2) Atomic Bunker (4 – 12 players): Imagine stepping into an atomic bunker only to realise that the only way to save mankind from world destruction is to stop a reactor meltdown! And you only have 60 minutes! — tick tock…
3) Room 13 (4 – 12 players): You don’t know how you checked in, that’s why this is one hotel room you would want to check out of as soon as you can!
4) River Quay Casino (2 – 10 players): Take on the role of an eagle-eyed investigator and find out a corrupt employee who has been looting the Casino.
5) INTENSE mission – NEW!
U Escape has recently launched ten-minute Escape Room missions. Typically, each game at U Escape is 60 minutes long. But now, for the first time in Singapore, people will be able to experience the adventures of an Escape Room in just ten minutes. This works for those who are looking for some quick thrills and proof of their mental prowess and also for first-timers who may want to get a feel of Escape Rooms before they commit an entire hour to it.
Priced at $6 per person, U Escape currently has the following five types of missions:
| No. | Mission | Description |
| 1. | Operation Firefly | Special Agent,
Our inside man has got some really important information. This information is code named Firefly. We will only have a 10min window to pick Firefly up. Failure is not an option. Your mission is to BRING BACK FIREFLY. Be Swift. |
| 2. | Hit List | Special Agent,
At 0041hrs this morning, one of our agents, code named The Skull, was killed in the enemy territory. It is believed he was a double agent working for both sides. His loyalties were unknown. Now, we need to retrieve The Skull’s Hit List diary, a notebook believe to contain the names of people he was tasked to assassinate. There is little time to waste, once in the mission zone, you will only have 10mins, before the enemy retrieves it themselves. Your mission is to RETREIVE THE HIT LIST DIARY BEFORE THE ENEMY GETS THEIR HANDS ON IT. |
| 3. | Hell’s Gate | Special Agent,
There are ORBS code named “Hell’s Gate”. ORBS is believed to be an unknown technology able to open a gateway to another dimension. We cannot let the enemy have this. We have come to know that all the orbs are within the same zone, but you will only have 10mins to retrieve them all. Your mission is to FIND & SECURE ALL FOUR ORBS. |
| 4. | King Solo | Special Agent,
You have been selected for this retrieval mission, code name “KING SOLO”. There is a key that will open the gates to King Solomon’s Treasures, which we have found to be located in the Szechuan area in China. Your country needs this key. Your mission is to FIND THE KEY AND BRING IT BACK TO MISSION CONTROL. |
| 5. | Raven’s Tale | Special Agent,
We believe the enemy will be instigating an attack on our lands. We can get you into the heart of the territory where we believe the plans are stored in a SAFE, but you only have 10 minutes to find it, remember everything, and get out of there. Save your Nation. Your mission is to FIND OUT WHAT THEIR PLAN IS. REMEMBER THE DETAILS; WHAT, HOW AND WHEN. |
Each mission can be attempted by one to three players.
68 Orchard Road
Singapore 238839
Email: info@uescape.sg
Website: http://www.uescape.sg/
Opening Hours :
Mon – Thurs : 10am to 11pm
Fri – Sun : 10am – 12mn
Price:
Off-peak (Mondays to Thursdays before 6pm) – $26 for Adult and $20 for student
Peak (Mondays to Thursdays after 6pm, Friday to Sunday whole day) – $29 for Adult and $26 for student
Children under 12 years old will be allowed student prices. Children under 6 years old are free.
To check for promotions which they do have value for money on and off, click here.
It is advisable to book in advance before going to U Escape to secure an Escape Room to avoid disappointment.
Disclaimer: We were invited for a review experience at U Escape. As you can see, we loved it so much that we had to go twice within a week! That kind of sum up our experience! 🙂
My favourite source of school holiday fun is none other than Cheekiemonkies blog. So many of my inspiration come from his information sharing. When it comes to what to do with the kids during school holidays, I will start planning as early as during exams period. I want to ensure my kids are not deprived of playdates or outdoor activities even though I am working full-time. So, I will take off from work and bring them to interesting places to play.
