Dreadnought, Breakout @NuSentral

We heard about Breakout since a year ago but it took as awhile to try it out because 1st, it was located at Avenue K (on top of KLCC LRT) and we thought it would be so crowded(we were so wrong) and we hate crowded places. 2nd, it was so expensive (the price was RM50+ per person back then), and 3rd, we heard stories from fellow escapees that their room was so challenging and sophisticated and harder.

But since we've tried all of the rooms in Escape Room and to feed our hungry crazy escapist heart(we were suffering from escape game withdrawal syndrome), and knowing that they have a branch at Nu Sentral (which is way more crowded than Avenue K), we've decided to try one out. So it was a fine Monday, we went to 4th floor Nu Sentral and I'm not gonna lie that even their front door is soo intimidating.

So upon reaching there, we asked about the possibility of playing their games with only 2 people. Actually, it was more like insisting but the staffs were okay with it although they did warn us that since it was our first game with them, it might be a bit difficult. Haaa. Sometimes it was so frustrating that it was only the both of us.  Anyhoo, after discussion, we've decided to try out Dreadnought.

Oracle

As usual, before we start our games, we must first undergo the safety briefing, what to do and what not. The rules are pretty much the same as Escape Room, only this time, we got some characters to choose. There are 8 of them but we choose to be oracle and time bender. Basically, the oracle gets to remember the hints in the form of pictures and the time bender, well, let say our time is up and we haven't escaped, we were granted with extra 5 minutes. Or, we can exchange the extra time with one answer if we were stuck in solving one puzzle.

Time Bender

There are 5 rooms in Dreadnought so players really need to manage their time wisely as we felt like there are so many things to do in this room. Thus, 2 people are actually not enough. The oracle ability really helps us a lot actually. There are varieties of puzzles, but some of the clues are very straight to the point. It is safe to say that the puzzles are actually hard enough but resolvable. There are some physical tasks so girls if you're planning on playing Dreadnought, avoid wearing miniskirts.

Overall, we were very impressed with this game. The set up is very real. It is true that Breakout's games do require more thoughts and efforts to solve the puzzles but we think it is fair enough as they numbered their puzzles according to which one you need to solve first and the characters provided really help a lot.

It was such a disgrace that we were stuck in the last puzzle but although we did not manage to get out in time, it was very satisfying as the staff comforting us by saying that it was a great achievement for us as we are able to get to where we were even though there were only 2 of us.
I don't know if they said that to make us feel okay but I'll take that as a compliment and a license to gloat. Hahaha~~

Anyways, do check their website and don't forget to keep up with us as we share more of our escaperience.

Till then, keep calm and happy escaping.~~

Photo courtesy of Breakout.

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Kidnapped, Lockdown @Lot 10

A few weeks ago, we went to Lockdown at Lot 10 to try out all of their rooms. This was our first time playing escape games in Lockdown, after Escape Room and Breakout.

We were told by the staffs that this is a franchise from Singapore, and the storylines and puzzles were designed partially based on true stories, making us quite unsure to even try one. It was our 'tradition' to play 3-5 games in one day if possible and usually, we would choose our first room based on our guts but this time, we've decided to try their 4 stars rated room first, Kidnapped.


As the name suggest, we were blindfolded at the start of the game, depicting that we were kidnapped and we didn't know where we were held captive. We have been blindfolded so many times before in other escape games and during our earlier days as escapees, we've been wondering about the relevance of it but now, after soo many rooms, we realize that it makes it feel more realistic and chilling, just like we were really kidnapped.

In the first room, the decoration was so simple and surprisingly, we were so confused about where and how to get a clue. The puzzle was a bit tricky at first and we had to use our first hint and to be honest, we still regret it up to this day. It was so simple, it was in front of our eyes but somehow, we miss that.

Moving on to the second room, all of the puzzles were moderately easy for us but it was all because we've seen the same puzzle before in another escape games, so I guess it would still be a bit hard for first timers. But one thing that confused me the most was the last room. Imagine you were captivated in a creepy room and you managed to escape and suddenly, you are in a rather cheerful room. We had to assume that probably the kidnapper was a man who grew up with a sad childhood or something like that, but it turn out that we were actually being captivated by the kidnapper in his basement and we managed to get out via a children's room just near the basement (thanks to post-briefing).

Anyhoo, the puzzles in this room was kinda easy tho it was rated 4 stars. But it was not a reason for us to not enjoy the room. It was still challenging and we managed to get out in the nick of time. I would definitely suggest this room for beginners out there. It was definitely worth it.

Check out their website here and pre-book your session with them asap.
‍
Photo courtesy of Lockdown KL

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Da Vinci The Secret Beneath, Break The Code+@OneUtama

Talking about Da Vinci, he is definitely one of the greatest painters but I admire him for his inventions, although it was never made and the only painting by him that I know are Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and Vitruvian Man. There are so much to say about the man but one thing that always capture my interest is the popular belief that he likes to hide secret codes and messages in his artwork. Leonardo was certainly no stranger to the use of codes and encryption, even his notes are written backward with 'mirror' writing.

So this time, we channel our inner Robert Langdon of the famous Dan Brown's book series by spending an hour to uncover the secrets of Da Vinci’s paintings. Yup. That's what came up in my mind soon after I read the synopsis of Break The Code's Da Vinci.

First of all, I want to talk about how solid the theme is. Soon after we entered the room, it felt like we in were a gallery in France (okay I don't really know how does a gallery in France look like, I've never been there). Even most of the puzzles and riddles scream Da Vinci. Second of all, oh the flawless technology. BTC+ in the 5th operator that we've tried but their technology intensified puzzle, we've never seen that in other operators so far. Third of all, the riddles were very well thought out. It was very clear on how to solve the puzzles. But although the puzzles and riddles were very expected and average, it was still fairly challenging. And one of it was very confusing as we thought it would be a size of something but it turn out to be another much bigger.

However, our biggest beef for this room would be one of the last few puzzles that if you don't know your do, re and me, it would be difficult to solve. It was very disappointing and it kinda killed all the fun we had up to that moment. We were seriously so annoyed by it as we both was never trained in music. And also, it really did not suit the room and it kinda let down the theme a bit.

In the end, we manage to get out in time. If only we called the game master earlier to help us, it would spare us a lot of time, but overall, it was one of our favorite games. Yes, there was one disappointment but it doesn't matter compared to the immense gratification we felt.

Aside from Da Vinci, we played another 3 rooms that day so don't forget to check our next reviews,
and don't forget to book you session with Break The Code+ if you wanna try playing Da Vinci.

Keep calm and happy escaping~~ ‍

Photo courtesy of Break The Code +

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Room 13, Escape Room e@curve

So after our upsetting defeat in Slaughter House, we tried Room 13. There's nothing special with the storyline. The moment after we were briefed about it, we go 'Oh, another traditional horror story'. But here's the thing, no matter how cliche a horror story is, it was the tension, the unrealism and how we react to it that makes us always attracted to that genre, no matter how scaredy-cat we are. 

Anyways, Room 13 is another fantastically set room. It was definitely easier than Slaughter House, even though it scares the shit out of us. The puzzles to solve in order to get out was easier, but that didn’t make it less enjoyable.

The setting of the room along with the sound effect makes it so convincing we're actually in a real haunted hotel. It was very spooky, truly lived up to its theme. Although some of the puzzles are not really related to the storyline, but that doesn't matter. And since it was during our earlier days of being escapees, it was quite unnoticeable to us. It took us a while to ponder upon the answers because we were so nervous, but in the end, we managed to get out in time. 

Overall, we really enjoyed the room as it was thrilling. With great horror undertone and new puzzles to solve, we had another amazing experiences and we knew at that point that we finally have found a hobby that fulfills our love for puzzles and riddles.

For those of you who wanna try playing Room 13, do visit here and book your session asap.

Keep calm and happy escaping~~ ‍

Photo courtesy of Escape Room

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Slaughter House, Escape Room e@Curve

We talked a lot about escape room so many times before and finally, we decided to give it a try.

It was our first time so we were extremely excited and thrilled with the idea of being locked in a room and the only way out is by solving mind-boggling puzzles, tasks and riddles that required a combination of wits, powers of reasoning, an observant eye and sometimes, courage.

We choose to go to their outlet at e@curve and it was around early November. The moment we step into Escape Room, immediately we realized that we’re in a professional setting, along with great customer service, it makes us keen to try it out.

After a lot of discussion among us, we decided to try two games, Slaughter House and Room 13.

We’re told that these were their most difficult room ever(5 stars rated) and considering that we have no experience in playing escape games before, they advised us to try the one with 2 or 3 stars instead. But us, being so stubborn, insisted that we’ll only go for the horror-themed that night. I guess we’re still in our Halloween mode that day. 

Anyways, after briefing about safety precautions and the backstory of Slaughter House, we were lead into the room and soon after we entered, we couldn’t help but felt really creepy. Prolly because it was our first time, we’re so paranoid that there's something alive in there. 

The scene in the room was very uncanny, and while not being pitch black, it does have a very strong horror theme (just making this clear, in case the name ‘Slaughter House’ wasn’t enough of a clue). I don’t mean to give any spoilers away but I have to say that get ready for a lot of body parts around and blood splattered all over the room, although fake, but it was enough to make us felt eerie.

Before the game starts, our marshall(staff) told us that we’re given 3 chances to get help from them and gave us the option to use our first hint or not, and because we don’t know what to do and where to start (also scared), we used our first hint and from there, we found our next clues and tasks. Maybe because we are not familiar with this kind of game before, we spend too much time in solving the first few tasks (okay that was us giving excuses )

There were 1 or 2 puzzles that we can’t decipher and we did not call for help because we thought the answer might be pretty easy and we might waste the hint but in the end, we asked for help and the answer was put in a place we never thought of and we were like ‘Aaah.. we shud call them earlier’. Anyways, we ran out of time and the marshall came and explain to us the answers to every puzzle. We were like ‘oooh’ and ‘laaa macam tuu’.

To be honest, this was our most upsetting defeat ever because there was a lot more puzzles that we can’t solve. But whatever it is, we had a very great time in this room. And because we lost this one, we became more eager to play the second one because it felt like we have something to prove.

The puzzles, the riddles, and the task were well thought out. The flow of the storyline was pretty interesting and it got us curious and make us keen to find the answer. The decoration was well matched with the theme and the background music only add up to the feeling like we were really in a slaughter house. Our only comment is that the clues are not clear and needed some touch ups.

As a first timer that time, one thing that we realized is that it was very challenging because you don’t know what to do and it was so hard. You don’t know if what you do is right or wrong and you were so afraid to look stupid. Believe me, there were a lot of ideas but it all came down to ‘Betul ka ni? Ndak macam bodoh ka?’.

Whatever it is, now that we’ve played a lot of escape games already, we kinda regret choosing Slaughter House as our first game ever because we always felt like we could do better, regardless of whether we managed to escape or not. But so far, there are a lot more themes that got us fascinated. So don’t forget to check out our blog CONSTANTLY to keep up with our escaperiences. :P

For those of you who wanna try playing Slaughter House, do visit here and book your session asap.

Keep calm and happy escaping~~ ‍

Photo courtesy of Escape Room

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About Us

Who are we?

Golden Phoenix consisting of 2 Sabahan girls; BFFs for 11 years Fatin & Izzah. 

What is this?

This is a blog to serve as a platform for us to share our experiences on playing escape games around Malaysia. We started playing around November 2015 and we've been avid fans since then. After playing about 37 games, we've decided to create this blog to express out thoughts, feelings and our opinion about it and hopefully by doing so, we can attract more and more fella to try it out themselves and to experience the thrill (that's coz none of our friends understand why we keep going. Sigh!). 

How to play Escape Games?

The gamers are locked in a room with other participants and have to use elements of the room to solve a series of puzzles, find clues, and escape the room within a set time limit. Yes, it is a race against time, which makes it more fun and thrilling. 



Happy escaping~~

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