(SPOT.ph) If you like stories and solving puzzles, escape rooms should be the next item on your to-do list. In these rooms, participants role-play as they crack mind-boggling codes and puzzles with a set amount of time to, well, escape unscathed. Wildly imaginative and immersive stories make the experience richer, and kind of makes you feel like you’re starring in your very own thriller or whodunit. While some escape rooms allow solo participants, they’re best experienced with a group, which makes them fun to do with friends or a pretty effective team-building activity. Plus, it's all done indoors—perfect for the rainy season.
Give one of these 10 escape-room experiences in the Metro a try:
Ever After at Breakout Philippines (Shangri-La Plaza branch)
Equal parts mysterious and bittersweet, Ever After puts you in the shoes of an aging person whose lifelong belief of coming from a long line of fairies is now being dismissed as an old person’s folly by others. This escape room, a treat for fairy tale lovers, is a quest for one’s true identity as you try to regain lost and fading memories through old photos and other clues—and figure out whether everything you’ve always believed in is true or not.
It ranks 3.5 in terms of Breakout Philippines' difficulty level, which range from 1 being the easiest and 5 being the hardest. The game lasts 45 minutes, excluding briefing. Ticket prices across all its branches are uniform, too: special rates for Mondays to Thursdays is at P300 per person for groups of one to six; while normal rates for Fridays, weekends, and holidays are P600 per person for groups of one to two, P500 per person for groups of three to four, and P400 per person for groups of five to six.
Breakout Philippines Shangri-La Plaza is at 5/F East Wing, Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong City. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Mondays to Thursdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, visit Breakout Philippines’ website or follow them on Facebook.
Excalibur Expedition at Mystery Manila (Eastwood branch)
At the center of Excalibur Expedition is, of course, the legendary sword of King Arthur, albeit with different characters and a slightly tweaked narrative. Here, you and your friends get to play a group of defenders who each have to prove themselves worthy to wield the powerful sword and ultimately slay a monster and to save humanity. We’re sure this escape room will tickle your fancy if you love fantasy and adventure.
Mystery Manila doesn’t rank its games, but regardless of your pick, you will be given 50 minutes to play the game plus a 15-minute briefing and a 15-minute debriefing. Number of participants varies depending on the room, but it’s usually a minimum of two people and a maximum of seven. Tickets cost P550 for groups of two, P500 for groups of three, P450 for groups of four, and P400 for groups of five to seven.
Mystery Manila Eastwood is at Unit 2F B2, Citywalk 2, Eastwood City, 195 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue, Barangay Bagumbayan, Quezon City. It is open from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays and 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. from Saturdays to Sundays. For more information, visit Mystery Manila’s website and follow them on Facebook.
Number 1 Fan at Breakout Philippines (Serendra branch)
Think the life of celebrity is all glitz and glamor? Number 1 Fan exposes the price of fame and opens up the dark side of fandom as it puts you in the position of a popular celebrity being hounded by an obsessed fan, who gives you an ultimatum: find out who they are and live, or fail and die by their hands. In terms of difficulty, this escape room is rated 4 out of 5.
Breakout Philippines Serendra is at 2/F Serendra, Bonifacio Global City. It is open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Saturdays to Sundays. For more information, visit Breakout Philippines’ website or follow them on Facebook.
Nemesis at LOST Philippines (Greenhills Promenade branch)
Want something à la The Walking Dead? Try Nemesis. In this action-packed escape room, your group becomes a team that will attempt to escape from a warehouse surrounded by a horde of zombies in time for the arrival of the very last rescue team sent to save the survivors of a biochemical disaster that brought down a city. Whew, that’s a mouthful. In any case, you’ll be given 75 minutes to play the game.
LOST Philippines ranks the difficulty of its escape rooms on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the easiest and 5 the most difficult. Nemesis is ranked 5, and requires a minimum of four and maximum of 12 participants to play (note that number of participants vary from room to room). Tickets cost P700 per person for groups of two to four, P650 per person for groups of five to six, and P600 per person for groups of seven to eight. It’s half the price for kids ages six to 12, but adult supervision is strictly required.
LOST Philippines Greenhills Promenade is at 2/F Promenade Mall, Annapolis Street corner Missouri Street, Greenhills, San Juan City. It is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Mondays to Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, visit their website and follow them on Facebook.
Asylum Manila
This newly opened horror walkthrough attraction revolves around the fictional story of deranged psychiatrist Dr. Vanicutt and features horrifying imagery you’d usually only see in Hollywood films, making it either your worst nightmare or all your horror dreams come to life. Participants are checked in as “patients” and will navigate more than 50 hallways, corridors, and hallways inside.
You won’t be needing your analytical smarts here, but make sure to muster enough courage before facing the insanity within. Tickets cost P699 on weekdays and P799 on weekends or, if you’re a student, P599 on weekdays and P699 on weekends. Meanwhile, a VIP pass (front of the line, no waiting) costs P1,200. You need to be above 12 years old to enter, and groups of 20 would need to get in touch with Asylum Manila prior to visiting.
Asylum Manila is at 1148 E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, New Manila, Quezon City. It is open from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. to 1a.m. on weekends. For more information, visit Asylum Manila's website or follow them on Facebook.
Sorcerer’s Stone at Mystery Manila (Ayala Malls The 30th branch)
Potterheads, this one’s for you. Just like the Harry and the gang in the first Potter book and film, you and your friends will be tasked to stop an evil dark wizard from getting the Sorcerer’s Stone (which, by the way, is also legendary: also known as the philosopher’s stone, it grants immortality to those who possess it) and save the wizarding world. Unlike most games by Mystery Manila, in Sorcerer’s Stone, you’ll be given an hour to accomplish your goal.
Mystery Manila Ayala Malls The 30th is at 3/F Ayala Malls The 30th, Meralco Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. It is open from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. from Mondays to Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Fridays to Sundays. For more information, visit Mystery Manila’s website and follow them on Facebook.
Pym Particle at Mystery Manila (Century City Mall branch)
Very much like the other Mystery Manila escape rooms on this list, Pym Particle takes inspiration from a well-known object that avid Marvel fans are familiar with. In this escape room, you’ll get to live your superhero dreams as you infiltrate the room of the story’s antagonist to solve the mystery and prevent the Pym Particle from falling into the wrong hands.
Mystery Manila Century City Mall is at Unit L305, 3/F Century City Mall, Kalayaan Avenue corner Salamanca Street, Barangay Poblacion, Makati City. It is open from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays, 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, visit Mystery Manila’s website and follow them on Facebook.
The Bunker at Left Behind (Vertis North branch)
The Bunker easily brings to mind those fictional novels set in post-apocalyptic Earth, with their unusual living conditions and ceremonies. In this escape room, you get to play the role of someone who has lived in an underground bunker all their life and finds the opportunity to see the world above through an annual event called The Draw. But it doesn’t stop there—you also need to figure out if venturing out is, indeed, a wise move.
Left Behind Vertis North is at 3/F Vertis North Mall, Quezon City. It is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Saturdays to Sundays. For more information, visit Left Behind’s website and follow them on Facebook.
The Island at Breakout Philippines (Greenbelt 5 branch)
The story of The Island is every jetsetter’s worst nightmare come to life. Here, you and your friends become the survivors of a plane crash. Instead of enjoying a long-awaited vacation, you’re stuck on an island with no clue where the cabin crew and other passengers are, or how on earth you are getting out. This escape room is one of the most difficult in Breakout’s roster, rated a whopping 5 out of 5.
Breakout Philippines Greenbelt 5 is at 3/F Greenbelt 5, Makati City. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. For more information, visit Breakout Philippines’ website or follow them on Facebook.
The Great Escape (1962) at LOST Philippines (SM North Towers branch)
We’re sure fans of true crime will have a blast trying to solve the real-life mystery of how, during one night in 1962, three prisoners were able to break out of the infamous Alcatraz prison in the U.S. In The Great Escape, you’ll be playing a journalist who’s so hell-bent on finding out how the prisoners were able to escape that they try to sneak inside the prison. The game is ranked 3 out of 5 in terms of difficulty, and requires two to eight people to play. You’ll be given 35 minutes to crack the case.
LOST Philippines SM North Towers is at 2/F SM North Towers, North Avenue, EDSA, Quezon City. It is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Mondays to Sundays. For more information, visit their website and follow them on Facebook.
