As a Christmas present I gave a voucher to my family to participate together on a escape room. Before this experience, I only have been on one game room in Turku. So, my knowledge about escape rooms is not so deep. Therefore, when looking for this present was a bit “tricky” for my lack of knowledge on this “genre” and because one of my team member was 9.5 years old. Finally I selected: “Der Zauberer”.
On 3.1.18 was our appointment to play. We arrived and waited some minutes. In the waiting room we saw an interesting sign with warning, e.g.: No panic, Safety first, No arms, No pets, …..
Reading the rules while waiting to get into our escape room
Side Note: maybe the waiting “room” of these scape rooms could improve. Somehow the waiting room could start to create on the players certain experience. At the moment these rooms are not inviting, at least in my experience.
Few minutes after we arrived, our “host” clarified us how to play the game. She also explained the back story of our selected escape room. Once the team agreed that we were ready, we got into our room and the game started.
For the record: We found the magic elixir of immortality of the magicians and we did all in a bit less than an hour! IMPRESSIVE!!!
Honestly, I had the best team one could have! And the youngest team member was, literally, FANTASTIC!
This room had different type of puzzles that utilized diverse objects. In other words, there were more activities than looking for number to open locks. We used the wizard’s hat and his magic wand, a mirror, maps, bases for magic potions, smell different aromas, and more. It was enjoyable for all of us. Additionally, I insist, my team was the BEST! I couldn’t have done it alone, to be honest. 🙂
One thing I should remember: to bring paper and pen each one I get into a escape room.
On July 30th I have the honor to witness of an union of two lives, i.e. be a guest of a notable wedding here in Finland.
The ceremony was at the Helsinki Cathedral, and the party was at the Villa Svalvik which is, surprisingly, a beautiful place with a country side spirit near Helsinki.
The wedding has such a good energy and spirit. It was really charming. I, honestly, have a wonderful time and I was very happy for the couple.
In this wedding I also discover a couple of games, which I want to share in this post, which I personally found fun.
a) Bingo
In this bingo one should pay attention to the newly-wed couple and its guests. All guests have copy of the bingo-board on their place. In each of the board’s squares reads a sentence related to the wedding, e.g. “the bride disappear”, “someone looks for the bathroom”, ….
So, when the game organizers indicate that the game starts, all guest could play and they should play attention to the wedding. Once one detects an action described on the board, we could cross it. All board were slightly different, as in any bingo. The person who filled a board, for example, scream bingo. Honestly, in my table, we had fund with this game.
In the photo at the end of this post, you can see a little piece of the board. Simple to do and honestly fun.
b) Guessing your guests
In this game, the newly-wed couple are the main players. The guests are part of the game. Let me explain.
The newly-wed couple should not see its guest for some minutes. To achieve this, they standup and give their backs to the audience. Then the organizers of the game, publish on a screen – that all the guest could see and that newly-wed couple could not see – a word. Examples of this word are: “bride’s guests”, “who born in Helsinki”, …. Once we read the word, all the persons who belong to it stand up, and the rest of the audience remained sited. After all these is done, then the newly-wed couple turned around and aim to decipher what was the word published based on the people they saw standing. There were points for the bride or the groom according to whom guessed the words first. Honestly, it was MUCH FUN this game!!!! 🙂
c) Dancing
As always, the best!!!!
The wedding was AMAZING, the dancing specular and I wish all the happiness for the newly marry couple!!!
Time just flew away and I was not able to post daily. Sometimes I was not online due to technical challenges, other times I needed to finalise work and other instances I needed to live intense off-line or actually RE-CHARGE so… no able to post. However I am still commited to document the last weeks, so making use of my offline notes.
On Saturday July 20th we had programmed to go to Everland, however we did not go. The Everland has attractive rides, for my taste, and high-technology developments that I would have enjoyed to experienced. However, in these days was raining A LOT and for the 20th the forecast was rain, which means several rides in Everland would close while raining due to security. Consequently, the organising team of the summers school at OIA decided to take us to Lotte World 🙂
Lotte World is an amusement park in the middle of Seoul. You can see in the photos below the HUGE buildings that surround the park.
Parking our busses at Lotte World
Buildings surrounding Lotte World
The entrance is actually inside a building.
Entrance to Lotte World
Personal side note: Those who know me are aware that I enjoy A LOT amusement parks and rollercoaster 🙂 Sadly, since I am a researcher in games my enjoyment capability has been spoiled for amusement parks 🙁 Particularly, when I am on my own exploring the park, aghrrrr! I am not pleased about this. Automatically, when I am exploring emerges an internal analyzing button! – it sounds as a line from the Avatar movie – But it is true, it has happened to me the last time I was in Disneyworld for example 🙁 However in Disney I was with my mom and she was FANTASTIC into bringing me down to the enjoyment world without analysis. 😉
In this day I get lost from my companionship, however the advantage that I have for enjoying Lotte World is that the park cannot be compared or analysed trivially. Most of the Lotte World is located indoors in a country where space is scarce! Thus, automatically one has another experience.
Park Outdoors
Park Indoors
Utilising all possible space available
As predicted in the weather forecast in this day rained. Thus, I spend most of my time indoors. It is actually strange to be indoors in a amusement park and it took me some minutes to learn to navigate. It was as being inside a shopping mall, somehow. That is, we need to find the precise door, stairs, hallway, which might not be so big and obvious as in outdoors amusement parks.
where to go next?
Nevertheless, the novelty allowed me to explore freely 😉 The following videos were taken with the intention to offer a “feeling” of the park from the top-most point, a ballon!
One thing is in common in ALL parks I have visited until today: lines are LONG. Thus, I could not get into all the rides as it is my utmost goal, however I think I did relatively well with the time available. The rides I did were:
One of the museums that were in my list to visit was the Trick and Eye Museum (here info in English) and by coincidence in the park was a selection of pieces from the exposition. So, playing while taking photos! Well suited in Korea I must say. (Side note 2: I did not had the opportunity to go the museum, but I did not get so traumatised as due to have a little taste of the exposition in here. So, I start to make my list of places to visit the next time)
Visitors taking photos
Interesting perspectives
Testing what would be a feeling to have if my piggy bank would have the following content 😉
Visualising my future piggy bank 😛
There was Korean food too 😉 as you can imagine rice was available! 🙂 However, one could see in the park unhealthy western food influence…. Please, dear Koreans, do not copy bad habits!
What do you want to eat?
It is difficult to say what I like most of the visit. I would need to go back to actually decide 🙂 – It is a good excuse, right? – The whole day was enjoyable and new for me, leaving a smile in my face! 🙂
At difference to Disney 4D Toy Story ride, in the shooting theatre we were sitting as in a cinema where we needed to shoot, as you can imagine through the photo. Our targets were skeletons and zombies. Once the adventure finalised, photos of all the players with our scores were shown before we stepped out. I really wonder how will be the movies and rollercoaster 10 years from now… this is getting INTERESTING!
Summarising the day was fun! 🙂 I am aware that I just wrote some of the highlights but time is a scarce resource, as I had been whining about lately, however let’s do the best out of it. So summaries are better than no post!
Since long my internal voice tells me: write in your blog about the games you play.
Ok, the idea is cool! Specially because the games one plays as the books one reads and the people one interacts with are part of one’s experience. All sums up!
However in order to write about games the follow up question is: how or what shall I write about games? There are plenty of games reviews out there, from commercial and academic perspective. In addition, from my personal viewpoint:
Each individual has a personal game experience.
Each time I play a game, my game experience changes due to multiple factors. For example: my level of tiredness or energy, the time at what I am playing, the ideas and things that are in my head, the people I play with, how is the day, the meanings surrounding me while playing, and the list continues….
As this is MY BLOG, and I decided it is my virtual reference point, what I want is actually a digital memory of bits and pieces of my game experience 🙂
Hence, the first game I want to write about is rüsselbande. I played this game this year in late October with my niece and sister. I had a good time and right now I want to play it again.
What I find fantastic of rüsselbande’s game mechanics is: it is fun for a four years old as it is for a 45 years old. Good design Alex Randolph!
Here some photos to make you craving to play it as well!
game rüsselbande
ready to start
the pig race is tight
a free ride for three of us
blue is getting behind
advancing
the end is very tight!
actually the blue, which was me, did it ok at the end! 🙂 Looking forward to play this game again 🙂
