Mystery Manila Solved!

Escape room games are my thing. I’m enjoying the venture of finding clues, solving mysteries and completing missions whenever I’m playing this kind of games online. That’s why when I heard of Mystery Manila, I was glad that finally, I can experience escape games in real life. I’m also happy that they were able to come up with this idea because I think it’s awesome. It’s not just a fun experience but also, an educational one as it wakes our minds and skills while solving mysteries. There’s no doubt people, especially kids of my age, will love Mystery Manila because it’s a unique way to spend a day with friends compared to our usual activities like shopping, movie watching, eating, etc. I’ve always wanted to go in Mystery Manila with my friends. However, the high price and drawing plan with companions pulls me back from going to Mystery Manila.

 

Fortunately, my problem with the high price and need of sure companions was solved. I received this discount coupon from Belle de Jour Planner that grants me to a ten percent discount on any Mystery Manila game. Oh really? That’s amazing. I think Belle de Jour knew where I wanted to go. Moreover, we have this activity in school, which we call LEAP or Lasallian Enrichment Alternative Program. LEAP offers classes that are outside academics and this includes Mystery Manila. With no further ado, I enrolled to it. Since it is a class, I’m sure that I have group mates which will be my new friends.

 

Before going to Mystery Manila, players should be aware of the rules. Just like most of the escape games, your group is locked in a room for an hour. The room is filled with clues and mysteries your group need to find and solve in order to escape the room in less than an hour.

 

The venue of our program is in Ayala the 30th. I think they got a good spot here yet I find it small making each mystery rooms smaller. They have four mystery rooms here namely, Rebel Resistance, Sorcerer’s Stone, Mr. Moriarty and Morbid Morgue. I can’t provide you a photo of each rooms since cameras are not allowed inside but I’ll describe each one later based on what I know.

 

But before we proceed to the mystery rooms, let me tour you in their entrance hall slash waiting area slash cashier first. I find this place relaxing which makes waiting great. When you enter their office, you will immediately see that big question mark that is formed by post-its. Well, it’s actually a freedom wall. On one side, the mystery leader board is written so if your group is one of the top ten finishers, expect your name to be there. There is also a television that tells what Mystery Manila is.

 

I told you. Waiting is not boring here in Mystery Manila. Aside from the relaxing ambiance, there are toys that will keep your busy like Jenga and that card game which we do not know how to play. But Jenga alone already filled the room with entertainment so I think that’s alright. Magazines are also available to keep you occupied.

 

As I said, cameras are not allowed inside the mystery rooms so I just took photos of their doors. Anyway, Mr. Moriarty is inspired by Sherlock Holmes. It “is said to be the mastermind behind the series of terrorist attacks and murders. Your group plays the role of Sherlock’s associates left with no choice but to gather evidence directly from Moriarty’s office. With only an hour left, Can you find the ledger that will prove Mr. Moriarty’s guilt?”

 

Sorcerer’s Stone will remind you of Harry Potter, especially its first book, as this is made with Harry Potter mysteries. “The evil dark wizard Sidious plots another diabolical scheme to get his hands on the famed Sorcerer’s Stone that grants wealth and immortality to whoever possesses it. You and your team of brave wizards must stop Sidious from his evil plan before it’s too late. You have an hour to finish the mission and save the world of wizardry.”

 

If you are a fan of Star Wars, this one is for you. “You are tasked with an important mission to scour the outer rim of the galaxy and find important information that would help bring down the sinister forces threatening the galaxy. As you are about to complete your mission, enemy ships attack and almost destroy your ship. You have an hour to escape your ship with the critical information needed by the rebel resistance.”

 

Oops! I’m sorry for the dark photo but I think that talks about the mystery room because it is a Morbid Morgue. “Enigma strikes again! Your group was kidnapped and wakes up inside Enigma’s morbid morgue. Using tools and resources found inside the morgue, you only have an hour to escape before he kills each and everyone of you. Can you escape the Morbid Morgue?”

 

My new friends and I tried their Rebel Resistance mystery room. I’m not a fan of Star Wars but this is the room we booked left for us. Our Awesome Planet provided us a video showing what Rebel Resistance mystery room looks like. I wonder how they got to capture the inside of the room. They are lucky if the staff allowed them to do that because the management itself didn’t expose even a photo of the floor to the public.

Anyway, I admit that I was quite disappointed when I entered the room because it far different from my expectation. I thought that it is a big room with a big space to roam around. But it’s the other way around. Plus, it doesn’t look like a mystery room. For almost thirty minutes, we found ourselves groping. We do not know what to do inside because the tools seems like they’re not working. By moving everything, we solved a mystery or two without us knowing it. It’s a good thing that there are clues provided by the staff that let us know we are already halfway through the challenge. In the end, when we were positioning the planets on the table, I finally felt the excitement since we were already aware of what we were doing. I saw the collaboration within our group which brought us out  of room before the time was up.

Given all the good and the bad, I must say that I definitely enjoyed our stay in Mystery Manila. If I have no problems with the price and companions again, I’ll definitely go back and try the other mystery rooms. At least, now, I know what to expect.

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