Earlier this month we were brought to Tokyo again for the Tokyo Metro Underground Mysteries game. Again, I can’t recommend it enough!! It’s a day-long puzzle-solving process that takes you around the city of Tokyo (for free with the Metro day pass you’re given as part of the game, which itself costs 2160yen). We did it for the first time last year and I loved it so much that I’ve been waiting all year to do it again!
Basically how it works is you’re given a packet with an instruction booklet and various clue pieces. You have to solve puzzles with the items you have which give you the name of a specific train station, and then you go to that station and solve further puzzles from there. It really is an all-day game if you want to solve the whole thing. We started at 10:30am and got the last clue around 5:30pm, and then solved the final puzzle on the Shinkansen on our way home. We didn’t rush too much and we stopped for meals so it COULD be solved more quickly if you want, but I don’t think it’s necessary to push yourself like that. Enjoy the journey and take your time!
Some of the puzzles (like last year) were a bit difficult to solve. It helped having two of us to work it out, and I have to admit that there were a couple puzzles where we used the clues online! But I absolutely love solving puzzles, and turning a puzzle game into a sort of real-life scavenger hunt is just awesome. Like last year it took us to some neat spots around the city. There were even three optional puzzles that you don’t have to solve (but you could if you have the spare time).
Like last year we ran into a bunch of other players doing the game, especially near the end, so I suggest trying to distance yourself a bit from others so you don’t accidentally tip each other off about the clues! Most of the other players were doing the Japanese version of the game, though, so I’m not sure how much that differs from the English version!
I think next year we’ll probably try to plan to spend a couple days in Tokyo around the event so we don’t have to travel to and from Nagoya in the same day (which added fatigue since we woke up at 5:30am!!) It's definitely a bit mentally taxing since it's such a long game! But we had a blast with it again and are looking forward to next year!
Event period: October 1st to January 31st
Game kits: Available at Ueno station’s Tokyo Metro Pass Office
Price: 2160 yen
Website: http://realescapegame.jp/events/tokyometro2017.html
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