Ever dreamed of your favourite board game coming to life in the real world? Get together with your friends and family to join Mr. Monopoly and the Void Deck Cat for HIDDEN’s Monopoly experience, to discover the hidden stories in Singapore’s neighbourhoods.
MONOPOLY Experience by HIDDEN: Singapore – Katong-Joo Chiat
We chose to explore Katong-Joo Chiat out of 5 neighbourhoods, including Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Changi Boulevard and Suntec City. The experience takes approximately 1h to 1h 30min, and allows for up to 5 persons per team, played through WhatsApp. It took us through the beautifully coloured peranakan houses, the vibrant cafes and hidden gems, accompanied by forgotten stories told through the relics left behind in time.
The self-guided experience meant that there is a lot of flexibility in the pacing of the game. We could start and end any time in the day between 10.30am and 8.30pm. While most of the experience was outdoors with limited shelter, we certainly managed to keep it comfortable for our group, pacing it to our comfort, pausing for a coffee from the friendly aunty through a hole in the wall and had lunch at Baba Chews, before another air-con break at i12 Katong.
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The Katong-Joo Chiat route’s intersections with shopping malls along the way meant that it was possible to have children as young as preschool age join the experience and pop into any shopping mall at any point in time as needed.
We needed a mobile device for the chat prompts in the game, comfortable footwear, drinking water and umbrella to weather the outdoor conditions.
Our Monopopy Experience led by Void Deck Cat
Our adventure started at Kim Choo Kueh Chang (Katong), where we collected our Monopoly kit that included M$200 Monopoly Money (that we can spend on real-world items at partner shops along the way!) and a handheld Monopoly paper fan.
We scanned the QR code at the shop (it’s on the wall right between the two entrances of the shopfront for food purchase and the visitor centre), set up our team on WhatsApp, then rolled the dice and passed GO! to start our journey.
The first stop just needed us to step up (no pun intended) to the Peranakan heritage gallery on the upstairs of Kim Choo’s shophouse. We were welcomed by the charming display of Peranakan heirlooms and almost missed our first riddle!
After solving the riddle by entering the answer via the game chat in WhatsApp, Void Deck Cat gave us a glimpse back in time by sharing the trivia behind the very spot where we stood.
As we patted each other’s backs for solving the first riddle, we were soon prompted to leave the comforts of the visitor centre and to head out to embrace the warm sun outside. Before we left Kim Choo Kueh Chang, we excitedly made our first purchase with M$50 Monopoly Money for a mini Nyonya dumpling, to prepare for our outdoor excursion ahead.
We’ll not spill the beans and fun of the game for you, but our tip is to get your camera ready and tighten your shoe laces to uncover the hidden gems that Katong has to offer, by following the Void Deck Cat through a purr-fect day of fun!
Thoughts on the MONOPOLY Experience by HIDDEN: Singapore – Katong-Joo Chiat
An unexpectedly great aspect that we liked about the experience was that, it nudged us out of our usual shells and got us actively re-discovering spaces that we thought we knew.
As a modern Singaporean, we are always so caught up with life that we barely find time to catch up with friends and family outside of a quick meal or even to take the conversations beyond the chat groups sometimes. When we came for the experience, we wondered if we would be pushed to expend the limited energy bar that we have left, after a long week of work and energetic kids who didn’t seem to need much sleep.
It came as a pleasant surprise when we not only found moments to chuckle at each other’s antics (one of us got really excited with the hundreds of Monopoly Money in hand) and discovered new sides to each other, as our team huddled together to solve puzzles and discovered the terrains of hidden alleys and stairways that we never knew existed.
We realised that we could slip in moments between the game for an iced drink paid by our Monopoly Money, while at the same time bringing business to local merchants (the merchants get to exchange the Monopoly Money for real-world money with the organiser’s Monopoly money changers).
The puzzles were straightforward enough that we didn’t need to squeeze our brain juices dry to solve them, but still had enough challenge that we would need to examine clues closely and pick each other’s brains to come up with the right answers at some pit-stops.
There was something in the experience that appealed to each of us differently. For the cultural lovers amongst us, we embraced the rich tapestry of cultural heritage interwoven with the stories told through the trail of architectural plaques and public art murals.
For the sporty friend, the explorative walk in the neighbourhood was a good stretch for the legs and a good time to catch up with friends meaningfully. We also spotted many boutique fitness studios in the area with affordable classes that we were interested to take up.
For those with children, the integration of exploring the neighbourhood, learning of little historical nuggets, game and fun made it an activity that we would like to bring the family along.
Play is in our DNA
“Play is the state all of us are seeking, whether in a cinema, an office, in a field, or anywhere else. Ten thousand years ago we were telling each other stories and playing games, and ten thousand years from now we still will be. That is the DNA we are building HIDDEN on.”
When I spoke to co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of HIDDEN Lim Yee Hung on a separate occasion, it was very inspirational to hear of how he and his team brought the vision of bringing powerful experiences rooted in real people and places to life.
Ironic as it might seem, the first game experience by HIDDEN sprang to life in Holland Village, designed within the parameters of the circuit-breaker rules then. HIDDEN’s games gradually gained recognition as more partners like Changi Airport Group and National Gallery Singapore came onboard to collaborate for curated immersive experiences.
As someone who’d spent some years researching on gamification in education, I was personally fascinated by how games such as the Monopoly experiences by HIDDEN were able to tell the cultural heritage stories that would have otherwise remained as well-kept secrets by the walls that quietly stood as testaments of time. Through the fun interactions with Mr. Monopoly and the Void Deck Cat, it was almost as if the artefacts we came upon during the game took on playful personas of their own, to share their own lore.
Stories that had it been told through history textbooks, could be easily forgotten by us over the years. However, hearing first hand from some of the merchants themselves, like Tatsu Maker Works, has such a lasting impact in giving life to the captivating stories of humble beginnings and how these homegrown brands and merchants came to find a place of belonging in Katong-Joo Chiat.
MONOPOLY: HIDDEN – Katong-Joo Chiat
Ready to start your adventure with family and friends? Get your tickets now via HIDDEN’s website! Select experiences are also eligible for purchase using SG Culture Pass credits.
Website: MONOPOLY HIDDEN Katong Joo Chiat
Ticket prices: Adult ticket at $39, child tickets are available at $12 for select experiences.
