The benefits of playing the Hidden.sg game are certainly not hidden. And they are manifold: An activity to bond over while exercising both brain and body.
Hidden.sg is a game using Whatsapp messages and an artificial intelligence chatbot to help players find hidden gems in Singapore’s many neighbourhoods, unveiling nuggets of history as they go along on trails in places like Tiong Bahru, Dakota and Toa Payoh.
My photographer teammate Zubin and I honed in on Tanjong Pagar, an area I am familiar with, having spent a good part of my formative years growing up in the locale.
But lo and behold, I learnt so much more about the area just by playing the game. And I discovered a couple of kinks in the game too. I shall unfold them here so that they can be ironed out by the app creator to make the game watertight.
So before you choose a neighbourhood to explore I’d like to offer some tips and tricks.
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Allow ample time to play the game
Firstly, give yourself ample time to enjoy every aspect of the game.
It can be a whole-day affair with two breaks for refreshments. Take it as a wonderful silver outing for bonding with your friends or family because this game is not played alone.
Secondly, start in the morning, preferably. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes, take along a water bottle, an umbrella or hat, and wear sunscreen! You would also need a phone with internet access and a charger (optional).
Thirdly, keep your mind clear and think out-of-the-box to process the clues.
Signing Up
Is it easy for silvers to play the game? Definitely. You pay $25 to sign up.
You’ll receive a message from Hidden Singapore telling you your number has been used to sign up for an immersive outdoor adventure game guided by the enigmatic Void Deck Cat.
You send her a message or click on a link to set up the game; all very safe. After your team members sign up with a QR code, you’re good to go.
On the Tanjong Pagar Trail
Our starting point was the Tanjong Pagar MRT station, where the rules were made known to us.
Interestingly time is deducted for wrong answers (5 minutes) and hints given (10 minutes).
Our game was a trail of 12 clues. We set off on this exciting quest from past to present time.
Clue 1 was solved in a record time of five minutes. We were elated when Void Deck Cat complimented us.
But Clue 2 set us back by an hour because the dubious signage (Exit J) in the train station set us off tangent. Then as we headed up the escalator in the wrong direction, surprisingly there were similar markers like a bakery shop which led us to believe we were on the right track.
TIP: Take your time to read the clues accurately. Digest the information.
It will pay off and save you time instead of following the wrong leads. Or ask for hints unless you are aiming to finish in record time.
Computing numbers to solve the clue
One of the benefits of the game is that Hidden.sg is challenging and works the brain.
Even after reaching your clue destination, there is much work to be done.
The game is not that straightforward. It works your right brain which is what we silvers are encouraged to do.
I remember learning this when attending a talk by a psychologist at our first SilverStreak readers’ event in October. Dr Felix Lim, principal psychologist at Dr Well, a lifestyle division of AIBI Maxwell, gave some insightful advice on this subject.
So, you’ll find yourself adding and subtracting to get your final answer. Bingo!
It was a good feeling when we finally solved clue 2. You must have noticed that I’m not giving too much info on the clues. I’m resisting because it would mean taking the fun out of your game.
Lessons on heritage
Another benefit accruing from playing Hidden.sg is getting free lessons on our nation’s heritage upon solving a clue.
I loved this part of the game the most where a mini history lesson is unravelled about the very spot you are standing on. I was drooling over the old Singapore sepia-toned photographs coming into my feed on my phone.
Clue 3 required us to use words from a plaque to solve the missing letters in the puzzle.
The info on the plaque was a valuable piece of history on rickshaw riders.
As I stood reading the plaque I suddenly remembered my dad painting that bit of history for my siblings and me when we were barely five or six years old.
Take advantage of the freebies offered
Yet another benefit are the freebies. Clue 4 offered freebies from a shophouse if you solved the puzzle.
Because you set aside a whole day for the game, there is ample time to appreciate the shop and delight in the freebies.
At this point a break is offered. You may pause your game and have a good meal at the Maxwell Food Centre. I counted four chicken rice stalls at Maxwell, the famous being Tien Tien.
The newly-renovated Food Centre has a wide range of cuisines to offer every palate.
Read the clues accurately; even the prepositions
Clue 5 taught us that we had to read our prepositions carefully and not hastily.
After we had located the signs with the letters and symbols we were looking for, we still found the last part of the clue tricky as we tried to figure out what the area was noted for in the old days.
Clue 6 was a breeze in terms of finding the location but we were stumped when it came to figuring out the answer in the restaurant.
Speaking of prepositions, we found the clue misleading in that area. That meant a lot of time was spent here.
TIP: Set yourself a time limit after which you should seek a hint.
A layered game
Clue 7 was easy to locate but the mural had to be studied with a keen eye to pick out key words.
That led to the next step — requiring us to form another word with the highlighted letters in the seven key words. So, the game really has several layers for contestants to solve.
Clue 8 directed us to explore a maze in a housing estate and find words and numbers to solve the equation.
After some mathematical deduction, we arrived at the magic number. The history of Tanjong Pagar was visible here but some of the information on the plaques were difficult to read as they had worn out with time.
Also, if time permits, there is an opportunity for a bird’s eye view of the city. If you had started your journey in the morning, you would have the time to savour this.
Clue 9 was located in a garden and we found it effortlessly because we were on the same wavelength and communicated well.
What was interesting was the literature on the history of the flower.
Various tools to solve the clues
It was nightfall when we set out to look for Clue 10. That slowed us down. (Remember: Set off early in the day to avoid this).
However, we managed to decipher the five words in sign language shown in a video by corresponding that with the sign language we found in the park.
Taking the first letter of each word, we solved our clue in two attempts!
What fascinated us was what we learnt about the purpose of the playground and that the clue was in a different medium: Video and sign language.
Clue 11’s temple was easy to locate because both of us remembered this temple albeit in different ways.
We were mentally fatigued by now and went off course for a wee bit when we analysed wrongly the phrase “where two-wheeled vehicles rest”.
Then we turned back and instantly knew we were in the right direction when we had our “aha” moment.
We followed up quickly and found the word to describe Guoco Tower.
Teamwork pays off
Racing to complete the final Clue 12, we misinterpreted “glass boxes” and ventured aimlessly looking for 2d ladders. Again, we misinterpreted the definition of “ladders”.
Counting on a hint my eyes lit up because I was familiar with the location given in the hint. I had been there before. We scrambled to the place and found all the pieces to the puzzle congregated there.
We both felt that this was a flaw in the game because this location was used in Clue 2. The earlier visit to this site could have been omitted instead of being duplicated. It does tend to deceive the player.
Working well together certainly produces faster results. This is why I advocate playing Hidden.sg on your birthday with friends as a celebration or on your wedding anniversary to reinforce the partnership.
I’m already planning my next adventure. Hmmm Tiong Bahru or Toa Payoh?
