Following last year’s sleuthing success, the riddle masters behind the Tokyo Underground real life game have returned in 2016 with even more tricks up their sleeves.
If you think that you really know the ins and outs of Tokyo subway system, “Tokyo Metro – The Underground Mysteries” is a puzzle game that will definitely make you think again. Not only will it test your problem-solving and creative thinking abilities, it will challenge you to demonstrate your knowledge of the Tokyo Metro system.
This thought-provoking game was thought up by the Kyoto-based puzzle-game masters SCRAP, and is marking its third year of rail-based brain teasing. To get started, you buy your game kit – which includes a 24-hour Metro pass – at Ueno Station between 7:40am and 8:00pm, and the enigmas quickly follow. The first puzzle involves finding your start point, as it’s not the same place where you buy the game kit!
As you get going, the riddles will have you exploring the Tokyo Metro’s subterranean reaches, but you’ll also be challenged to exploring lesser-known exits and parts of stations that you thought you already knew. While the majority of the game takes place underground, you’ll need to ascend to street level in order to solve some of the Underground Mysteries and find crucial checkpoints. It’s definitely the sort of game you want to play with friends, and you should allow yourself four to six hours in order to solve all the mysteries – six to eight hours if you’re going for a more leisurely pace.
This kit will have you scratching your head more than a few times…
There are four puzzles altogether, each with clues that gently nudge you towards to solving the game, and we had a lot of fun thinking our way to the finish line. What we really enjoyed about “Tokyo Metro – The Underground Mysteries” were the kinds of stimulating and innovative puzzles that test your observational skills and ability to read between the lines. It’s definitely a great way to explore this city we call home. If you’re an old Edo hand, you might be surprised as you explore the nooks and crannies of Tokyo’s Metro stations, and if you’re a Tokyo rookie, you’ll come out of the game with a lot more knowledge of the ins and the outs of the city than you had before.
The game is afoot until January 31, 2017.
For more details about the game, visit the “Tokyo Metro – The Underground Mysteries” site.
