Do you want to experience being a secret agent and be your own version of Tom Cruise? Or do you want to be an Alice in your own Wonderland?
Freeing Palawan, the one and only escape game in Palawan, offers a challenging experience for players as they get to be locked up in pre-designed escape rooms that recreate scenes in famous classic movies such as Mission Impossible and Alice in the Wonderland. It’s an adventure where you can physically experience finding clues, cracking codes, solving unique puzzles and feel like you’re a character in the movie. The challenge is for players to escape within the limited time and the key to escape is through intelligence, teamwork, and strategy.
Jenny Lie, General Manager of Freeing Palawan, said that the reason why they started a franchise here in Palawan was because of their love for challenge and adventure. They started out as players of the game, became addicted, tried every escape game
around the world, learned to love the game, and now, they want to encourage adventure-seeking people to also try it out.
“It started off with myself and my husband. We were addicted to playing escape games. 2 [or] 3 years ago, we started one game in Hong Kong and then we got bored. We didn’t like it because it was not clear and the instructions [were] misleading. Especially for demanding people like us, we are very judgmental on these things. Then we thought, ‘Let’s give another try, try another room.’ So we tried another one and then we started to get addicted. Then we got the feeling how it works,” she said.
“Now, wherever we go [in] different countries, me and my husband will always play the local escape game rooms as well. We have done that in 3 years now in different countries. We started to think [that] it was super fun and we loved it so much so we started doing it everywhere,” she added.
A kick-starting experience was when they visited Palawan in 2017 and got stranded in El Nido because of a typhoon; that was when Jenny had an idea and decided that they can franchise and open an escape game in Palawan.
“In 2017 in October, I asked my husband to come to the Philippines, to Palawan, because it was my birthday. [When] we went to El Nido, a typhoon came. We were stuck and everything was cancelled. We had to book a new hotel room then we ended up, by destiny, in Lio Estate. We were locked up there for one night. That’s the time when I suddenly had this feeling that maybe we should do an escape game center here [in Palawan] too,” she explained.
Another reason that pushed them in franchising an escape company is because they didn’t have an experience in setting up and operating one. As they were stationed in Hong Kong, they chose to franchise a local escape company, Freeing Hong Kong, since it’s easier to communicate and work together than those in different countries. They chose Palawan to station their franchise as it is named the best island in the world and it was also close to Hong Kong.
The idea for their escape rooms are all from scratch. It was inspired by their experiences in playing and trying other escape games around the world. They combined all the ideas that they think were impressive and incorporated it all in their plan, to give the players a one-of-a-kind experience during the game.
For them, a movie-themed escape game is the best option as there are no other movie-themed escape rooms in the world. They wanted to follow a movie theme for it to be original and for it to also be interesting for the players as the movies they would feature are famous and classic movies.
As of now, the available themes of the escape rooms are M:I:6 (Mission Impossible 6) and Alice in Wonderland. They’re currently setting up the upcoming and most-awaited game rooms with the theme of the movies The Exorcist, The Monkey King, and Da Vinci Code, which will all be available soon.
Freeing Palawan officially opened on the 3rd of December 2018 and they are reaching out to the tourists and locals of Palawan, as it is a one-stop experience since it is not only for entertainment, it is also a way of enhancing your critical skills. The game is also perfect for team building, family bonding and get-togethers.
“For the locals, they should definitely come and try us out because [we] have so many positive reviews already from day one. Nothing would be disappointing for them. And for the tourists, they are adventurous already [but] all the tourists nowadays are day tourists, so in the evening, they have nothing to do except for the bar and the restaurants. So we want to invite them to fill up their nights with another excitement,” Jenny Lie said.
“It’s good for your brain. It’s healthy. It makes it work. We think it’s pretty healthy also for kids, to give them some critical thinking exercise,” she added.
The available game rooms are for 2-6 persons and since the escape game is stationed in Palawan, the Palaweños are given 50% discount, in which they can pay half the price per game. They also have promos for birthday celebrants; they can play the game anytime they want for the whole month of their birthday for free.
If you’re an avid game player, you can be their fastest escaper and you can have the chance to be featured in their Wall of Fame. Their fastest escapers can also be crowned as their “Super Star VIP”, in which they are entitled to a big reward of a full year of playing at the escape rooms for free.
Right in the middle of Puerto Princesa, Freeing Palawan is located at Goland Plaza, National Highway corner Malvar Road at Barangay San Miguel, Puerto Princesa City.
You can also contact them through (048) 433 3172 or visit their Facebook page or their website www.freeingpalawan.com. They also offer 10% discount if you book at their website and use the “online” code at checkout.
Start gathering your most adventurous and thrill-seeking friends and dare to escape at Palawan’s one and only escape game.
Do you have what it takes to free yourself?
Photo by Kaisha Faye Sanchez / Palawan Daily News