Learn about STEAM at LOST Junior, HK’s latest escape room

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By junior reporters Kevin Cheng and Rayes Ho
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Puzzle and gadgets incorporate STEAM elements with rooms set in Atlantis, a magic school, and an escape from a prison

By junior reporters Kevin Cheng and Rayes Ho |
Published: 
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Lost Junior incorporates Steam elements – science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

Escape rooms have been rising in popularity in recent years and are popping up everywhere. One established escape room company in Hong Kong is LOST, which opened its first shop in Causeway Bay in 2013, and has since seen franchises open in 12 different locations around the world.

The rooms can be intimidating, as they have themes set in ancient burial tombs and Japan’s eerie Aokigahara Forest and a 45-minute time limit to beat. But now there is a more inviting version called Lost Junior that younger players can enjoy without as much pressure. Two of our junior reporters, Kevin Cheng and Rayes Ho, were excited to give one of the rooms a try.

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Like the original rooms, players have to solve a series of puzzles and riddles to find their way out of a room within a time limit. However, in LOST Junior, there are fewer puzzles to solve and the level of difficulty suits six to 14-year-olds.

“In LOST, there are more than 15 gadgets, puzzles, and videos in one single theme or game, but in LOST Junior, there are about 10,” explained Rick Woo, the co-founder of LOST Junior.

There are fewer puzzles to solve in LOST Junior than there are in the original escape rooms.
Photo: LOST Hong Kong

At first, we thought the game would be a piece of cake to solve. But we were stumped by one of the puzzles and weren’t able to escape the room within the 35-minute time limit. It just goes to show that the junior version should not be underestimated.

Lost stands for “learn, observe, solve and think”, and puts players’ problem-solving skills to the test. LOST Junior incorporates Steam elements – science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics – and is educational as well as entertaining. There are three themes to choose from: The Great Escape 1962, Atlantis, Magic School. A fourth game, The Lost City of Gold, is coming soon. Each theme explores a different historical story and is meant to develop a variety of skills, including communication, observation, problem solving, logical thinking, and creativity.

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Woo says a lot of cooperation and communication are required to solve the puzzles in the room. “We advise players not to bring their mobile phones into the game room as we encourage them to use their eyes to make eye-contact, ears to listen, and mouths to communicate.”

LOST Junior is located at D2 Place in Lai Chi Kok. It costs HK$150 per person for a game, but right now there is a special soft-opening price of HK$120. A second LOST Junior is set to open in The Mills in Tsuen Wan.

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