Hello to all my fellow slacker buddies, I am your old friend, the working person's slacking-off journal.
Today I have to talk about the shirking tool I recently discovered — the Escape Room Desperate Series 3: Painted Immortal Adventure. To be honest, at first I was attracted by the words 'free,' after all, we all understand the wallets of us working people, and if you can get it for free, why spend money 💰.
The core of this game is tap-based puzzle solving: finding clues, activating mechanisms, putting together puzzles, connecting lines, and occasionally a bit of storyline. The new chapter of Illusion Book Adventure opened with a pretty interesting question, asking whether the world is an illusion created by our brain. At that moment, I wondered, does that mean the pain of getting caught slacking at work by my boss is also an illusion? Obviously not, because it's real pain 😭.
Here comes the crucial part. Last Friday afternoon, the boss went to a meeting, and I openly took out my phone to start solving puzzles. One level involved tuning notes, where I had to click several notes in order. I was so focused with my headphones on that I didn't hear footsteps. The boss stood behind me for a full ten seconds, and when I looked up, my heart skipped a beat.
Guess what? He actually didn't scold me, but instead pointed at the screen and said, 'Click the third flute first, then the first one.' I was completely blank at that moment and followed his instructions instinctively, and the door opened. The boss patted my shoulder and said, 'I finished this game last week. You'll get stuck on the abacus puzzle in Chapter Four for a long time, so I'm telling you in advance: move the beads to the middle first.'
I was completely stunned. Later I learned that the boss plays this in the office every day during lunch break. His wife thinks he's neglecting his responsibilities by playing, so he hides in the office to play. Now it's fine; sometimes when we meet in the break room, we even ask each other, 'Which level are you on today?'
Speaking of the game itself, the advantage is that it has a short and fast pace, with each level taking just a few to several minutes, making it very suitable for fragmented time. The visuals have a traditional Chinese fantasy feel, not scary, unlike some escape room games where a ghost suddenly pops out and scares me at my desk, making the whole office look at me. There are also some drawbacks. Some puzzles have a bit of a forced logic. For example, one level requires you to arrange books by color, but the hint is very obscure, and I ended up trying for twenty minutes. And there are ads, but it's free, so it's bearable. An ad pops up after each level, and I usually take that time to reply to a work message, pretending to be busy.
Tip sharing: When you get stuck, don't rush to click 'hint.' First, take a screenshot and click on everything in the scene that can be clicked; many clues are hidden in the background. For example, the secret compartment behind that painting, it took me three clicks to trigger it. Also, wearing headphones is very important, as some levels require you to rely on sound to determine direction.
In short, this game is suitable for people like us who don't want to think too much but still want to feel a sense of accomplishment while slacking off at work. When the boss is away, play secretly; when the boss is around, pretend to be checking reports. Slacking off isn't easy, so cherish it while you do 🐟.
Have you had a similar experience? Boss or colleagues also play the games you play? Chat in the comments and let me know I'm not alone.