A room with a clue

"Good acting and communication skills are necessary for the game, and logic skills are a plus," says Chen, who, working in real life in the digital game industry in Shanghai, plays such games with colleagues once every two weeks.

"The location-based detective game is time-consuming. You have to read scripts, change clothes and play the game. It usually takes a whole afternoon to play out a story," Chen says.

"However, it is worthwhile since I not only experience the lives of other people, but also fully communicate with friends face-to-face."

Like many people who moved to megacities for work, Chen had few friends in Shanghai when she first came to this city last year. She made her first batch of friends while playing the game with colleagues and got the chance to know them better.

"For instance, I never thought that one of my most bulky and tall male colleagues had nyctophobia - an extreme fear of the dark - until we were stuck in a pitch-black room and he couldn't stop trembling. I always thought that happened to children but not to a man 1.8 meters tall," recalls Chen, adding that, seeing their teammate in distress, other team members volunteered to shoulder more assignments, leaving time for him to relax and calm his nerves, until, together, they successfully completed the task.

Most scripts have four to seven roles. Sometimes Chen's colleagues will ask their friends to join in, giving her opportunities to meet more people other than her colleagues.

"I learned the importance of team spirit while playing the games together with friends," Chen says.