SINGAPORE - Some seek an escape from the daily grind through Netflix, yoga, or retail therapy. My escapist pleasure of choice is more literal. For the past few years, I have spent many weekends exploring ruined temples, trespassing into science labs, solving murder mysteries or travelling through time - all thanks to Singapore's many escape rooms.

The uninitiated may have a vague impression of these as dim, claustrophobic lairs - no thanks to the horror films that have used them as a plot point - or something only reality-avoiding nerds could enjoy. Yet the beauty of escape rooms is that they combine meaningful socialising with intellectual thrills and pure escapism.