Puzzle Details

This lock is part of one of the puzzles in the escape room I built at Google.

It’s a letter lock, the kind where you spin the wheels to form a word and unlock what’s inside. The one in the picture is attached to a traditional Singaporean tingkat (lunchbox), which became part of a puzzle we designed to theme the room as a blend of Google’s global culture with some unmistakably local Singaporean touches.

Every detail in that room either had a Singaporean or Google touch, from the tingkat to a puzzle inspired by hawker centres and the local “choping” culture, where people reserve tables with tissue packets. It was one of my favourite builds, because it reminded me that creative design doesn’t always have to be complex or high-tech.

At Google, we build a team development workshop around this escape room. It’s a space where problem-solving, communication, and collaboration come to life in real time. You can tell a lot about a team not from what they say in a formal meeting but from how they actually think and act while under pressure - how they listen, and how they unlock others around them.

Sometimes, inspiration is about going deeper into the cultures, connections, and shared stories that make teams human. That’s exactly what we do at Teamwork Unlocked. We build immersive experiences that reveal how your team really works when the clock is ticking and what it takes to unlock their best.