This S’porean mum-son duo opened a murder mystery golf course

Whereas the present technology is coping with the “iPad child” phenomenon, Alistair Cannon-Brookes grew up in a life stuffed with journey, taking part in mini golf and ziplining along with his household.

It’s little marvel, contemplating that his mom, Philomena Cannon-Brookes, has owned a youngsters’s fitness center, Energy Youngsters Gymnasium, since 2004.

Her enterprise had thrived till the COVID-19 pandemic struck—however as an alternative of feeling discouraged, the mom of three determined to make the very best out of the state of affairs.

“That interval of pause sparked the concept of making one thing solely new—an expertise that will be immersive, participating, and uniquely Singaporean,” shared Philomena.

House for his college break, Alistair joined his mom in a collection of brainstorming periods, and the concept of an journey mini golf course turned their first lightbulb second. However after spending a 12 months researching, the 2 realised that it was nonetheless too easy an concept.

“What was lacking was a extra immersive and narrative-driven strategy. We didn’t need to provide only a course with quirky obstacles; we wished to create a world the place gamers might step into the story,” he defined.

Then got here their second eureka second: drawing inspiration from escape rooms, Alistair and Philomena determined to include interactive components into the expertise.

The end result was Kulnari Thriller Golf—Singapore’s very first homicide thriller mini golf course.

A gimmick—not!

Set in Twenties Singapore, the 18-hole mini golf course unfolds inside the fictitious Kulnari Buying and selling Firm, the place gamers step into the function of detectives tasked with uncovering the mastermind behind the corporate’s downfall.

Admittedly, it appeared like a tacky story at first, so my editor and I made a decision to go down and see it for ourselves.

Whereas I received’t spoil the programs, we had extra enjoyable than we anticipated, and I questioned how that they had the mind cells to create such an intricate storyline.

Alistair defined that the story truly advanced from a sensible answer to a standard downside: gamers shifting at completely different speeds typically find yourself ready for others at every gap.

By embedding clues all through the house, everybody stays engaged, fixing puzzles whereas ready, which additionally provides an additional layer of accomplishment past simply tackling obstacles.

Add to the backdrop given by the heritage shophouse, the expertise really feels as when you’ve travelled again in time to the Twenties.

Some may additionally describe Kulnari’s storytelling as “Disney-esque,” to which Alistair attributes the rides present in Disney theme parks as his inspiration.

If [the Disney theme parks] can condense a storyline in a 3 minute amusement park trip, we are able to put in additional into an hour and a half mini golf course.

Alistair Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of Kulnari Thriller Golf

Carving a distinct segment inside a distinct segment

Whereas the idea of mini golf isn’t precisely very overseas, I don’t keep in mind it being a standard pastime for different Singaporean youngsters, a lot much less for adults. It all the time gave the impression to be extra common within the West.

Furthermore, two different mini golf programs established in Singapore had closed their doorways earlier than Kulnari’s opening in 2022: LilliPutt Indoor Mini Golf in 2016 after a 16-year run, and Holey Moley in September 2022.

That raises doubts about whether or not mini golf is just too area of interest a enterprise to achieve success within the city-state, however Philomena knew higher than to take heed to naysayers.

I feel companies reminiscent of these shut down as a result of actual property limitations in Singapore. We have been very centered on what we wished to do and that it must be a barely completely different expertise in comparison with the opposite mini golf choices around the globe.

We’re the world’s first thriller mini golf expertise and have it as a trademark. I feel I took a leaf out of my very own expertise—20 years in the past, folks stated my youngsters fitness center enterprise would shut down inside six months of opening however that solely spurred me on to show them flawed.

Philomena Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of Kulnari Thriller Golf

The drive to carry Kulnari Thriller Golf to life turned their anchor each time obstacles popped up. Previous to the mini golf course’s launch, Philomena revealed that that they had two offers fall by way of because the landlords they met have been unwilling to take a threat with their idea.

However the challenges didn’t finish there. After securing their heritage shophouse at Boat Quay, the staff needed to grapple with the advanced rules when it got here to renovating the house, which in the end value a whopping seven-figure startup capital, funded by the duo’s financial savings from earlier ventures.

“The journey was difficult, however it was definitely worth the wait,” stated Philomena. And he or she was proper—the mini golf course was fully-booked out inside one to 2 months after opening, with an amazing 3,000 folks coming by way of its doorways.

To keep up a versatile tempo of taking part in, the staff ultimately carried out a cap on every day entries. This transfer not solely preserved the standard of the expertise but additionally fueled regular, month-on-month development in bookings—reaching a cumulative whole of 100,000 since launch.

The mini golf course has additionally hosted team-building occasions for a variety of huge firms, together with Singaporean radio station Class 95.

However the story is simply starting for Kulnari Thriller Golf.

Presently, Philomena, Alistair and the staff are engaged on “refreshing its expertise” with new story chapters, puzzles, in addition to enhancing the enterprise’s operational effectivity by way of tech upgrades.

The duo additionally expressed their ambition to introduce the idea to worldwide markets, particularly the monetary hubs in Southeast Asia.

In reality, Alistair additionally allow us to in on a brand new scoop: they’re now within the midst of discovering the suitable companions and are speaking to some distributors from Jakarta, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

So who is aware of? Perhaps it’s only a matter of time earlier than we see Kulnari Thriller Golf grow to be a vacationer attraction for the plenty.

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With Mom’s Day simply across the nook, we requested the duo what it’s like working collectively as mom and son.

“It has its personal dynamics,” they admitted, however over time, Philomena and Alistair have “discovered a rhythm” that works for them. Their secret sauce? Having mutual respect and clear boundaries.

Whereas it may appear cliche and easy, it’s simpler stated than accomplished. Philomena revealed that one of many guidelines they’ve agreed on was to attempt to not speak about work after 8 pm, however it’s an ongoing problem to maintain to that rule.

She additionally emphasised the necessity for honesty from the beginning, together with being clear in regards to the roles they assume, setting expectations, and aligning on how choices are made. Alistair added that they’ve break up their obligations “fairly effectively,” taking complementary roles from each other.

“We’re enterprise companions within the workplace, however household all the time comes first on the finish of the day,” they stated.

• Study extra about Kulnari Thriller Golf right here.
• Learn different articles we’ve written on Singaporean startups right here.

Featured Picture Credit score: Kulnari Thriller Golf