World first airport game show takes off in Singapore

SINGAPORE, JANUARY 18: Singapore’s Changi Airport, which already sports a swimming pool and movie theatre, has been keeping passengers riveted to the departure lounge with the world’s first airport game show.

‘‘It’s something...never seen before in any other airport,’’Lim Shih Neng, assistant airport manager with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), told Reuters.

CAAS spent $1 million developing the ‘What’s Your Range ’game from scratch. The game, which started a month ago, has already attracted around 17,700 participants. CAAS is undecided whether to extend the game show or franchise the concept to other airports when its season ends on March 15. ‘What’s Your Range’ comes complete with a gregarious host, brightly lit stage, special player seats equipped with hand-held consoles, and of course, prizes.

‘‘I never have any money to buy anything in this airport,’’ said 32-year old American film student Robert Grossman as he waited for the show to start. ‘‘Maybe this will turn that around.’’ Participants are given 10 general knowledge questionsduring the 25-minute game.

Questions to tickle tired travellers include: How many characters are there in the English alphabet? In a triples game of lawn bowls, how long does a game last? How many bags of wool did Baa Baa Black Sheep give away? Up to 50 contestants punch in their range of answers to each question and stand to fly off with more than S$1,000 In airport shopping vouchers.

Travellers can take part in the 12 games daily after they have made a purchase at any airport shop. Prizes, however, were less of a draw for Australian teacher Jonathan Chelliah, 27, who played the game twice in a row.

‘‘It’s really just to kill some time,’’ Chelliah said. (Reuters)