Played on April 7, 2018
Reviewed by the Pink Putter
I headed to NYC in early April to visit my good friend from high school, Vanessa. She lives in Brooklyn and we were excited to fill our weekend with museums, food, and escape room and of course, mini golf. Mr. Tee and I had heard about Shipwrecked in the past, but I hadn’t been to NYC in years so this was my first chance to check it out.
Vanessa and I took the train to GOWANUS and walked through a few blocks of garbage-scented side roads to come upon a nondescript office building with a single “Mini Golf” flag waving out front. We walked through a narrow hallway to an elevator with a sign that said Shipwrecked. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but we made our way to the 2nd floor.
Rating
Hole-in-One – This is the best mini golf course I’ve played in the past two years. Upon exiting the elevator and walking into the space, we were in a small hallway greeted by a photo booth, two skill cranes and a series of colorful lockers. Through a second door, we were transported into a pirate’s village that housed the ticketing area and snack bar. We paid for our game and got the extra “Show Tokens” for $5, then grabbed some drinks to prepare for the nearly hour-long wait for our tee time. Just down the hall was a pleasant seating/waiting area surrounded by old arcade games housed in shipping crate facades. Everything else was curtained off, so I avoided peaking through the curtains to be fully surprised. We enjoyed our drinks and some frozen pizza and got to chat with one of the owners, Ryan, to learn the whole story.
Ryan and his buddy had both previously worked on stages in Broadway, but with new families and long hours decided they needed to do something different. They found this untapped space in GOWANUS/Red Hook for an affordable rent and used their skills to completely transform it. The actual holes were recycled from a defunct course in Maryland called Shore Fun Miniature Golf which had originally been built by COST in Wisconsin. The guys rented a flat bed truck and took 9 trips to drive all the holes back down to NYC. You may even recognize the character of Captain Red Hook as Ryan himself 😉
But the real magic lies in the theming, as this space is clearly a labor of love. When our tee-time was called, we were let behind the first curtain, which was a room themed like the inside of a pirate ship. We were prompted to put in our first Show Token and the room came to life with a ghost hologram, video, water, light and sound effects. This video tells the story of Captain Red Hook and his sunken ship, the Paper Towel, setting up the narrative for the rest of the course.
When the video was over, we were escorted to enter another curtain, where we were transported to a magical, blue room to Hole 1. Holes 1-4 were all in this underwater themed room and had clever elements such as seedweed, crabs and a rusty anchor, all tied together by lovely lighting that gave the feel of soft waves.
After Hole 5, we entered through the giant submarine where we were prompted to enter our second Show Token. The submarine came to life with lights and a video full of silly jokes and puns.
Upon exiting the submarine, we found ourselves in the lush, tropical forest of the green room. Palm trees, a small waterfall and lots of foliage transported us to a tropical paradise of holes 5-8.
After Hole 8, we were greeted by a giant skull entryway, where we got to put in our third Show Token. The skull came to life with lights, fog and more humorous audio.
We made our way into the red room, which felt very much like a mining area.
At Hole 11 we had another opportunity to use another Show Token, which awoke a wall of Tiki gods and gave us the Tiki Show.
At Hole 13, we were surrounded by faux dynamite boxes and could yet again insert a coin. Bracing ourselves for an explosion, we were pleasantly surprised by a boom of dance music.
This segued us into the final room, the orange room themed of Coney Island, Brooklyn and the subway line. Lovely string lights, a giant Freak Show photo op and sparkly painted murals all set a magical mood for the final leg of the course.
Hole 18 featured a full immersive subway car of the G train, which upon using our final Show Token, came to life with a final video.
The ball return was a clever spin on the subway, using the theme of a MetroCard ticketing machine.
While I would rank the gameplay itself average to slightly above average, the entire experience, theming and special effects brought to life by the Show Tokens really set this course apart from your average mini golf. I highly recommend Shipwrecked to anyone traveling to the NYC area.
Pros
Amazing and immersive theming
Option for Show Tokens includes added interactive and humorous elements
Simple yet challenging game play
Recycled course and course elements
Cons
Stinky walk from train to mini golf
Hour plus wait, but well worth it!
Nerdy Notes
- 18 Holes, Par 43
- No flags in holes
- Rubber covered putters
- Adults: $14, Military and Senior: $12, Kids: $10, 2 and under are free, Show Tokens: $5, Spectator Pass: $7
- Entire course was sourced from Shore Fun Miniature Golf in Maryland. Holes are concrete covered foam originally built by COST in Wisconsin. Look for small white frames around the course to tell you these fun facts.
- There are at least six different versions of each Show Token experience, so you’ll get to see something new every time!
