The Biggest Game of Hide & Seek kicked off onboard Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas on Sunday, 18 February 2018, while the ship was docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney, Australia. Players were divided into two groups, Kid’s Round - aged 8-14, and Adult’s Round - aged 15 and over. Their task was to hide from the seekers, Australia’s national professional hide and seek team named “The Nascondingos”. The Ultimate Hide and Seek Champion is the last player to be found.

The winner of Ready or not, here I come in kids round was the 12-year-old Ryan S. who took the prize, a family cruise for four, after hiding under a couch. In the Adult’s Round, best hider was Benjamin Harrison who is also taking his family on a cruise plus check of  $10,000.

The winner of the adults’ game, Ben aka ‘Big Red’ used sheer distance as his tactic, trying to get as far away from home base as he could. He chose to hide under curtains in the first two rounds, and in the final – his winning spot – Ben managed to squeeze underneath a table that was concealed by a curtain. He and fiancé Jess will use the $10,000 award for their wedding at the end of the year, and will use the complimentary cruise for their honeymoon.

The seekers admit they heralded it their hardest game yet on the Ovation of the Seas which has a capacity of 5000 guests. There was just a lot of ground to cover. It was far more challenging than they thought it would be. Curtain and couch hiding were the most popular spots.