Bachelor party ideas Amsterdam North: a team game for the lads

The best stag days get everyone involved from the first minute. A city game does that by itself: one friend reads the puzzle, another hunts for the answer, a third directs the funniest photo. Friends from school, work and sport who barely know each other quickly find common ground.

Split the group into teams of up to 4 players, each with its own phone and its own game, and set off at the same time. At the end, compare scores and settle who won. The groom can captain a team or simply be the star of every photo task. Either way, the group is warmed up for the rest of the day.

Secrets of Amsterdam North is a self-guided walking game from the IJ waterfront, with puzzles, photo tasks and stories about the waterfront. On the way you pass Purmerplein, the Nieuwendammersluis, the Vienna street sign (WENEN) and the Nieuwendam village marker, a side of Amsterdam that feels like a small village.

Sherlock Holmes murder mystery in Amsterdam North is a detective case on foot, from the A'DAM Toren past the Tolhuistuin to the Eye Filmmuseum, crossing the Van der Pekbrug along the way. The story is based on Sherlock Holmes and suits a group that likes arguing about who did it.

Both games use the free Loquiz app on your own phone.

The price is €19.95 per team: one phone, at most 4 players. A game takes 1.5 to 2 hours. You can start whenever you want, every day, and the game stays valid for 12 months, so it fits easily into your own plan for the day.

Give every team the same game if you want a fair contest, or let teams pick different games and swap stories afterwards. Agree on a meeting point and a time to finish, and everyone comes back together at roughly the same moment.

Charge all phones before you start and make sure each team has the free Loquiz app installed. Mix the teams so different friend groups meet each other, and come up with team names and a small prize for the winners.

Don't hold back on the photo tasks: the more creative the photos, the more fun it is to look at them later. Keep the best shots for a speech later on.