Search for a city game near you and you'll get four quite different things under one label: a guided walking tour, a phone app with map-generated questions, a printed treasure hunt, and a self-guided puzzle route through a real centre. They cost different amounts, take different lengths of time, and suit different groups.
Here's how to tell them apart before you pay for one.
The four things the search returns
A guided walking tour with a game element
A guide takes you round and adds quiz questions. You learn more, but you go at the group's pace, at a fixed time, and there's usually a minimum number for it to run at all.
An app with generated content
Cheap, available in hundreds of cities, and built from map data: count the benches, find a red door, how many windows on that facade. It works anywhere, which is exactly the tell - the questions aren't about the place you're standing in, and by the fourth one it feels like admin.
A printed or PDF treasure hunt
You download and print it. Cheapest of all, but it can't give hints, can't score, and goes out of date quietly - a clue about a shop sign is worthless once the shop closes.
A self-guided puzzle route
Written for the specific city, tied to buildings and inscriptions rather than map data, played from a phone at your own pace. More expensive than the app, cheaper per head than a guide.
What to check before booking
Was it written for this city or generated? The easiest test: look at a sample question. If it could be asked in any city in Europe, it was generated.
Is there a fixed start time? A guided tour has one; a self-guided route usually doesn't. For a group arriving by train, that difference is worth a lot.
How many people per booking? Some are priced per person, some per team. For a group of twelve that's a large difference in the total.
How long is the walk? Two to four kilometres is normal for a city centre route. Check whether anyone in your group would struggle with that, and whether there are steps or cobbles.
What language does it actually run in? Not what the website is translated into. Puzzles built on wordplay don't survive translation, and a badly translated clue is unsolvable rather than just clumsy.
Can you pause? Games with a running clock can't be interrupted for lunch. Ones without can.
How to judge the listings
Local search ranks by proximity and review count, not by how good the game is. The top result is the closest well-reviewed option, which is not the same thing.
Read the review text rather than the score - almost everything in this category sits around 4.6. Reviews that describe a specific puzzle or a specific building are from people who actually played it. Reviews that say "great fun, highly recommend" tell you nothing.
Check the dates too. A route written five years ago and never updated will have clues pointing at things that have changed.
Which type suits which group
Two people on a weekend away: a self-guided route, so you can stop when you want.
A family with children: self-guided, no clock, ideally with the child holding the phone.
A work group of fifteen or more: anything that lets several teams play the same route at once. Guided tours don't scale past one group.
Visitors who want to learn about the city: a guided tour genuinely teaches more. A game makes you look, not learn - both are worthwhile, but they're not the same purchase.
A birthday or a hen or stag group: teams, self-guided, ending somewhere you've booked.
If there's nothing in your town
Most routes exist in city centres with enough history to hang puzzles on, so smaller towns often aren't covered. Two options: travel to the nearest city that is, or write your own - a home-made hunt around a town you know well can be better than a bought one, because the references are yours.
You can check which cities have routes to see whether yours or a neighbouring one is on the list. The page on how the game works explains the format in a couple of minutes.
For a group large enough to need several teams and one invoice, there's a setup for companies and groups.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a city game cost?
It varies by format. Per-team pricing works out cheaper for larger groups than per-person pricing, so compare the total for your actual group.
How long does one take?
Around two hours for most self-guided routes, two and a half with children or a large group. Guided tours run to their scheduled length.
Do you need to book in advance?
Self-guided routes usually not. Guided tours yes, and they may need a minimum number of participants.
Can you play in winter?
Yes, with a coat. Daylight is the real constraint - check what time it gets dark before starting in the afternoon.
Is it worth it if you already know the city?
Often more so. A good route points at details locals walk past, which is a different experience from being shown the main sights.
What if the weather turns?
Light rain is fine. Formats with no fixed start time can simply be moved to another day.
In short
Work out which of the four types you're looking at, check whether the content was written for that city, and compare the total price for your real group size. If you're deciding between formats, we've also written about playing a city game without a guide.
Not sure whether there's a route where you are? Ask through the contact page.