Companies ask for a branded city game for two quite different reasons. Sometimes it's because the content genuinely needs to be theirs - an onboarding route, a conference, a company anniversary tied to real places. Sometimes it's because a logo on the screen sounded like a good idea in a planning meeting.
The first is worth paying for. The second usually isn't, and it's worth knowing which one you're doing before you ask for a quote.
What can be customised, in order of effort
Light: branding on an existing route
Your logo, your colours, a welcome message, a closing screen. Quick, cheap, and nobody in the group will remember it. Fine as a finishing touch; not a reason to commission anything.
Medium: your questions inside an existing route
The route and its puzzles stay, and a handful of company-specific questions are added between the stops - a fact about the team, an internal in-joke, a question about the new strategy. This is the sweet spot for most companies: it feels bespoke and costs a fraction of a full build.
Heavy: a route written for you
New stops, new puzzles, a storyline built around your business or your city. This is a genuine writing and testing job - somebody walks the route, checks every answer against what's actually on the buildings, and fixes the clue that turns out to be scaffolded. It takes weeks, not days.
Heaviest: a route at a private location
A campus, a venue, a conference centre. Doable, and the same rules apply, but with an extra constraint: private sites change more than public streets, so a route written for a building may need updating after a refurbishment.
The honest test for whether you need custom
Ask what the game is for.
If the goal is that people talk to each other, a standard route does that just as well, and the money is better spent on the dinner afterwards.
If the goal is that people learn something specific - a new strategy, a merged team's structure, a set of values people can't currently recite - then custom content is doing real work, and it's worth the budget.
If the goal is that it looks impressive to a client, be honest with yourself about that, because it changes what matters. Presentation and finish become the point, not the puzzles.
Lead time, realistically
Branding on an existing route can be quick. Custom questions inside an existing route take a week or two, mostly because getting the content approved internally is slower than writing it. A route written from scratch takes several weeks, because it has to be walked and tested.
The step that gets underestimated every time is internal approval. Three people need to agree on the wording of a question about company values, and that meeting is harder to schedule than the whole build.
Content that works, and content that doesn't
Works: questions about things people can find out on the route; light references to shared history; a story that gives the walk a reason. Anything that rewards a team for talking to each other.
Doesn't work: quiz questions about product specifications, which turn a walk into a test. Anything that only senior staff would know the answer to, which quietly excludes everyone who joined this year. And a tone that reads like the intranet, which people can spot in one sentence.
The most common mistake is too much company content. Two or three custom moments in a two-hour route land well; twelve of them make it feel like work.
What it costs you beyond the invoice
Someone internally has to write or approve the content, decide what's on-message, and check it doesn't accidentally reference a project that got cancelled. Budget that time honestly, because it's usually the constraint - not the supplier's schedule.
Where to start
The practical route is to look at what already exists first. You can see which cities have routes and whether one runs near your office or venue, and the page on how the game works explains the format, which is usually enough to decide whether customising it is worth doing at all.
For group bookings, invoicing and several teams playing at once, there's a setup for companies and groups.
Frequently asked questions
What can be customised in a city game?
Branding, added company-specific questions inside an existing route, or a route written from scratch. The three differ enormously in effort and cost.
How long does a custom route take to prepare?
Branding is quick, added questions take a week or two, and a route written from scratch takes several weeks because it must be walked and tested.
Is a custom game better than a standard one?
Only if the content is doing something a standard route can't. If the goal is just conversation between colleagues, standard works equally well.
Can it run at our own venue or campus?
Usually yes, though private sites change more often than public streets, so a route may need updating after building work.
How many custom questions should a route have?
Two or three in a two-hour route. More than that and it stops feeling like an afternoon out.
Who writes the company content?
Usually you, with the supplier fitting it into the route. Budget internal time for writing and approval - that's normally the slowest part.
In short
Custom is worth it when the content has a job to do, and decorative when it doesn't. Start from a standard route, add two or three moments that only make sense for your group, and spend the rest of the budget on the meal. For the format itself, we've written about using a city game for team building.
Want to know what's realistic for your date and group? Send us the details through the contact page.