Escape the City: What a City Escape Game Is and How to Play One

A city escape game is a self-guided outdoor adventure in which a small team solves puzzles at real locations to work through a story. Instead of being locked into a room, you unlock the city.

It is worth separating it from three things it often gets confused with:

• An indoor escape room keeps you in one building for about an hour. A city escape game takes you across several kilometres of real streets.
• A guided walking tour follows a guide and a fixed departure time. A self-guided city game starts the moment you open it.
• A plain scavenger hunt is a list of things to find. A city escape game wraps those tasks in a storyline with a beginning, a middle and an ending.

A city game gives a team something to solve together that has nothing to do with work, which tends to reshuffle who talks to whom. Groups usually split into teams of four to eight and compare results afterwards over a drink. If you are organising for a larger group or want the practical side arranged, start at City Games for companies and groups.

Children read clues faster than adults expect, and the walking is broken up by tasks, which keeps younger players going longer than a museum would. Age suitability differs per game, so check the game page before you book.

If you have one free afternoon in a city you do not know, a city game is a way to see it without a guidebook or a schedule. You can play alone; the puzzles work for one player as well as for six.

A race against the clock to recover stolen formulas. Expect ciphers, landmarks and a fair amount of pressure. This is the one to pick if your group likes competing. Read what is involved in The Syndicate city escape game.

City legends, riddles and photo assignments, at a gentler pace than The Syndicate. It suits mixed groups where not everyone wants to sprint between locations.

You collect clues and work out who did it while the route moves you through quieter parts of the centre. The most story-driven of the four.

The exception in this list: these are guided rather than self-guided, built around themes and led in person. Available in selected cities only.

1. Pick a city and a game. Each city page lists which games run there and where the route starts.
2. Book online. You do not have to choose a date or a time slot. Your game stays valid for one year from the date of purchase, so you can buy now and play whenever it suits.
3. Install the right app. Depending on the game you book, you play in the City Game app or in the Loquiz app. Both are free in the App Store and on Google Play, and your booking confirmation tells you which one your game uses. Install it before you set off rather than at the starting point.
4. Go to the starting location and enter the login details you received.
5. Play. Follow the clues, solve what is in front of you, and take the detours the game suggests.

If you want the full sequence before you commit, the page on how to play a City Game walks through it.

• Time and distance: most games take about 1.5 to 2 hours and cover roughly 3 to 5 kilometres on foot.
• Group size: four to eight players per team works best. Larger groups are better split into several teams playing at once.
• Internet: you need to stay connected throughout. Check your data plan or roaming before you travel.
• Battery: the game runs on your phone for a couple of hours with the screen on, so a power bank is a sensible precaution.
• Languages: many games are offered in more than one language. The game page states which.

On accessibility, be honest with yourself about the walking. Routes follow the historic centre, which in most cities means cobbles, kerbs, bridges and the occasional flight of steps, and the distance is real. If walking three to five kilometres at a steady pace is difficult, you will not get the most out of the game. Route details differ per city, so the specific game page is the place to check.

On safety, the ordinary rules apply and are worth stating: you are in live traffic, so stop walking before you read your phone, look up at crossings, and treat private property and quiet residential streets with the same respect you would on any walk.

If you want a few hours outdoors that leave you knowing a city better than when you started, a city escape game is a straightforward way to get them: pick a game, install the app your confirmation names, and walk out of the door. The easiest next step is to compare all City Game experiences and see which story fits your group.