City Game Amsterdam: Self-Guided Route Through the Centre

• Walkable centre. Centraal Station, the Jordaan, Nieuwmarkt, Dam Square and the Nine Streets sit within a short walk of each other.
• A World Heritage backdrop. The seventeenth-century canal ring is a UNESCO site, so the connecting streets are part of the attraction.
• Detail everywhere. Gable stones, hoisting beams, house numbers and bridge names give a puzzle route plenty to work with.
• Easy to reach. Most players arrive by train and start the route within minutes of the station.

The Syndicate is the escape-room option: a story with an antagonist, puzzles that build on each other and a case to close before the end of the route. It suits groups who want pressure and a plot.

The Secrets of exploration game puts discovery first. Lighter puzzles, more looking around, and a route that leads from the obvious sights into the streets behind them.

The Sherlock Holmes murder mystery game is deduction rather than countdown: witnesses, evidence and a suspect list, solved as you walk.

Availability differs per city and can change, so check which concepts currently run in Amsterdam on the page listing all City Game locations.

1. Book the game and pick your date and starting time.
2. Meet your group at the starting point with one charged phone per team.
3. Follow the route: each location holds a clue, a challenge or the next part of the story.
4. Use a hint when a puzzle resists, so the route always continues.
5. Finish at the end point and compare scores over a drink.

Mixed teams of adults and children work best, because children spot details adults walk past. Check the walking distance in advance if you are playing with young children.

A route gives a first visit a shape: you see the centre, you get a reason to look at it properly, and you still choose your own lunch.

Several teams can play the same route at once and compare results afterwards, which makes it a straightforward team activity. Group bookings run through the page for companies and groups, and there is more on planning a day out in our guide to a team outing in Amsterdam.

• Watch the bike lanes. Step out of them before your team stops to read a clue.
• Start in the morning if you want quieter streets, especially at weekends.
• Bridges, cobblestones and steep old stairs make some stretches tiring; check the route details if anyone in the group has limited mobility.
• Bring a power bank. A phone that dies halfway is the only real way to lose.
• Keep a stop in reserve: a cafe, a museum or the free ferry to Amsterdam Noord behind Centraal Station.

It is a self-guided walking game through the city centre in which your team solves challenges at real locations, played on your own phone without a guide.

Most routes take a couple of hours including breaks, and you set the pace yourself. Exact playing times are listed per concept.

This differs per concept and per city, so check the game page before booking.

Yes, with the right jacket, and because you choose the date and time you can also move the game to a drier day.

Booking in advance is the safest way to get the date you want, and it gives you the game before you arrive at the starting point.

Pick the concept that suits your group, choose a starting time and let the canal ring do the rest. Amsterdam rewards the sort of attention a good route demands.