City Game Without a Guide: How Self-Guided City Games Work

It is a walking route through a city, delivered through your phone, in which a small team solves clues and challenges at real locations to move a story forward. The city itself is the game board: statues, facades, street names and squares hold the answers.

Three things make it different from a guided tour:

• You set the clock. Start at 10:00 or at 16:00, pause for lunch, take a longer break when someone gets tired.
• You play, you do not just listen. The group solves the puzzles together instead of following someone else talking.
• You keep your own company. It is your family, your friends or your colleagues, not a mixed group.

1. Choose a city and a game concept, then book your starting date.
2. Open the game on your phone at the starting point in the city centre.
3. Follow the trail: each location gives you a clue, a challenge or a piece of the story.
4. Solve it as a team. If you are stuck, the game gives you a nudge so you never get properly lost.
5. Finish at the end point, usually within a couple of hours, and take the rest of the day as it comes.

Duration, walking distance, language and start location differ per city and per concept, so check the page of the city you have in mind for the exact details. You will find them in the overview of every city where you can play a City Game.

If the point of the day is to actually see the city, an exploration route works best. The Secrets of exploration game leads you past the landmarks and then straight into the side streets most visitors miss.

If your group would rather crack a case than read plaques, pick a story-driven route such as The Syndicate city escape game, where the city becomes an outdoor escape room.

For a team outing, several small teams can play the same route and compare results afterwards over a drink. Practical arrangements for larger bookings are covered on the page for companies and groups.

• A charged phone per team, with mobile data. Bring a power bank for longer routes.
• Comfortable shoes. Historic centres mean cobblestones, stairs and slopes, and these differ per city.
• Weather-appropriate clothing, because the whole route is outdoors.
• Two to six players per team works well: enough heads for the puzzles, small enough to hear each other.

• Start earlier in the day if you want quieter streets and easier photos.
• Stop walking before you read the phone, and step out of the flow of pedestrians and traffic first.
• Agree on one person to hold the phone and swap after every few puzzles, so everyone stays involved.
• Plan a lunch or coffee stop into the middle of the route. Nothing in the game forces you to rush.
• Respect the places you pass: churches, museums and private courtyards keep their own rules and opening hours.

No. Everything you need is in the game on your phone: the route, the clues, the hints and the story. A guide is optional in some cities, but the standard format is self-guided.

Every challenge has built-in hints, so a team can always move on. You never lose the route because of one difficult clue.

Yes. You can stop for lunch, a museum or a rest and pick the route back up where you left it.

Families play these routes regularly, and the puzzles work best when adults and children solve them together. Walking distance and reading level differ per concept and city, so check the city page if you are playing with young children.

The route is outdoors, so rain mostly means better rain gear and a longer coffee stop. Because you choose the day and the starting time yourself, you can also simply move the game to better weather.

A city game without a guide gives you the structure of a tour with the freedom of a day out on your own terms: your pace, your group, your coffee breaks. Pick the city you want to explore and choose the concept that fits your group.