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Of the many professions that exude a certain air of mystery, that of the detective inspires endless amounts of imagination. From TV series to novels to board games, our favorite investigators solve the most baffling of cases through the most esoteric of clues.
Those adept at piecing together all the evidence needed to find a perpetrator right along with their favorite detective might feel the urge to try to solve a mystery of their own sometime. A new type of hybrid game makes this possible.
CluedUpp is multi-player game melding virtual reality with a physical location. On a given day, teams of up to six people are invited to investigate the scene of a crime by means of clues fed to them on an app downloaded to their smartphones. The evidence presented takes them on a walk through a city or other setting, where they encounter a variety of virtual characters. (No flesh-and-blood actors participate in the staging of the game.)
The experience, which by now has been staged in 55 countries and experienced by more than a million players, typically involves from two to three miles of walking and two to three hours of play. The start window is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the game must be completed by 5 p.m. All of the game’s guidance is provided in English.
Numerous teams tackle the same mystery simultaneously. To make the game even more fun for the families and friends who sign on, prizes are awarded across categories such as fastest team, best team costumes, best team picture and best dog photo.
The standard cost of participation for an entire team is 90 euros; however, providing one’s email address seems to net, at least sometimes, a substantial discount.
Upcoming CluedUpp games have been scheduled for the German cities of Cologne (April 16), Frankfurt (April 23), Heidelberg (May 21), Koblenz (April 30), Mainz, (July 2), Mannheim (July 2), Nuremberg (May 28), Trier (July 9) and Saarbrücken (June 18).
Sleuthing, sightseeing and bonding as a team: all evidence points to the makings of a fun day out.
