Fernão Mendes Pinto
Setúbal's Portuguese Marco Polo
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
Eight world ports on the Sado estuary
In 1543, a child from Setúbal turned adventurer was the first to set foot on the Japanese island of Tanegashima.
Born in Montemor-o-Velho around 1510, raised in Setúbal, Fernão Mendes Pinto embarked for India at fifteen. For twenty-one years he was thirteen times captive, seventeen times sold as a slave, and discovered China, Burma, Siam, and above all Japan, where he introduced the arquebus in 1543. His narrative Peregrinação, published after his death, is one of the great texts of world literature. Eight places in Setúbal hide the coordinates of the ports he saw before any other European.
« "Thirteen times captive, seventeen times sold as a slave." »— — Fernão Mendes Pinto, Peregrinação (1614)
Setúbal and the Far East routes
Third port of Portugal in the 16th century, Setúbal armed the salt and fish ships for Antwerp and Flanders, and the spice ships for the Carreira da Índia. Fernão Mendes Pinto, as a teenager, embarked there around 1537. He sailed for Goa, fought at Diu, was captured in the Red Sea, worked for the pirate Antonio de Faria, visited Peking as a slave, then landed at Tanegashima in 1543 with two other Portuguese: the first three Europeans in Japan.
Back in Almada in 1558, ruined and ill, he secretly wrote Peregrinação (published in 1614, thirty years after his death). The book, too fabulous for its time, was taken for a tissue of lies. Twentieth-century historians have recovered most of the facts he describes — including the arrival at Tanegashima and the first encounter with the samurai.
A game, a guided tour and a heritage guide — all in one
You're not just buying an escape game. You're carrying a living guide — historical anecdotes, forgotten legends, key monuments, hidden architecture — unfolding as you go.
At each stop, places ordinary guides miss — secret façades, sculpted crests, alleys steeped in history.
Every riddle is rooted in a real historical fact or local legend. You leave with dozens of stories to tell.
Learn to read buildings — flamboyant Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco — like a real art historian, while having fun.
Walk through the city like a novel's character — every alley becomes a stage, every square a theatre.
A voice walks with you at every step, tells the story of each place, reads clues, adds a cinematic feel.
Keep access to the guide & game for 1 year. Come back any time, share it with friends.
« You will not leave this city the way you entered it. »
How does it work?
Explore the city on foot solving puzzles based on real historical facts. No locked room — the city is your playground.
No app to download. Play directly from your browser. Guided step by step, at your own pace.
One purchase per phone is enough. Play with family, friends or as a couple — everyone participates.
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears and speaks to you in your language. Golden letters magically write themselves on the wall to reveal the puzzle answer.
Stuck? Progressive personalised hints. The character repeats the puzzle on demand — at your own pace.
French, English, German, Spanish, Italian + 27 other languages auto-translated by AI.
The game downloads to your phone on start. Once the "✓ Downloaded" indicator appears, everything works without data — narration, AR, GPS and puzzles. Perfect abroad without a data plan.
Want to go deeper?
Places tied to your adventure — optional entries, totally up to you · per person
The Route
8 stages through the city
The gameplay: AR, camera, hidden clues
At each stop, open your phone camera: an augmented reality character appears on the façade and speaks your language. Hunt the clue — it materializes as golden letters on the real wall or floats in front of you. When you find it, the phone vibrates, an AR chest opens and reveals your answer fragment. 8 stops, 8 clues to find with the camera, 1 final code.
The stops on your route are a surprise. You'll discover them one by one, guided by your phone, starting from the meeting point.
How does it work with a group?
One phone = one team. Pick the number at checkout (1 to 10).
Solo, or a group sharing the screen. One team, one code.
Family, couple, or 2-3 teams competing. Each phone has its own code and its own score.
Friends, bachelor/bachelorette, small office outing — each their own code, each plays at their own pace. Tiered pricing then €6 flat per phone from the 6th.
- ✓All codes are independent — play at the same time OR separately, each team advances at its own pace.
- ✓Leaderboard between your teams + global game leaderboard — each score appears in the public ranking.
- ✓More than 10 phones or need a personalized quest? Discover custom tours.
Ready to live this adventure?
Get my code · 12€No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒 Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
Practical info
Why this route?
First in Japan
Tanegashima 1543, introduction of the arquebus.
Peregrinação
Masterpiece of world travel literature.
Sado & sardines
Estuary, dolphins, Portugal's finest fish.
Peregrinação
Wandering — the word that defines a whole life
9 features nobody else has
OddballTrip combines gamified play, augmented reality and AI. All our competitors deliver 1 or 2 of these angles. We deliver all 5.
AR treasure chest
A golden chest floats in front of the monument. Tap → opening animation → reveals a secret message.
AR narrator character
Point your phone at the façade: a knight, witch, monk, sailor, detective or ghost appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language with their dedicated ElevenLabs voice (each character has their own unique voice) — your living guide.
Magic golden letters
At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's the puzzle answer. An unforgettable visual effect.
Written + audio narration
Every puzzle available as text AND voice-over: read at your own pace or listen eyes-free while walking. Great in groups and for accessibility.
360° radar + vibration
A mini-radar shows the target even behind you, and the phone vibrates when you aim in the right direction.
Heritage storytelling
Every puzzle weaves in real historical facts (architecture, era, anecdotes). You learn by playing — like a gamified audioguide.
Progressive AI hints
3 levels of AI-generated help: vibe → where to look → answer format. You're never stuck.
AR selfie memento
At the end of the game, capture a selfie with OddballTrip banner + mascot, shareable on Instagram, TikTok.
Zero app to install
PWA technology: open the link, it plays in your browser. Same quality as an app, no App Store hassle.
Frequently asked questions
Q01Do I need an app or a paper guide?
Neither. Everything plays in your browser (Safari, Chrome) after you tap your activation link. No PDF to print, no download. The trail lives in your phone, that's it.
Q02Can we split Fernão Mendes Pinto across two days?
Yes — your code stays active and progress is saved. You can start Saturday afternoon, finish Sunday morning. Some players actually prefer this format to make the most of a full weekend on site.
Q03Can we do Fernão Mendes Pinto as a family with kids?
Yes, from age 6 with an adult reading puzzles aloud, and from age 12 on their own. Kids love the "find the camera clue" part — it's very visual, gets them genuinely involved.
Q04What's the best time to start?
Morning between 10 and 11, or early afternoon around 2 PM, is ideal. You still have daylight ahead, Setúbal, Sado estuary is less crowded, and the light is better for camera clues.
Avis des aventuriers
Soyez le premier à partager votre expérience.
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Your turn to play
Exhume the memory of the first Portuguese who reached Japan, from the estuary that saw him leave.
1 purchase = 1 phone. Play several on the same device.
No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
🪙+24 TripCoins granted with your booking
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