François d'Angoulême — The King Born Elsewhere
Reconstruct the royal journey that led a Count of Angoumois to the throne of France
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
From Cognac to Reims, eight steps to understand how François I transformed Angoumois into a dynastic launching pad
François d'Angoulême — from forgotten county to throne of France
Embody Louise de Savoie, Duchess of Angoulême, who from 1494 prepared her son François for an unlikely royal destiny. In the historic center of Angoulême, follow the traces of the Valois-Angoulême dynasty that transformed a peripheral county into a springboard to the crown of France. From Saint-Pierre Cathedral to the medieval ramparts, discover how a visionary mother orchestrated her heir's ascension to Louis XII's throne.
« Fluctuat nec mergitur »— Devise de la ville d'Angoulême
Angoumois, launching pad of the Valois
In 1494, François was born at Cognac castle under the name François d'Angoulême. His father Charles d'Orléans, Count of Angoulême, died three years later, bequeathing to Louise de Savoie a strategic but peripheral county. This twenty-year-old Duchess of Angoulême immediately understood the stakes: Louis XII had no male heir, and François, a distant cousin, could claim the throne.
Louise de Savoie transformed Angoumois into a dynastic rear base. She had François educated by the best humanists of the time, negotiated his marriage to Claude de France (daughter of Louis XII) and cultivated her networks at court. When François I ascended to the throne in 1515, it was Louise's entire Angoumois strategy that triumphed. The little Count of Angoulême became the Father of Arts and Letters.
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?
Royal Dynasty
Discover how a peripheral county became the cradle of a French royal lineage
Dynastic Strategy
Follow Louise de Savoie's political maneuvers to place her son on the throne
French Renaissance
Explore the Angoumois origins of the French Renaissance under François I
A dynastic adventure at the heart of History
Discover Angoulême
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
Q01Is François d'Angoulême — The King Born Elsewhere similar to a treasure hunt?
Same spirit: search, deduce, find. But here the "treasure" is a full story to piece together in eight stops. Each stop gives you a fragment of the final code. Eight fragments later, you've cracked it.
Q02How many stops are in François d'Angoulême — The King Born Elsewhere?
Eight stops total. At each stop you find a camera clue, solve the puzzle, collect a fragment of the final code. With all eight, you've got the answer.
Q03Is François d'Angoulême — The King Born Elsewhere suitable for a challenge-seeking teen?
Absolutely. The puzzles aren't obvious — a curious teen will sweat just enough to be proud of cracking them. Progressive hints prevent frustration: if stuck, unlock hint level 1, then 2, then 3.
Q04Do we need 4G data to play?
Intermittent 4G is plenty. Maps are cached at startup. Narration and clues load per stop, so a so-so signal between stops is fine. GPS itself uses no data.
Avis des aventuriers
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Your turn to play
More than an outdoor escape game: an interactive visit immersed in 500 years of French royal history, with anecdotes revealed at each stop and confidential sites that classic guides forget.
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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