Gijón, from the Castro to the Roman Empire
When the Astures resisted Rome from a hill facing the Atlantic
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
On the Cimadevilla peninsula, in the heart of Gijón, lies a secret two thousand years old. Beneath the fishermen's quarter, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a pre-Roman castro — a fortified village of the Astures — and a Roman camp that succeeded it. The baths of Campo Valdés, among the best preserved in Spain, bear witness to the Romanisation of a people who resisted to the end.
Before Rome, the Astures
The Astures were a Celtic people of northern Hispania who lived in castros — fortified villages perched on hills, surrounded by ditches and stone walls. The castro of Campa Torres, at the entrance to the port of Gijón, is the largest castro on the entire Cantabrian coast. When Augustus sent his legions to conquer northern Spain in 29-19 BCE, the Astures were among the last peoples to resist. Their defeat marked the end of the Cantabrian Wars and the completion of the Roman conquest of Hispania.
« "The Astures preferred poison to slavery. When the Roman legions surrounded them, many took their own lives rather than surrender." »— — On the cerro de Santa Catalina, facing the Atlantic, where the Cimadevilla castro dominated the bay
From Celtic castros to the Roman city of Gigia
The first inhabitants of Gijón settled on the Cimadevilla peninsula more than five thousand years ago. In the Iron Age, the Astures built a castro there — a village of round stone houses, protected by concentric walls and ditches. The castro of Campa Torres, a few kilometres away, was the political centre of the coastal Astures, with its thirty fortified hectares and its metallurgical activities.
After the Cantabrian Wars (29-19 BCE), Rome settled in Gijón. The Romans built public baths at Campo Valdés — a thermal complex with hypocaust, caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium, whose polychrome mosaic floors are still visible today. The Roman city of Gigia became a trading port on the Atlantic maritime route.
In the 5th century, the Empire collapsed, but the Visigoths and then the Asturians inherited the city. In 791, Gijón played a role in the early Kingdom of Asturias, the first nucleus of the Reconquista. Cimadevilla remains the living heart of the city — a fishermen's quarter built on the Roman ruins, where colourful houses overlook the waves of the Bay of Biscay.
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 Route
4 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.
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Practical info
Why this route?
Castro culture
Discover the fortified villages of the Astures, a Celtic people who resisted Rome from the Atlantic hills.
Roman Gijón
Baths, walls, mosaics — Gijón preserves one of the richest Roman heritages in northern Spain.
The wild Atlantic
The Cimadevilla peninsula offers spectacular views of the Bay of Biscay — the same horizon the Astures gazed upon.
Cider culture
Asturian cider — escanciado — is a thousand-year tradition experienced in the cider houses of Cimadevilla.
Before Rome, the Astures. And after Rome, still the Astures.
From the pre-Roman castro to the imperial baths, Gijón keeps its secrets facing the Atlantic.
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 Gijón, from the Castro to the Roman Empire 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 Gijón, from the Castro to the Roman Empire?
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 Gijón, from the Castro to the Roman Empire 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.
Q04What if we get stuck on a puzzle?
Three hint levels per puzzle, with a small increasing time penalty. If truly stuck after level 3, you can skip the step (45-min penalty). The point: nobody stays blocked and goes home frustrated.
Avis des aventuriers
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Your turn to play
The Astures preferred poison to servitude and Augustus's legions built baths on their ruins — this investigation facing the Atlantic retraces two thousand years of resistance and Romanisation on the Cimadevilla peninsula.
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
🪙+12 TripCoins granted with your booking
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