The Hollow Needle
Lupin's secret sleeps within the cliff
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In 1909, Maurice Leblanc published The Hollow Needle: Arsène Lupin reveals that the Étretat needle harbors the treasure of the kings of France. Fiction? Perhaps. But Leblanc lived in Étretat, and certain passages describe locations with unsettling precision.
The gentleman burglar left one final challenge among the cliffs
Before you, the Étretat Needle rises like a chalk sentinel 55 meters tall. Maurice Leblanc, who lived just steps from this beach, turned it into the most famous vault in French literature. In his novel, Arsène Lupin discovers the needle is hollow and holds treasure accumulated by the kings of France since Julius Caesar. Your mission: follow the clues Leblanc scattered between fiction and reality to unlock the secret of the cliff.
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 Needle is hollow! That was the secret of France, the secret of kings." »— — Maurice Leblanc, The Hollow Needle, 1909
Étretat — where fiction meets the cliff
Étretat has fascinated artists for centuries. Monet, Courbet, Maupassant, Offenbach — all fell under the spell of these chalk cliffs sculpted by the sea. But it was Maurice Leblanc who gave the Étretat Needle its most enduring legend. Settled at the Clos Lupin, his villa overlooking the beach, he wrote in 1909 the novel that would forever change the image of this solitary rock.
In The Hollow Needle, Arsène Lupin reveals that the 55-meter-tall needle is actually a natural vault, used since Julius Caesar to hide the treasure of the kings of France. The secret passes from sovereign to sovereign — until Lupin, the most daring of burglars, seizes it. Leblanc's genius was blending real places — the chapel, the cliffs, the Manneporte — with his fiction, forever blurring the line between novel and reality.
Today, the Clos Lupin has become a museum dedicated to Lupin, and thousands of visitors come every year to gaze at the Needle wondering: what if Leblanc was telling the truth? Geologists confirm that Étretat's chalk is riddled with natural cavities. The mystery remains unsolved.
The Route
5 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?
Novel & reality
Follow the clues Maurice Leblanc wove between fiction and real locations in The Hollow Needle.
Spectacular cliffs
Walk France's most famous chalk cliffs, from the Manneporte to the Porte d'Aval.
Lupin spirit
Codes, cryptograms, and reasoning worthy of literature's most famous gentleman burglar.
Leblanc villa-museum
Enter the Clos Lupin, the villa where Maurice Leblanc created his character facing the Needle.
The Needle is hollow. The treasure awaits.
Walk in the footsteps of Arsène Lupin between cliffs and fiction.
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, WhatsApp, 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 to download an app?
No, never. You get a link, you click, it plays in your browser. That's the point of a PWA: same as an app, without the hassle.
Q02Does it work offline?
GPS yes (handled by your phone). Maps yes (tiles cached). AI and hints need an intermittent 4G connection.
Q03How long does a game take?
1 h 30 to 2 h 30 depending on your pace. The timer runs but only for the leaderboard — you play at your own tempo.
Q04What happens if I'm stuck?
You get 3 levels of hints per puzzle (increasing penalty). If truly stuck, you can skip the step (45-min penalty but you keep going).
Q05What's the age range?
From 12 without an adult, from 6 with an adult reading puzzles. Works for families, couples, friend groups, companies.
Q06What if my city isn't in the catalogue?
Pre-register or contact us — we'll email you as soon as your city is live.
Q07What is augmented reality exactly?
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language. At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's your answer. After each puzzle solved, a treasure chest floats in front of you. Seeing is believing.
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Your turn to play
From the beach to the Manneporte, from Clos Lupin to the Porte d'Aval — unlock the secret of the Hollow Needle in an outdoor escape game where Leblanc blurred the line between novel and reality.
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
🪙+15 TripCoins granted with your booking
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