Jerome — Decipher the Magnate's Hidden Fortune
Decode the secret will of Jerome's copper baron before his fortune vanishes. Uncover hidden ledgers, decoded messages, and lost mining claims scattered across America's most vertical ghost town.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In 1876, three prospectors struck copper on Cleopatra Hill
Delve into Jerome's mining epic, where red gold forged colossal fortunes and extraordinary destinies in the heart of Arizona.
Step into the shoes of Daniel M. Jackling, a copper mining pioneer, on a mission to decipher the industrial secrets and legacy of William A. Clark in the town of Jerome. You arrive at Jerome State Historic Park, the starting point of an investigation that will lead you through the most evocative remnants of this historic Arizona mining town. At each stage, open your phone: augmented reality clues are revealed on facades, mining artifacts, and stones steeped in history. A mine plan appears on the Douglas Mansion, an old hospital X-ray overlays the Jerome Grand Hotel, an old prospector from the past transmits a coded message. Over approximately 165 minutes of walking across 1.5 km, at your own pace, you trace your own history of Jerome — that of history books merged with the landscape. More than an outdoor escape game: an interactive tour immersed in 150 years of copper history, with anecdotes revealed at each stop and confidential sites that classic guides often overlook.
Les lieux que vous découvrirez
Les vrais lieux que vous explorerez au fil de l'aventure. Énigmes en réalité augmentée à chaque étape.
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.
Want to go deeper?
Places tied to your adventure — optional entries, totally up to you · per person
The story that haunts this land
Jerome, dubbed the 'Most Picturesque Mining Town in Arizona,' was founded on the extraction of a billion pounds of copper by the 1950s. Your exploration begins at Jerome State Historic Park, established in 1977 to preserve the Douglas Mansion. This imposing 7,000 sq ft structure was built between 1916 and 1918 by mining magnate William A. Clark, also a Montana senator from 1901 to 1907. The mansion served as company offices and a residence for the Clark family until the mine's closure in 1935, offering panoramic views of the Verde Valley and Mingus Mountain. Here, you'll discover mining artifacts from Jerome's peak in the 1920s, when the town boasted 15,000 residents.
Continue to the Douglas Mansion, restored between 1971 and 1976, where original furnishings bear witness to the life of Clark, who had invested $75 million in Jerome's mines. Next, the route leads you to the Sliding Jail, built as the Yavapai County Jail between 1928 and 1930. In 1930, mining subsidence, which affected 60% of Jerome's buildings, caused the jail to slide 60 feet downhill. Restored in the 1950s and moved back uphill, it is a striking example of the mining activity's impact on this town, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. This historic site is now a preserved exhibit near Main Street.
Your quest continues towards the Jerome Grand Hotel, a five-story concrete structure built between 1918 and 1921 as the United Verde Hospital at 5,200 ft elevation. It was Arizona's first to feature a telephone-operated elevator, operational until its closure in the 1950s. The hospital treated up to 450 patients at its peak before being converted into a hotel in 1996, still displaying an original X-ray machine. From its heights, you gaze upon the United Verde Open Pit Mine, the largest in North America at its 1914 discovery, overlooking Jerome's slopes.
Exploring Main Street, the core of Jerome's historic commercial district, you walk through a kilometer of heritage. This street, part of a National Historic District, is lined with over 30 preserved commercial buildings from the boomtown's heyday of 1880s-1920s. It survived 11 major fires between 1894 and 1899, then was rebuilt with concrete after a 1928 ordinance, demonstrating the town's resilience. The path will then lead you to Jerome Town Hall, built in 1909 as the city hall and fire station, witnessing the 1917 labor strikes and Jerome's incorporation in 1899.
Finally, your journey concludes at the Jerome Historic Cemetery, established in 1883. This cemetery, Arizona's highest at 5,500 ft, holds the graves of over 700 miners who died during epidemics from the 1880s to 1930s, including victims of the 1917 Spanish Flu. It offers breathtaking views of the town and the vast open-pit mine. Walking the 0.8 km of trails from the park, you will understand why Jerome is such a rich historical site, offering a unique interactive tour of Arizona's heritage, far beyond classic guidebooks. You leave with a deep understanding of Jerome's history and its impact on the region.
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?
The Golden Age of Copper
Explore the era when Jerome was Arizona's largest copper producer, a true Eldorado of the Wild West.
Ghost Town Secrets
Discover how Jerome transformed from a thriving town into one of the best-preserved ghost towns in the USA.
The Magnate's Testament
Unravel the mystery of a forgotten message left by an influential figure, revealing his vision for Jerome's future.
Uncover the secrets of a town born from copper and transformed by time.
The legacy of Jerome's miners awaits you.
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.
Avis des aventuriers
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Your turn to play
Delve into Jerome's mining epic, where red gold forged colossal fortunes and extraordinary destinies in the heart of Arizona.
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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