The Night of Ashes
When a fire devoured Santander and a new city rose from the flames
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
On 15 February 1941, a 180 km/h south wind turned a spark into an inferno. In two days, Santander's historic centre vanished. What was rebuilt hides the traces of what came before.
A city rebuilt on another's ashes
Santander is a new city that doesn't know it. Its rational city centre, wide avenues and 1940s buildings hide the memory of a devastating fire that, in February 1941, destroyed 400 buildings and left 10,000 people homeless. The cathedral was gutted, the main street obliterated. This game takes you through the rebuilt city, finding beneath each new facade the ghosts of old Santander.
A game, a guided tour and a city guide — all in one
You're not just buying an escape game. You're carrying a living city guide — historical anecdotes, forgotten legends, key monuments, hidden architecture — unfolding step by step as you walk.
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 wind was so strong it carried embers a kilometre away. You could see rooftops catching fire like matches, street by street." »— — Testimony of a Santander firefighter, February 1941
The great fire: two days that erased six centuries
On 15 February 1941, at 6:30 pm, a fire broke out on Calle Cádiz, in the heart of old Santander. An exceptional south wind, blowing at 180 km/h, spread the flames at terrifying speed. The firefighters, overwhelmed, could not prevent the fire from jumping street to street. Within hours, the medieval quarter around the cathedral was ablaze.
The fire lasted two days. It destroyed 37 streets, 400 buildings, the 13th-century cathedral and most of the city's historic heritage. Miraculously, only one death was officially recorded. But 10,000 inhabitants were left homeless, in midwinter, in a Spain ravaged by civil war and post-war misery.
The reconstruction, led by Franco regime architects, radically transformed Santander. The tortuous medieval streets were replaced by wide, straight avenues. The cathedral was rebuilt stone by stone. Today, a few surviving vestiges — a facade, a porch, a plaque — allow you to glimpse the old city beneath the new.
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?
Urban archaeology
Learn to spot traces of the great fire beneath the modern city.
Before / after
The game uses archive photos to show you what stood at each location before 1941.
Double cathedral
The medieval crypt and the rebuilt nave: two eras layered in one monument.
Bay of Santander
The route follows the most beautiful bay in northern Spain.
Two days of flames. Six centuries erased. A city to rediscover beneath the city.
Find old Santander beneath the new.
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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Vous avez joué à la nuit de cendres? Rendez-vous dans l'email reçu après votre partie pour laisser un avis vérifié.
Your turn to play
A 180 km/h wind, two days, an entire city razed — and a new city built on top. The world's only investigation that teaches you to read catastrophe in the architecture of reconstruction.
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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