Plzeň — Uncover the Secret Recipe
In 1842, master brewer Josef Groll crafted the Pilsner recipe in Plzeň's hidden cellars. But a rival guild stole the formula—decipher clues across breweries, tunnels, and landmarks to reclaim the sacred secret before it's lost forever.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In the heart of Plzeň's Old Town, 1842 marked a brewing revolution
Plzeň — Uncover the Secret Recipe
You are a new apprentice brewer, arriving in Plzeň in 1842, eager to assist Josef Groll in crafting a revolutionary beer.
Your mission: explore the 8
Trace back to the origins of pilsner beer in the Bohemian city of Plzeň, where Josef Groll revolutionized brewing on October 5, 1842.
The story that haunts this land
Náměstí Republiky welcomes you to this 20,000 m² square formed in the 13th century after Plzeň's founding in 1235 by Wenceslas I. At its center, the Holy Trinity Column erected in 1681 by Kašpar Jedlička commemorates the end of the 1680 plague. These cobblestones have witnessed brewing merchants since 1293, when the first documented beer fairs already transformed this Bohemian city into a hops crossroads. Renaissance and Baroque buildings reconstructed after 1945 frame your starting point toward discovering the secret recipe.
St. Bartholomew's Cathedral raises its 102.34-meter Gothic spire, Bohemia's tallest, completed in 1575. Begun in 1295, it houses a 1390 Gothic Virgin classified as Czech national cultural monument. Under the Habsburgs in the 16th century, these vaults echoed with regional coronations. Josef Groll contemplated this tower from his brewery: it marked the horizon of his brewing revolution, as he experimented with his first bottom-fermentation tanks in the nearby underground cellars.
Pivovar Pilsner Urquell reveals the heart of your quest: here Josef Groll invented pilsner on October 5, 1842, in this brewery founded by the city of Plzeň. The 11 km of underground cellars dug in 1840 still preserve traditional open fermentation tanks. Producing 1.2 million hectoliters annually, this site classified as cultural monument in 1959 shipped its first pilsner to Vienna in 1856. You're touching the origins of the blonde beer that conquered the world.
The Pivovarské muzeum, housed in the former 1868 malthouse, preserves 2,500 brewing objects including the oldest Czech kettle from 1761. Opened in 1959 in this building with 1874 paved courtyard, it traces pilsner history since 1842. Here you discover the tools Groll used, the techniques he revolutionized, the fermentation secrets he jealously guarded. Each display case tells a chapter of the epic that transformed Plzeň into the world's beer capital.
Your journey ends in Kopeckého sady gardens, created in 1896 on former 16th-century fortifications. These 7.5 hectares bordered by century-old chestnuts have hosted brewing festivals since 1920. You take away more than a secret recipe: understanding how a Bohemian city, its Franciscan monks, merchants and a Bavarian brewer together wrote one of European beer history's finest pages. Plzeň has revealed its mysteries, from medieval square to revolutionary cellars.
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 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 Art of Brewing
Immerse yourself in the history of Pilsner beer and discover the secrets of Plzeň's master brewers.
Archival Secrets
Track down clues hidden in architectural heritage to reconstruct a precious logbook.
Cultural Resistance
Explore how Czech culture and identity endured in the face of communist oppression.
Find Plzeň's brewing flame!
A quest for the Czech soul.
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
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
Trace back to the origins of pilsner beer in the Bohemian city of Plzeň, where Josef Groll revolutionized brewing on October 5, 1842.
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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