The Vanished Chronometer — Uncover La Chaux-de-Fonds' Greatest Secret
Decipher the mystery of a master watchmaker's lost masterpiece hidden within the UNESCO watchmaking district. Solve coded riddles at eight landmarks to expose a century-old conspiracy of silence.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In 1894, La Chaux-de-Fonds was the world's undisputed capital of precision timekeeping
The Vanished Chronometer — Uncover La Chaux-de-Fonds' Greatest Secret
You are Georges Favre-Jacot, founder of Zenith, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, 1865.
You are tracking a precision chronometer that could alter the course of
Dive into the heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds, the world capital of watchmaking, to uncover the secret of a vanished chronometer in its UNESCO-listed streets.
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
Your quest begins at La Chaux-de-Fonds CFF Station, a major railway hub in the Canton of Neuchâtel since its construction in 1857. Its Belle Époque architecture, renovated in 2002, evokes the golden age of Swiss watchmaking. From there, you take Avenue Léopold-Robert, the main thoroughfare laid out in 1835 with a width of 40 meters, specifically designed to accommodate the open-air watchmaking industry. The facades of the 18th and 19th-century watchmaking workshops, now UNESCO World Heritage sites, will guide you to the first clues, witnesses to the industrial past of this unique city.
Continuing your exploration of Swiss industrial heritage, you reach La Chaux-de-Fonds City Hall, a neoclassical edifice from 1835, a symbol of the city's administration. Its local stone facade with Doric columns, approximately 18 meters high, has been the scene of pivotal decisions for the development of watchmaking. A short walk away, the German Temple, a neo-Gothic Protestant chapel built in 1857, recalls the German watchmaking immigration that enriched the city in the 19th century, bringing its expertise and precision techniques. This 25-meter bell tower on Rue de la Paix is a beacon on your journey.
Rue Numa-Droz, named after Federal Councillor Numa Droz (1818-1899), then immerses you in the commercial and artisanal heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds. This alignment of watchmaking buildings, with their upper-floor workshops and uniform facades dating from 1850-1890, is a perfect illustration of the city's regular urban planning, classified as UNESCO 2009. Every architectural detail is a key to decoding the secrets of the vanished chronometer, linking the city's history to the evolution of precision watchmaking.
Your journey leads you to the International Watchmaking Museum, founded in 1902 and housed in an Art Nouveau building from 1974, also a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2009. Its collections of over 4,500 timepieces, including watches and chronometers, are a valuable source of information. After this immersion in the art of time, a break is welcome at Parc des Monts. Developed in 1920 over 8 hectares at an altitude of 1,000 meters, it offers a panoramic view of the Neuchâtel Jura, a place for reflection where clues become clearer amidst historical fountains and sculptures.
Finally, your investigation culminates at the Former Zenith Manufacture, founded in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot on Rue des Billodes. These 19th-century industrial architecture buildings, although closed in 1975 and converted into a cultural space, still resonate with the production of precision chronometers and luxury watches. It is here, at the heart of this historic watchmaking manufacture, that you will assemble the last pieces of the puzzle, revealing the greatest secret of La Chaux-de-Fonds. This circuit will have introduced you to the soul of the World Watchmaking Capital, its UNESCO urban planning, and its rich industrial past.
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?
Mechanical Precision
Untangle the complex mechanisms of an exceptional industry.
A Secret Conspiracy
Uncover the mysteries of a cartel aiming to dominate time.
The Monopoly of Time
Prevent the subjugation of global time zones.
Reveal the invisible gears that govern the seconds.
Time is an illusion. Precision is a choice.
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
Dive into the heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds, the world capital of watchmaking, to uncover the secret of a vanished chronometer in its UNESCO-listed streets.
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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