The Comic Code of Angoulême
The walls speak — in speech bubbles
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
Angoulême, world capital of comics, is covered in giant murals. Hergé, Margerin, Bilal — the greatest artists have left their mark on the walls. But some murals contain hidden messages that only a keen eye can decipher.
The ninth art has its secret code — and it's painted on the walls
Angoulême sits atop a rocky plateau overlooking the Charente. Since 1974 and the creation of the International Comics Festival, the city has become the Mecca of the 9th art. Giant murals adorn the facades — Tintin climbs a building, Margerin rides his moped, Ship of Fools unfurls its sails. But behind these spectacular works, the artists have slipped in winks, codes, and messages that only the initiated can read.
« "Comics are an art that hides behind simplicity." »— — Hergé, creator of Tintin
Angoulême — the city where walls tell stories
Angoulême is an ancient town perched on a rocky spur overlooking the Charente valley. Its Romanesque cathedral, with a facade sculpted with 75 figures, is a 12th-century masterpiece. Its ramparts offer a 360° panorama of the Charente countryside. The town long served as a commercial and military crossroads between northern and southern France.
In 1974, the International Comics Festival established itself in Angoulême. It quickly became the world's largest comics festival. The city transformed: giant murals appeared on facades, a museum dedicated to the 9th art — the Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l'Image (CIBDI) — opened, and statues of comic characters populated the streets.
Angoulême's painted walls are created by the world's greatest comic artists. Each mural is a work of art in itself, but together they form a narrative route through the city. The artists, true to the tradition of hidden messages in comics (the famous "easter eggs"), have slipped details invisible at first glance into their murals — tributes, quotations, graphic codes that reward attentive observers.
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 game downloads to your phone on start. Once the "✓ Downloaded" indicator appears, everything works without data — narration, AR, GPS and puzzles. Perfect abroad without a data plan.
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.
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Practical info
Why this route?
Comics capital
Explore the world's most comic-friendly city, with its giant murals and unique museum.
Easter eggs
Hunt for hidden messages that artists slipped into the murals.
Romanesque cathedral
Discover the city's "first comic" — 75 figures sculpted in the 12th century.
Family game
A route accessible from age 8, ideal for families and comic fans.
The walls speak. In speech bubbles. And they have a message for you.
Decipher the comic code hidden in Angoulême's murals.
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
Q01Is The Comic Code of Angoulême similar to a treasure hunt?
Same spirit: search, deduce, find. But here the "treasure" is a full story to piece together in eight stops. Each stop gives you a fragment of the final code. Eight fragments later, you've cracked it.
Q02How many stops are in The Comic Code of Angoulême?
Eight stops total. At each stop you find a camera clue, solve the puzzle, collect a fragment of the final code. With all eight, you've got the answer.
Q03Can we do The Comic Code of Angoulême as a family with kids?
Yes, from age 6 with an adult reading puzzles aloud, and from age 12 on their own. Kids love the "find the camera clue" part — it's very visual, gets them genuinely involved.
Q04What if we get stuck on a puzzle?
Three hint levels per puzzle, with a small increasing time penalty. If truly stuck after level 3, you can skip the step (45-min penalty). The point: nobody stays blocked and goes home frustrated.
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Your turn to play
From the Hergé wall to the Creation Wall — hunt for hidden messages in the giant murals of the world's comic capital in a visual and playful escape game.
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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