Big Alex's Gold — Uncover the King of the Klondike's Hidden Fortune
Decipher the mystery of Alexander McDonald's vanished wealth. Trace the Gold King's final moves through Dawson's boom-town streets to expose the truth behind his empire.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
Alexander McDonald, the legendary 'King of the Klondike,' amassed a fortune during the 1896–1899 gold rush that made him Dawson City's most powerful figure
Big Alex's Gold — Uncover the King of the Klondike's Hidden Fortune
You are a determined newcomer to Dawson City in the summer of 1898, seeking your own fortune amidst the Klondike Gold Rush.
Your mission: to reconstruct the path of Alexander
Dive into the heart of Dawson City, the capital of the Klondike Gold Rush, to unearth the hidden fortune of the legendary Alexander 'Big Alex' McDonald.
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 the Dawson City Museum, designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1988. This building, erected in 1901 as barracks for the North-West Mounted Police, was transformed into a museum in the 1950s. It houses artifacts from the Klondike Gold Rush (1896-1899), including mining tools and historical photos that give you a glimpse into the challenges faced by prospectors like Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie, the discoverers of Bonanza Creek, and Alex McDonald himself. It is here that you will unearth the first of the eight puzzles on this journey.
Continue towards the Downtown Hotel, which occupies the site adjacent to the reconstructed Palace Grand Theatre. The original theater was destroyed by fire in 1899, but in 1898, it was the main venue for shows and balls, where Alex McDonald, as an aristocrat of the Klondike, participated in social events. It is a key location for understanding the networks of influence of the era. Not far, the Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall, opened in 1971, is a recreation of a Gold Rush saloon, named after the actress Gertie Lovejoy who performed at the Palace Grande Theatre. This unique legal casino in the Yukon still features daily can-can shows, just as in 1898.
Your itinerary then leads you to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) Building, a National Historic Site since 1992. Built in 1898-1899 during the rush, it was one of the first bank buildings in the Klondike. Its brick imported from Vancouver testifies to the banking architecture of the gold-rush period, and it was the scene of many gold transactions by prospectors, including Alex McDonald. A crucial clue about his deposits awaits you there. After this, a contemplative break at the Dawson City Cemetery, established around 1898, reveals the graves of prospectors and residents, including those who died from diseases and mining accidents, preserving Dawson's transitional history between 1897 and 1900.
The investigation continues at the Yukon Telegraph Office, built in 1899-1900. This telegraph office connected Dawson to the outside world during the rush and operated until the 1950s, illustrating the vital communication infrastructure of the Klondike. It still preserves its original telegraph equipment, where you might find hidden messages. Finally, the SS Keno National Historic Site, a sternwheeler steamboat built in 1922, represents the last relic of the Yukon River fleet. It transported silver ore from Mayo to Whitehorse until 1960 and was decommissioned in Dawson in 1966, becoming a National Historic Site of Canada in 1988. This floating giant may hold Big Alex's last wishes.
By completing this circuit in the heart of the Yukon, you will have not only deciphered the secrets of the 'King of the Klondike' but also explored the Klondike National Historic Sites, key tourist attractions in Dawson City. This scavenger hunt offers an interactive and immersive tour of Dawson City's heritage, a city on UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list. You will leave with a deep understanding of Dawson City's history, the challenges and triumphs of the Gold Rush, and the Yukon monuments that shaped this era. Each monument will have revealed a part of Big Alex's fortune trail, leaving you with a complete picture of his gold empire.
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?
Prospector puzzles
Codes based on period techniques: Morse, claim geometry, magnetic orientation
The S.S. Keno mystery
Explore the famous sternwheeler and uncover the secrets of its final cargo
Vanished fortune
Follow clues to one of the greatest lost fortunes of the gold rush
« Gold never truly disappears — it just changes hiding places. »
Alexander McDonald, 1908
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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Dive into the heart of Dawson City, the capital of the Klondike Gold Rush, to unearth the hidden fortune of the legendary Alexander 'Big Alex' McDonald.
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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