Gustavia — The Swedish Legacy Conspiracy
Uncover the hidden conspiracy behind Sweden's secret handover of Gustavia in 1878. Decode clues at forts, towers, and streets to expose the royal plot that sealed the island's fate and unlocked its enduring free port treasure.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In 1784, Sweden seized Gustavia from France in a cunning trade deal, transforming the humble Carénage into a bustling free port under King Gustav III
Gustavia — The Swedish Legacy Conspiracy
You are Samuel Fahlberg, a Swedish physician and surveyor arriving in Saint Barthélemy in 1785, tasked with charting the new colonial capital.
Your investigation begins as you land
Follow the traces of the Swedish free port of Gustavia, established in 1785 by King Gustav III to challenge European colonial powers in the Caribbean.
The story that haunts this land
Gustavia was born in 1785 from King Gustav III of Sweden's ambition, who bought Saint Barthélemy from France for 20 million livres. Samuel Fahlberg, governor's secretary and surveyor, drew up the urban plan for this new Caribbean capital modeled on Scandinavian port cities. The free port quickly attracted nearly 5,000 inhabitants: sailors, merchants, corsairs and adventurers of all nationalities. You walk along Quai Général de Gaulle, main artery of this Swedish trading post that challenged French, English and Spanish colonial monopolies in the West Indies.
Gustavia's Town Hall became the seat of Swedish government from 1785, theater of political tensions between new naturalized colonists and Scandinavian administration. Frustrations erupted around 1790-1810: inhabitants demanded political rights equal to native Swedes, provoking mutinies and local revolts. The Anglican church, built in the 19th century, testifies to this international community attracted by the free port status. You discover in these Creole walls the architectural legacy of a unique tropical Sweden.
Forts Oscar and Karl, built respectively in 1788 and 1789, protected Gustavia port's strategic entrance against corsairs and rival powers. Fort Oscar, named after future King Oscar I, and Fort Karl, named after King Charles XIII, endured repeated assaults from English and French forces who regularly captured Swedish ships. The devastating 1792 hurricane razed 51 houses in Gustavia, but the fortifications resisted and continued defending this Scandinavian bastion in the Caribbean heart.
Rue du Général de Gaulle preserves intact the urban layout conceived by Samuel Fahlberg in 1785, commercial artery where Swedish warehouses and Creole houses stood side by side. Wall House, an 18th-century historical building, became Fahlberg's laboratory where he conducted the first smallpox vaccination campaign in the West Indies in 1798, saving much of the local population. Gustavia's shipyards prospered until massive deforestation of gaiac trees, precious wood essential for shipbuilding.
Your journey through Gustavia reveals the unique heritage of this Swedish colony that survived 94 years (1784-1878) before returning to France. Samuel Fahlberg, visionary physician, urban surveyor and Caribbean public health pioneer, embodies this tropical Scandinavian adventure. You take away the discovery of an unknown heritage: that of an island Sweden that marked the architecture, urban planning and history of the French West Indies.
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.
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?
Nordic Imprint
Discover the names, architecture, and symbols that bear witness to almost a century of Swedish presence on the island.
Historic Free Port
Dive into Gustavia's golden age, a strategic trade hub under the reign of Gustav III.
Royal Agreements
Unravel the subtleties of the treaties that transferred the island between France and Sweden, and shaped its destiny.
The island's royal past is the key to its future.
Decipher the code of freedoms to ensure its prosperity.
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 an app or a paper guide?
Neither. Everything plays in your browser (Safari, Chrome) after you tap your activation link. No PDF to print, no download. The trail lives in your phone, that's it.
Q02How far do you walk in Gustavia, Saint-Barthélemy?
Usually 2 to 4 km of total walking, within 1.5 km as the crow flies from the start point. The route is designed to be walkable at a relaxed pace, no public transport needed.
Q03Can we play Gustavia — The Swedish Legacy Conspiracy as a couple?
Great two-person format. Narration is dramatic without overdoing it, puzzles are designed to spark conversation. Ideal for new relationships or anniversaries — you discover the city and coordinate on puzzles simultaneously.
Q04Do we need 4G data to play?
Intermittent 4G is plenty. Maps are cached at startup. Narration and clues load per stop, so a so-so signal between stops is fine. GPS itself uses no data.
Avis des aventuriers
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Your turn to play
Follow the traces of the Swedish free port of Gustavia, established in 1785 by King Gustav III to challenge European colonial powers in the Caribbean.
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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