The Loop — Burnham's Shadowed Blueprint
Decipher the architects' coded plan hidden in Chicago's post-fire masterpieces. Uncover the truth behind Burnham and Root's greatest conspiracy.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
After the Great Fire of 1871, Chicago's most visionary architects—Daniel Burnham, John Wellborn Root, and Louis Sullivan—were tasked with rebuilding the city
The Loop — Burnham's Shadowed Blueprint
You are a dedicated urban archivist, working in 1909 Chicago, meticulously documenting the city's architectural evolution.
Step into the spirit of Daniel Burnham, visionary architect and urban planner, on
Dive into the heart of Chicago to decipher the blueprint of the shadow architects, from Gothic skyscrapers to glass and steel icons that redefined global urbanism.
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
« Urbs in Horto »— Official motto of the City of Chicago, 1833
The story that haunts this land
Your journey begins at the Chicago Water Tower, built in 1869 and miraculously spared by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. This Chicago Landmark, designated in 1971, housed a 138,000-gallon potable water reservoir, vital to the city. It is here, facing this Romanesque Gothic stone tower, that you will gauge Chicago's resilience. Not far, the Chicago History Museum, founded in 1856 in Lincoln Park, preserves precious artifacts from the 1871 fire, as well as 22 million pieces tracing the history of this Illinois metropolis since 1673.
Your investigation then leads you to the Chicago Fire Academy, established in 1858, with its current 1911 building standing on the historic site where the Great Fire began in 1871, at 558 West DeKoven Street. This site, listed on the National Register since 1989, is a solemn and educational commemorative monument, with its integrated fire museum since 1959. It will remind you of the destructive power of the fire and the necessity for audacious reconstruction, a central theme in the 1909 Burnham Plan for Chicago.
In the heart of the Loop, Federal Plaza, inaugurated in 1975 and designed by Mies van der Rohe, represents a stylistic break after Beaux-Arts Architecture. Across 2.5 acres, three federal buildings of steel and glass embody modernity. At its center, Alexander Calder's red 'Flamingo' sculpture, 53 feet tall, erected in 1974, contrasts with the minimalist steel. It was on or near this square that historic demonstrations took place, such as the 1886 'Haymarket Affair', anchoring this site in Chicago's social history.
Continuing your discovery of the Skyscraper Capital USA, you arrive at Cloud Gate, Anish Kapoor's stainless steel sculpture completed in 2006. Nicknamed 'The Bean', this 66 × 33 foot, 110-ton artwork, located in AT&T Plaza at Millennium Park, reflects Chicago's skyline and the sky, becoming a global tourist icon. Further on, the DuSable Bridge, a historic steel and granite bridge completed in 1867 by John A. Robling, crosses the Chicago River and marks the northern boundary of the commercial Loop. It is named in honor of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the Franco-Haitian founder of the city.
Finally, your journey concludes with two architectural gems. The Palmer House Hilton, built in 1875 by Potter Palmer and rebuilt after the Great Fire, is a 23-story luxury hotel whose lobby ceiling was painted by Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1935. It has been a Registered National Historic Landmark since 1978. Then, the Rookery Building, completed in 1888 by Burnham & Root, pioneers of the Chicago School, was the city's first fully steel-framed structure. Its interior lobby, restored by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905, reveals a sublime blend of white marble and gold. This 1975 National Historic Landmark, in the heart of the Chicago Loop Historic District, embodies the architectural heritage of a city that is truly an 'Urbs in Horto'.
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 1871 Fire
Discover the traces of the cataclysm that redefined Chicago.
The Secret Reconstruction
Unravel the mysteries of post-fire urban planning.
Hidden Blueprint
Reconstruct a forgotten blueprint revealing dark machinations.
The city reborn, but the truth remains buried beneath its new foundations.
Exhume the plan, expose the conspiracy.
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.
Avis des aventuriers
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Your turn to play
Dive into the heart of Chicago to decipher the blueprint of the shadow architects, from Gothic skyscrapers to glass and steel icons that redefined global urbanism.
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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