Akademgorodok — Siberia's Phantom Prototype
Uncover the Soviet phantom prototype hidden in Akademgorodok's labs. Race against shadowy agents to decipher codes and reclaim the lost tech secret before it's erased forever.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In the secretive heart of Akademgorodok, Novosibirsk's scientific enclave built in the 1950s, a groundbreaking Soviet prototype vanished during the Cold War
Akademgorodok — Siberia's Phantom Prototype
You are Mikhail Lavrentyev, founder of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences, on an inspection mission in Akademgorodok, 1960.
Your task is to survey this laboratory
Dive into the secrets of Akademgorodok, the secret scientific city of Siberia where 65,000 researchers shaped the USSR's future since 1957.
The story that haunts this land
Your investigation begins in front of the Novosibirsk State University Library, an emblematic building of Akademgorodok constructed in the 1960s. This Soviet architecture with connected upper sections like a bridge was meant to accommodate a third part never realized. Here converge the 65,000 inhabitants of this scientific city founded in 1946, when Stalin decided to relocate research far from Moscow. The Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management, your first stop, testifies to this ambition: training a scientific elite in a preserved forest setting, away from prying eyes.
The Sobolev Institute of Mathematics reveals the beating heart of Akademgorodok: applied mathematics that propelled the USSR into the space race. Founded with the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences, this institute bears the name of Sergei Sobolev, pioneer of functional analysis. The Monument to the First Teacher, your third stop, pays tribute to these pioneers who left Moscow to settle in the Siberian taiga. Tereshkova Street, named after the first female cosmonaut, reminds us that this secret city participated in the Soviet space conquest.
The Novosibirsk Technopark embodies the post-Soviet transformation of Akademgorodok. Since the 1990s, this technology business incubator attracts companies like Alawar Entertainment, a video game developer installed in a dilapidated building in the middle of wild woods. This cohabitation between modern innovation and Soviet heritage defines the current identity of the scientific city. The Presidium of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, seat of academic power, still coordinates today the research of dozens of specialized institutes.
Akademgorodok's Central Park offers a unique bucolic setting: 970 hectares of forest and experimental plots where botanical research mingles with scientists' relaxation. The duck pond near the entrance of the Central Siberian Botanical Garden has attracted academicians' families since 1946. This green oasis, located between Siberian pines and the artificial reservoir of the Ob Sea, illustrates the privileged living conditions granted to Soviet researchers: quality services, comfortable housing, access to preserved nature.
Your journey ends at Novosibirsk State University, temple of Siberian scientific education since the 1960s. Here trained generations of physicists, mathematicians, biologists who marked world science. You take away the understanding of a unique project: creating a Soviet Silicon Valley in the heart of Siberia, where scientific excellence combined with geographical isolation. Akademgorodok remains today a living laboratory of Russian innovation, heir to a scientific utopia born in the Cold War.
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 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?
Scientific Espionage
Immerse yourself in a world of secrets and counter-espionage at the heart of the Cold War.
Forbidden Innovation
Track down a technological prototype capable of upsetting the balance of global powers.
Fragment Hunt
Reconstruct a secret plan scattered across Akademgorodok's iconic locations.
Knowledge is a weapon, and weapons are never neutral.
Secure the plans before it's too late.
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 secrets of Akademgorodok, the secret scientific city of Siberia where 65,000 researchers shaped the USSR's future since 1957.
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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