The Forgotten Ledger — Uncover Chinatown's Hidden Fortune
Decipher a lost merchant's ledger to expose the truth behind San Francisco's 1906 fire and recover a fortune hidden in Chinatown's oldest buildings.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In 1848, Chinese merchants arrived in San Francisco seeking gold and opportunity
In the Footsteps of the 'Paper Sons': Angel Island's Secret Ledger
In 1848, Chinese merchants arrived in San Francisco seeking gold and opportunity. Among them was Wei Chen, a wealthy trader who documented everything in a leather-bound ledger—trade routes, bribes paid to corrupt officials, and the location of a fortune in gold and jade hidden before the Great Fire of 1906. The ledger vanished. For over a century, it lay forgotten in the walls of Chinatown's oldest structures. Now, fragments have surfaced. Your mission: trace Wei Chen's coded entries across eight historic landmarks in the heart of Chinatown, decode the merchant's cipher, and uncover what the fire was meant to destroy. The truth about San Francisco's Chinese community—their wealth, their resistance, their resilience—depends on your success. Time is running out before developers erase the last traces of this buried history.
« « Le vent et l'eau, les montagnes et les rivières, il n'y a pas d'endroit sûr pour un homme, même s'il possède une montagne. » »— Poème gravé sur un mur de la station d'immigration d'Angel Island, anonyme
Chinatown and Angel Island: Stories of Resilience
San Francisco's Chinatown, established as early as the 1840s, is the oldest Chinatown in North America. It emerged from the Gold Rush, becoming a haven and cultural center for Chinese immigrants in the face of discrimination and restrictive laws. The district was a hub for commercial, social, and political activities, but also a constant target of prejudice and relocation attempts. After the 1906 earthquake and fire, Chinatown was rebuilt with a more 'orientalized' architecture, a deliberate strategy to attract tourism and assert a strong visual identity, while masking the daily struggles of its population.
Angel Island, often referred to as the 'Ellis Island of the West,' served as the primary immigration station for the West Coast of the United States from 1910 to 1940. Unlike Ellis Island, where most immigrants spent a few hours, those arriving at Angel Island, predominantly Asians, were detained for days, weeks, or even months. They underwent rigorous interrogations designed to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The poems carved into the barracks walls by detainees bear witness to their despair, resistance, and unwavering hope of starting a new life.
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?
Secret Archives
Uncover the untold testimonies of Chinese immigrants who defied history.
Historic Alleys
Unravel the mysteries hidden within Chinatown's iconic passages.
Legacy of Resilience
Discover how a community survived and thrived in the face of adversity.
The forgotten voices of the past still whisper in Chinatown's alleys.
Dare you listen and reveal their truth?
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
Explore Chinatown and Angel Island like never before. Decipher the enigmas, discover iconic locations, and piece together the Forgotten Ledger to honor the legacy of these brave pioneers. An immersive adventure awaits you in the heart of San Francisco.
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
Other escape games in Chinatown, San Francisco, United States
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