Bellinzona — Secret of the Gotthard Passage
Uncover the conspiracy hidden in Bellinzona's castles to outwit the Milanese toll collectors guarding the Gotthard Pass route. Decipher codes and follow traitor trails to expose the secret passage.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In the 15th century, Bellinzona stood as the unbreachable gateway to the Gotthard Pass, the vital Alpine lifeline linking northern Europe to Milanese Italy
Bellinzona — Secret of the Gotthard Passage
You are a Milanese archivist serving Francesco Sforza in 1460, tasked with inspecting the Gotthard defenses after recent Swiss threats.
Your mission begins in front of
Immerse yourself in Bellinzona's millennial fortifications, stone sentinels guarding the strategic Gotthard Pass for centuries.
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 journey begins at the Porta della Murata, a fortified gate erected in 1536. It symbolizes the Milanese defense against Swiss invasions in the 15th century and connected Castel Grande to Montebello. Exploring this UNESCO site since 2000, you grasp the strategic importance of Bellinzona's ramparts, approximately 3 km long. The role of the Visconti family of Milan, notably under Gian Galeazzo Visconti, was crucial in fortifying these structures that protected the Gotthard Pass, a vital axis for trade and military movements through Ticino.
Continue towards Castel Grande, the largest of the three castles, occupied since the 13th century and fortified by the Visconti around 1350. Its 370 m long walls and two 27 m high cylindrical towers attest to its imposing defensive architecture. This site, classified as UNESCO in December 2000, illustrates the control exerted over the Gotthard Pass. As an archivist, you examine the traces of garrisons and military strategies that shaped the history of Bellinzona and Switzerland's world heritage.
Your investigation then leads you to the Collegiata dei Santi Pietro e Stefano, a parish church founded in the 11th century and rebuilt in Lombard Baroque style between 1609 and 1635. Its facade adorned with 17th-century frescoes and its historic organ from 1657 offer a striking contrast to the fortifications. Here, you discover the sculpted confessionals from the 17th century, reflecting the religious and cultural life of Bellinzona, a city where art and spirituality intertwine with the harshness of military life.
Next, walk along the Murata, this unique defensive system in Europe, built mainly between 1506 and 1548 under Milanese rule. 3.2 km long, it connected Castel Grande to Montebello and Sasso Corbaro. This site, also classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000, illustrates the genius of engineers like Guido da Bisone who, around 1313, contributed to the construction of Montebello. Castello di Montebello, built between 1313 and 1340 by the Visconti, with its 30 m main tower and historic prison, offers insight into the methods of controlling the Ticino valley.
Your journey concludes in Piazza del Sole, the central square of the historic center and a market site since the Middle Ages. Surrounded by Renaissance buildings with arcades, it has been the convergence point of the main shopping streets since the 15th century. By completing your thematic circuit in the heart of Bellinzona, you have not only followed a historical itinerary but also touched upon the legacy of a city that was an essential lock on the historic Gotthard Route. This interactive exploration of Bellinzona leaves you with a deep understanding of its role in the history of Ticino and Switzerland's World Heritage.
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?
Historical puzzles
Decipher clues hidden in stones and historical accounts to unravel the conspiracy.
Imposing fortifications
Explore the ramparts and towers of Bellinzona's famous castles, a UNESCO heritage site.
Political intrigue
Dive into the heart of medieval machinations for control of precious Alpine routes.
Thwart the conspiracy and protect the gold of the Alps.
Bellinzona's fate rests in your hands.
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
Immerse yourself in Bellinzona's millennial fortifications, stone sentinels guarding the strategic Gotthard Pass for centuries.
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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