Alençon — Needles of Shadow Code
Uncover the secret code hidden in Alençon's lace stitches by master dentellières. Decode shadows of the needles to expose a 17th-century conspiracy threatening the royal craft.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In 1665, Colbert's royal decree ignited Alençon's golden age of lace, the exquisite Point d'Alençon, crafted needle by needle in hidden workshops
Alençon — Needles of Shadow Code
You are a master lacemaker in Alençon, 1777, investigating the mysterious disappearance of the secret patterns of royal lace.
You wander through Alençon, following the traces of a
Dive into the secrets of Alençon lace, a thousand-year-old art inscribed on the UNESCO heritage list, through cobbled streets where the needles of 16th-century lacemakers still echo.
The story that haunts this land
Place du Général de Gaulle, the former medieval pillory renamed in 1946, hides beneath its cobblestones the foundations of the 16th-century lace market. Surrounded by carved half-timbered houses, it testifies to the prosperity of lace merchants who supplied the French court. Here begins your investigation: clues engraved in the overhangs reveal the first traces of the mysterious theft of royal patterns.
The Town Hall, Mathurin Crucy's neoclassical masterpiece completed in 1777, displays its monumental 52-meter facade adorned with Minerva's sculpted pediment. Listed as a Historic Monument in 1942, this building housed the secret archives of the lacemakers' corporation. Within its walls, you discover compromising documents that reveal the extent of the conspiracy against Alençon's art.
Notre-Dame Basilica, built between 1344 and 1382 under Charles V, raises its 65-meter Romanesque bell tower above Norman rooftops. Consecrated as a minor basilica by Pius XI in 1935, it preserves ex-votos from lacemakers who prayed to Saint Anne, patron of their corporation. Its Gothic stones whisper secrets of mysterious brotherhoods linked to your investigation.
The Museum of Fine Arts and Lace, housed in the former 17th-century episcopal palace, protects 8,000 pieces of Alençon lace, a technique inscribed on UNESCO heritage in 2010. Built between 1630 and 1640, this monument listed in 1889 contains the ultimate evidence of theft: original patterns hidden in collections that only an expert eye can identify.
Your journey ends in the French gardens of the Town Hall, created by Crucy in 1778 over 2 hectares embellishing the ruins of the Dukes of Alençon castle. Between the vestiges of the 14th-century hexagonal keep and ornamental basins, you piece together the complete story of the conspiracy. You leave Alençon with the certainty of having saved a millennial heritage and the satisfaction of having pierced the mysteries of Europe's most refined lace.
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?
The Art of Lace
Dive into the delicate and complex world of Alençon lace, an ancestral know-how classified as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.
Female Espionage
Discover the little-known but crucial role of Alençon's women, everyday heroines who secretly wove the Resistance.
Secret Codes
Learn to decipher messages hidden in lace patterns, an ingenious method to bypass censorship and enemy espionage.
The thread of truth is in your hands, do not let it break.
Decipher the lace makers' code and save the Resistance!
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.
Q02Can we split Alençon — Needles of Shadow Code across two days?
Yes — your code stays active and progress is saved. You can start Saturday afternoon, finish Sunday morning. Some players actually prefer this format to make the most of a full weekend on site.
Q03Is Alençon — Needles of Shadow Code suitable for a challenge-seeking teen?
Absolutely. The puzzles aren't obvious — a curious teen will sweat just enough to be proud of cracking them. Progressive hints prevent frustration: if stuck, unlock hint level 1, then 2, then 3.
Q04What's the best time to start?
Morning between 10 and 11, or early afternoon around 2 PM, is ideal. You still have daylight ahead, Alençon Historic Center is less crowded, and the light is better for camera clues.
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Your turn to play
Dive into the secrets of Alençon lace, a thousand-year-old art inscribed on the UNESCO heritage list, through cobbled streets where the needles of 16th-century lacemakers still echo.
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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