Arrowtown — Shadows of the Lost Register
Uncover the cursed register hidden by 1862 gold prospectors along Arrow River. Decode clues at historic sites to expose the conspiracy that doomed the rush and claim the forgotten fortune before shadows claim it.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In 1862, Arrowtown erupted into a frenzy as gold nuggets glittered in the Arrow River's waters
Arrowtown — Shadows of the Lost Register
You are a descendant of an Arrowtown gold miner, determined to uncover the truth decades after the fateful year of 1862.
Back then, Arrowtown pulsed with the gold rush, thousands flock
THE FORGOTTEN REGISTER OF CHINESE MINERS
« The gold fever did not distinguish skin color, but success created deadly jealousies. »— The Tuapeka Times, 1867
Gold, Blood and Tears of Otago
The Otago gold rush, beginning in 1861 with Gabriel Read's discovery, was a transformative event for New Zealand. Thousands of gold seekers flocked from around the world, including many Chinese from Guangdong, seeking fortune and fleeing poverty. They were often viewed with suspicion and faced significant discrimination, being assigned the least productive claims and forced to live in segregated camps, such as Arrowtown.
Living and working conditions were extremely harsh, and competition for gold exacerbated racial tensions. The 'massacres' mentioned in the theme refer to a period of violence and injustice, where Chinese miners were often victims of theft, assault, and sometimes murder, without justice always being served. Their stories and contributions are often silenced or reduced to stereotypes, making the quest for truth all the more essential.
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?
Historical Investigation
Unravel the threads of a forgotten plot at the heart of the Otago gold rush.
Goldfield Landscapes
Explore the historic sites where gold shaped destinies and left its mark.
Memory of the Forgotten
Give voice to the silenced stories of Chinese miners and their struggles in New Zealand.
Rivers keep silent, but stones whisper the truth.
Retrieve a past swallowed by gold dust.
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
Q01Arrowtown — Shadows of the Lost Register — is it a guided trail or a free-form hunt?
It's a semi-guided trail: GPS points you to the next stop, but you find the camera clue and solve the puzzle yourself. No app to install, everything runs in your browser.
Q02How many stops are in Arrowtown — Shadows of the Lost Register?
Eight stops total. At each stop you find a camera clue, solve the puzzle, collect a fragment of the final code. With all eight, you've got the answer.
Q03Can we play Arrowtown — Shadows of the Lost Register as a couple?
Great two-person format. Narration is dramatic without overdoing it, puzzles are designed to spark conversation. Ideal for new relationships or anniversaries — you discover the city and coordinate on puzzles simultaneously.
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, Arrowtown, Queenstown is less crowded, and the light is better for camera clues.
Avis des aventuriers
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Your turn to play
Unravel the threads of a hidden history and reconstruct the register that could finally reveal the truth and bring justice to the forgotten of the Arrow River.
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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