San Lucas Prison — The Journal of Resistance
Uncover the hidden journal of a political prisoner and expose the dark secrets buried inside Costa Rica’s most feared island prison.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
For over a century, Isla San Lucas was one of Costa Rica’s most feared places
San Lucas Prison — The Journal of Resistance
You are an archivist, secretly returning to Isla San Lucas, Costa Rica, in 1989, tasked with preserving a hidden history.
Your mission: following in the footsteps of
Disembark on San Lucas Island, former Costa Rican penal colony, for an immersion into the shadows of a prison where "each cell could hold up to 70 prisoners sleeping on the floor with 1 hour of sun per day."
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 island of lonely men »— José León Sánchez, Autobiographical novel, published in 1972
The story that haunts this land
Your journey begins at the Muelle de Isla San Lucas, the pier that served as the sole maritime access to the 500-hectare island, militarily guarded for 118 years. It was here, 8 km from Puntarenas in the Gulf of Nicoya, that thousands of prisoners arrived by boat, handcuffed, towards their fate. From 1873 to 1991, this jetty marked the point of no return for undesirable politicians and later the most violent criminals in Costa Rica. As you walk on these worn planks, you feel the weight of history and the first whispers of captive souls, a prelude to exploring this San Lucas Island National Park 2020.
Continue towards the Antigua Comandancia, the officers' quarters which contrast sharply with the living conditions of the detainees. These administrative buildings, visible among the preserved structures of the prison complex abandoned in 1991, bear witness to the penitentiary hierarchy and the distance between guards and guarded. As you examine this architecture, augmented reality clues reveal secret orders and disciplinary reports, immersing you in the organization of this Costa Rica penitentiary prison under the rule of dictator Tomás Guardia.
The exploration then leads you to the Antiguas Celdas, the seven main cells where up to 70 inmates were crammed onto the floor. It was here that massive human rights violations were documented. On the walls, hundreds of writings and drawings, including life-sized works like 'The Girl in the Red Bikini' and 'The Girl of Consolation,' were etched, sometimes with human blood. These graffiti, representing the harsh prison life, explicit sexual images, and a tribute to Pelé, are raw testimonies of anger, depression, and fantasies, fragments of San José's prison heritage.
The prison's Capilla, a preserved structure that is part of the tourist circuit, offers a striking contrast. Used by the prisoners, it bears witness to spiritual life and religious fervor in the hellish prison. Amidst daily brutality, the chapel was a refuge, a place of silent hope or despair. In augmented reality, you can discover engraved prayers or hidden symbols, revealing the quest for redemption or consolation of the men incarcerated on San Lucas Island.
Your journey concludes on the Sendero de la Isla San Lucas, which leads you to Playa Cocos. This walk allows you to digest the intensity of the vestiges of the historic Costa Rica prison 1873-1991 and contemplate the lush nature of the San Lucas Island National Park 2020. As José León Sánchez, you will have reconstructed part of the journal of resistance, carrying with you the voices of those who endured the island of lonely men. The history of San José and its dark monuments will have been revealed to you not by guides, but by the traces left by the inmates themselves.
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 Imprisoned Voices
Dive into the poignant history of the prisoners who left their mark on the island, their sufferings, and their hopes. Their graffiti and stories reveal a tireless struggle for dignity.
Nature Reclaims Its Rights
Explore an island where the lush jungle has swallowed the remains of a prison, transforming a place of desolation into a wildlife refuge. The landscape is a character in its own right in this adventure.
Forgotten Vestiges
Discover the echoes of pre-Columbian civilizations that inhabited the island before the arrival of Europeans. Ancient symbols and sacred sites blend with the prison history, revealing an unexpected continuity.
In every stone, a story. In every shadow, a secret.
Unveil the whispering past of Isla San Lucas
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
Disembark on San Lucas Island, former Costa Rican penal colony, for an immersion into the shadows of a prison where "each cell could hold up to 70 prisoners sleeping on the floor with 1 hour of sun per day."
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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