The Shadows of Verdun
700,000 men, 300 days, a hell
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
Verdun, 1916. In 300 days of battle, 700,000 men fell on a few square kilometers of Meuse soil. The forts, trenches, and ossuary still bear the scars of what remains the deadliest battle in French history.
Where the earth has never forgotten, the shadows still have something to say
Verdun is not just a battlefield. It is an open-air cemetery, a place where every meter of earth still contains shell fragments, bone fragments, and personal objects. The Battle of Verdun lasted from February 21 to December 18, 1916 — 300 days of hell that consumed an entire generation of young French and German men. Your route begins at the Monument of Victory, descends into the underground Citadel, and leads toward the memorial sites of the battlefield.
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.
« "They shall not pass." »— — Motto attributed to General Pétain, Verdun, 1916
Verdun — the battle that bled France
On February 21, 1916, the German army launched the largest offensive ever seen on the Western Front. General von Falkenhayn's objective was to "bleed white" the French army by drawing it into a battle of attrition around Verdun, a symbol-city of French resistance. In a few hours, a million shells rained down on French lines.
French resistance was organized around the "Sacred Way" — the road linking Bar-le-Duc to Verdun through which 90% of reinforcements and supplies passed. The "noria" system rotated divisions: each unit spent a few days on the front line before being relieved. Thus, 70% of the French army would pass through Verdun.
The Douaumont Ossuary, inaugurated in 1932, contains the remains of 130,000 unidentified French and German soldiers. Before the Ossuary, 16,000 aligned white crosses recall the scale of the sacrifice. The Trench of Bayonets, where an entire regiment was buried standing by a bombardment, remains one of the most poignant sites of the Great War.
The Route
5 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?
300 days of hell
Relive the deadliest battle in French history.
Underground citadel
Descend into the galleries where 10,000 men lived underground.
Memory and peace
The Ossuary and the Trench of Bayonets — places of contemplation.
Battlefield
Shell craters still shape the landscape a hundred years later.
They shall not pass — and neither shall their memory.
Honor the memory of 700,000 men on the battlefield of Verdun.
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, WhatsApp, 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
Soyez le premier à partager votre expérience.
Did you play les ombres de verdun? Check the email you received after your game to leave a verified review.
Your turn to play
From the Monument of Victory to the Douaumont Ossuary, from the underground Citadel to the Trench of Bayonets — walk the most sacred battlefield in France in an escape game of memory and respect.
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
🪙+15 TripCoins granted with your booking
Other escape games in France
View France→More destinations, tours & urban treasure hunts across the country
Explore other cities in France
Metz
Chagall stained glass and German Imperial Quarter
Reims
Coronation cathedral of the kings of France
Paris
The City of Light, cradle of riddles and legends
Vézelay
Eternal hill and departure point for the Crusades
Lille
Capital of Flanders, between bricks and beers
Versailles
The Sun King's palace and its intrigues