The Price of Freedom
The city destroyed to be saved
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
The Americans called it "the Capital of Ruins." On June 6, 1944, bombing razed 95% of Saint-Lô. It took another 42 days of fierce fighting to liberate it. The price of freedom is measured here in pulverised stone.
The Price of Freedom
You are an American military doctor.
Around you, Saint-Lô is nothing but a heap of smoking rubble. The bombing meant to prepare the liberation has annihilated the city — and trapped hundreds of French civilians under the debris. Your mission: find and evacuate the wounded before the last buildings collapse. Every minute counts, every choice is a dilemma between saving and advancing.
In the rubble, every life counts
« "We saw Saint-Lô and we wept. We had come to liberate the French, and we had destroyed their city." »— — American soldier of the 29th Infantry Regiment, July 1944
The Capital of Ruins
Saint-Lô is a strategic crossroads at the heart of the Norman bocage. Whoever holds Saint-Lô controls the roads to Brittany and Paris. The Germans knew this and established a powerful defensive position. For the Allies, capturing Saint-Lô was an essential prerequisite to breaking through the bocage.
On the night of June 6-7, 1944, Allied bombers dropped hundreds of tonnes of bombs on Saint-Lô. The objective was to cut German communications. The result was apocalyptic: within hours, 95% of the city was destroyed. Notre-Dame Cathedral lost its facade, the hospital collapsed, the streets disappeared under rubble. Hundreds of civilians perished beneath the debris.
It took another 42 days of fierce fighting in the bocage before American troops, notably the 29th Infantry Division, entered Saint-Lô on July 18, 1944. The city was nothing but a skeleton of stone. Samuel Beckett, who served as a Red Cross ambulance driver, was one witness to this destruction. Photographer Robert Capa immortalised the troops' entry into what remained of the "Capital of Ruins."
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
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.
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Practical info
Why this route?
Medical mission
Play a military doctor facing a humanitarian emergency in a city in flames.
The moral paradox
95% destruction to liberate — the game explores the dark side of Liberation.
Cathedral open to the sky
Notre-Dame's never-rebuilt facade is the very symbol of the "Capital of Ruins."
In Capa's footsteps
Follow the route of photographer Robert Capa who immortalised the troops' entry into the ruins.
To liberate does not always mean to save.
Every life pulled from the ruins is a victory.
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
Q01Concretely, how does it unfold outdoors?
You arrive in Saint-Lô · Cathedral & rebuilt centre, open the link on your phone, the story starts. It's the modern outdoor escape game: audio narration, camera puzzles, final code unlocked as a team. No install. No need to book a time slot.
Q02Can we take a break mid-trail?
Of course. Stop at a café, have lunch, resume later: your progress is saved. Many players bake a meal break into the trail, especially with families.
Q03Do we need to be several people to enjoy it?
No, solo works very well. The outdoor escape game format in self-guided mode leaves room for introspection: read the story at your pace, hunt clues like a detective. 2-6 players is more social, solo is more contemplative.
Q04Is The Price of Freedom stroller-accessible?
Depends on the exact route in Saint-Lô · Cathedral & rebuilt centre. The vast majority of stops are downtown, on sidewalks or squares. If a stair or narrow passage is involved, it's flagged on the product page. Generally: yes, doable with a standard urban stroller.
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Your turn to play
Evacuate civilian wounded from a city 95% destroyed by Allied bombing. An outdoor escape game that explores the war's most painful paradox — the human price of freedom.
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
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