Bruges Self-Guided Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery Game

Bruges puts you on the Markt to begin with, at the foot of the Belfort, and the trail leads from there into the surrounding streets. It carries on to the Burg, past the Basilica of the Holy Blood, and down to the water at Rozenhoedkaai. The format is a self-guided murder mystery game, worked out step by step on foot.

The old centre of Bruges is compact and largely flat, though the cobbles ask for decent shoes and the main streets fill up in season. It works for families with children, groups of friends, couples and colleagues, and equally for one person walking alone. Four players to a team is the limit, all reading the same phone, and larger groups divide into several teams. No guide is included, and there is no start time to keep to.

How to play

Everything you need runs on your phone, so the start in Bruges is quick.

1. Book the City Game
2. Check the instructions email
3. Download the Loquiz app
4. Start playing whenever you like

The case is the murder of Balthasar. You will be decoding messages, taking photographs where the game asks for them and listening to digital characters who each remember the evening differently. Evidence comes up around Sint-Jakobskerk and along De Dijver, where the canal water and the trees make for an unhurried stretch of the route.

Put two or more teams on the trail and the afternoon becomes a competition, which is what makes it a usable teambuilding exercise as well as a day out. Break when you want, resume when you want, and settle the case somewhere in the streets of Bruges.