Self-Guided The Amersfoort Syndicate City Escape Game

The Hof is the starting square in Amersfoort, with the Sint-Joriskerk on its edge, and the first tasks stay within a couple of streets of it. The route then bends toward the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren, which stands above most of the old centre and is useful when you lose your bearings. This outdoor escape game stays inside the medieval ring the whole way.

The centre of Amersfoort is small, flat and largely closed to traffic, so it works for families with children as well as for friends, couples and colleagues. A team consists of two to five players sharing one phone, and anyone with a bigger group runs two or more teams alongside each other. Each player receives a character with a role in the mission, which is what keeps everyone involved rather than watching. There is no guide, and the start is whenever you are ready.

How to play

The setup takes a few minutes at a table on the Hof.

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

Magnus and the stolen formulas passed through Amersfoort, and the fragments left behind sit along the canals and in the courtyards. Your team cracks codes, works out riddles and takes the photographs the app asks for, following the trail from the Vismarkt past the Elleboogkerk. Every character has been told something different, so the answers come out of the group.

Put two teams on the same trail and they will finish by comparing scores, which makes the game a straightforward teambuilding option. Pausing costs nothing: stop for a drink, then carry on where you were. An afternoon on foot in Amersfoort is what it amounts to.