Self-Guided The Antwerp Syndicate City Escape Game

In Antwerp the game begins on the Groenplaats and heads straight into the lanes north of it. The route passes the Handelsbeurs, the old trading hall, and the baroque front of the Sint-Carolus Borromeuskerk before reaching the Grote Markt. Everything is played on the pavements of the old centre, which makes this an outdoor escape game rather than an indoor one.

It fits friends, families, couples and colleagues who prefer something to solve over something to listen to. Two to five players share one phone and each takes a character with a role in the mission, so the work is divided instead of falling to whoever walks in front. Groups of more than five play as several teams. There is no guide and no fixed start, and the centre of Antwerp is flat and dense enough that the next task is rarely more than a few streets away, though the shopping crowds may hold you up.

How to play

Setting the Antwerp game in motion comes down to four steps.

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

The story is a hunt for Magnus, who left with a set of formulas that were not his. Your team cracks codes, works through riddles and takes photo tasks at the places he passed, with each role holding a piece the others need. The trail runs down to Steenplein on the Scheldt, where the last of the formulas is finally traced.

Several teams on the same route at once turn the game into a contest, which makes it a practical option for teambuilding. Because nothing is timed, you can break for a meal and carry on afterwards. The trail closes where it opened, in the heart of Antwerp.