Zakodowana Warszawa Outdoor city game in Warsaw for companies and groups
Decode Warsaw
An urban detective game for teams and groups of friends. A map of the capital, custom cards and an app playing referee - all under the pressure of a ticking clock. The winning team is the first to crack the Warsaw code.
Where did the idea for this outdoor city game come from?
One chases a tram at dawn along the Royal Route (Trakt Krolewski), another jogs along the Vistula, while someone else meets for an evening coffee beneath the townhouses of the Old Town Market Square. The capital gives everyone something different: Varsovian and visitor alike soak up its pulse, the scent of fresh obwarzanki, the wall of rebuilt facades and an atmosphere they won't find anywhere else, each in their own way.
Yet in the big-city rush the eye slides over everything at once. We pass post-war reconstructed portals, plaques and the nooks of inner courtyards without slowing our pace for a moment. The most interesting trails lie right under our noses - we simply can't see the wood for the trees.
Years of designing and running games like these have taught us one thing: we know how to track down the capital's secrets, the kind that can intrigue, amuse and draw in any team. We turned every such secret into a puzzle, and all the answers wove together into one unique string of digits.
The City Code. The Warsaw Code.
How we designed Zakodowana Warszawa
We built the game on three pillars. The first pillar is a map of the city, the second is our own cards designed from scratch, and the third is an app acting as an impartial, unshakeable referee. We wrapped it all in the mechanic of a ticking clock - and that's exactly how a fresh, gripping take on corporate team-building was born: the Zakodowana Warszawa outdoor city game.
// app = referee
Map
A paper plan with a marked-off section of the Old Town - this is the terrain you move across.
Cards
The front hints at the place with a photo; the back serves up a cunning riddle.
Application
The command centre - an impartial referee that counts down the time and updates the standings.
Breaking outdoor-city-game standards
Zakodowana Warszawa turns the usual outdoor-city-game conventions upside down. Here's a list of the things you'll look for in vain with us:
No guide will lead you by the hand, and nobody will make you hammer in a nail, force a padlock or shred cabbage.
We won't send you hunting for human contacts who dole out clues on a whim and decide for themselves whether you deserve them.
You won't be stuck at the finish line waiting for your answers to be verified - the result pops up by itself, because the app takes care of it.
Now that you know what isn't waiting for you - it's time to explain the challenge we're setting. Spark your imagination, put your minds on alert, add a pinch of sharp observation and step into a game where cracking our puzzles is only a taste of the real fun.
// game cards
Hiding in plain sight - our guiding idea
We go for riddles with a double bottom. It's a genuine workout for the brain, because even their wording can be a code to crack. We craft them so that Warsaw reveals itself to you from a side you never knew before - one that's far from obvious and surprises even born-and-bred locals.
We've gone for modern tools, but we've tailored the riddles so that neither Google, nor Lens, nor Maps will do your thinking for you. What's at stake is your wits and your sharp eye - and after every game we watch each new team's ingenuity with real curiosity.
Who's in charge and what's the goal?
The dashboard for the whole game is an app at its own web address, tracking every team's moves live. A freshly found trail is entered into the system at once. A correct answer yields a digit - another link in the code that can freeze the team's ticking clock. Stopping that clock is exactly what's at stake for everyone.
The constant exchange of data with the system adds one more thrill - a peek at your rivals' scores. But to keep you on edge, the table refreshes every quarter of an hour and falls completely silent half an hour before the finish.
The final half-hour plays out in radio silence.
How the game unfolds
The most important thing facing every team is to slow the clock as fast as possible and, with that, wrap up the game.
The key to this is teasing out the unique CODE that holds back the game's escaping time.
To freeze the clock, you enter the CODE you've collected along the way on a dedicated webpage and log in to the system.
To assemble the pieces needed for the code, the team roams the alleys of the Old Town in pursuit of answers to our questions. The signposts are the game cards, with photos suggesting the place. Once the investigating team stands at the right spot, the solution is within arm's reach :)
Once all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, what's left is the final stage of decryption - working out the CODE that lets you log in to the site and freeze the clock. Whichever team manages it first takes the win.
// investigation team
Who is the outdoor city game for?
It doesn't matter whether you live in Warsaw, in Mazovia, in another corner of the country or abroad - if riddles draw you in, crosswords amuse you, rebuses tempt you, mysteries intrigue you, and you treat cracking a code as a gauntlet thrown down, then Zakodowana Warszawa is waiting precisely for you!
Companies looking for offbeat city entertainment or inventive team-building for their crews reach out to us, and alongside them private players - for hen and stag nights, birthdays and surprise parties. We run the game in two language versions: Polish and English.
Companies
Inventive team-building for your crew and a one-of-a-kind city entertainment your employees have never experienced before.
Private parties
Hen nights, stag nights, birthdays and surprises - for the moments when standard celebrating just isn't enough.
Anyone who loves puzzles
Varsovians and visitors, Mazovia and the whole country, a PL and EN version - if rebuses and codes are your element, dive in.
Arena: the heart of Warsaw - the Old Town
The playing field is the capital's historic core - the Old Town with Castle Square (Plac Zamkowy), rebuilt after the wartime destruction and listed by UNESCO. Each team gets a paper plan with a marked-off area in which it tracks down solutions. Along the way it passes the Royal Castle, Sigismund's Column and the townhouses of the Market Square, fishing out facts and details from history that everyday passers-by miss.
A small tip - stick to the marked-off area, because every step beyond it robs you of the minutes you need to win.
// game zone
You play when it suits you
We've tailored the game so you can set off at any moment that suits you. Going for ZAKODOWANA WARSZAWA, you book a set number of packs with us. One pack handles a team of 3-4 people - so a group of 20 needs at least 5 packs. The leaner the team's line-up, the slightly tougher the nut to crack :)
Together we settle on the day, the time and the meeting point. On site we explain the rules and launch the app that runs the game. From that second on, you're playing entirely on your own. Your sharp eye, clear thinking and the skilful management of time and the whole team's talents will decide your eventual triumph.
When the allotted time runs out, we gather again at the agreed point and announce the results of the individual teams.
That's the moment we crown the winners and reward them accordingly.
Game promo video
Ready to decode Warsaw?
► Book the gameWhat does it cost?
Curious how much it costs? Just drop us an email or give us a call. We price every game individually, so we can offer you something sensible and tailor-made. Let us know the idea appeals to you, and we'll send back a quick, clear quote. No commitments and no fine print. Get in touch - and let's keep playing!
Frequently asked questions
Practically at any time of year and any hour of the day. With the cooler, darker months in mind, we've prepared a separate NIGHT edition of the game!
No limit. We split the full set of participants into four-person teams, and there can be as many of those as you like.
Since teams wander the alleys of the Old Town on their own, without a chaperone, the minimum age of participants must allow for that under the law.
The intro with the rules, the hunt for solutions and the game's finale wrap up in roughly 3 hours. The time frame is strictly set.
Adults and teenagers alike do brilliantly with us. The key to a good time is an open mind and a sharp eye.
The backbone of the game is the playing cards: on one face, photos of the objects to find; on the other, seriously twisty puzzles. Most of the photos focus on such fine details that even Varsovians don't get an easy ride. The riddles themselves give every player a run for their money. So yes - Zakodowana Warszawa is for residents of every corner of Poland. We promise everyone will have a great time.
The game closes at a time and place agreed in advance. Even if a team doesn't crack the code, it will reach the finish (the meeting point), where it learns its final placing. The whole thing revolves around the players. It takes brainpower, sharp observation and a bit of cunning. Above all, though, we put great fun first, so we've done everything to let every team get a taste of victory and never feel helpless for a moment - because that kills the will to play :)
