Zakodowany Gdańsk Outdoor city game in Gdańsk for companies and groups
Decode Gdańsk
A modern outdoor city game for companies and private groups. A map, custom cards and a referee app - all racing against a ticking clock. The winning team is the first to crack the Gdańsk code.
Where did the idea for this outdoor city game come from?
For some it's the daily commute to school or work, for others a morning jog or a walk with the dog, for yet others the perfect spot for socialising, food tours and evening events. Everyone - locals and tourists alike - enjoys the rhythm, scent, architecture, climate and aura that make each city unique.
But in the daily rush our attention is pulled in a hundred directions, and we miss the details, quirks and stories hiding in plain sight. We can't see the wood for the trees.
After years of designing and running outdoor city games we can say with confidence that we specialise in uncovering city secrets that intrigue, fascinate and entertain our players. We turned them all into riddles, and the answers became the building blocks of a unique code.
The City Code. The Gdańsk Code.
How we designed Zakodowany Gdańsk
We created an innovative outdoor city game that combines three core elements. First, the city map. Second, specially designed cards. Third, a dedicated app - the brain of the game, an impartial and fair referee. We wrapped it all in the concept of ticking time. That's how a unique modern form of team entertainment was born - Zakodowany Gdańsk city game.
// app = referee
Map
A physical map with the Old Town clearly marked - your game arena.
Cards
Location-hinting photos on one side, mind-bending riddles on the other.
Application
The brain of the game - an impartial referee that tracks time and refreshes the leaderboard.
Breaking outdoor-city-game standards
Zakodowany Gdańsk breaks the usual outdoor-city-game conventions. Here's what you won't find here:
You won't walk in groups with a guide doing tasks like driving nails, picking locks or slicing cabbage.
You won't hunt for people you must interact with to receive the next clue - and who subjectively decide whether you deserve it.
You won't wait at the finish line for someone to verify your answers and pick a winner - our app does all of that automatically.
Now that you know what you won't be doing - the question is, what challenge do we actually set for you? Switch on your imagination, open your minds, add a pinch of observation and dive into a game where decoding our riddles is only the beginning of the fun.
// game cards
Hiding in plain sight - our guiding idea
Our riddles are anything but standard. They're a genuine intellectual workout - the wording itself is a puzzle. We write them to make you look at the city from a fresh, unexpected angle.
We've embraced new tech, but Google, Google Lens and Google Maps won't help you solve the riddles. We push for full engagement - every single game we watch our players' creativity with genuine curiosity.
Who's in charge and what's the goal?
The entire game is driven by a dedicated web application that continuously analyses what the players are doing. As each team finds new information, the system verifies it in real time. Every correct answer reveals one digit needed to assemble a special code - the code that stops the team's ticking clock. And that's exactly the main goal for every team.
Real-time interaction with the system adds another thrill - you can peek at rival teams' scores. But to keep things interesting, the leaderboard refreshes every 15 minutes and freezes 30 minutes before the end.
The final half-hour plays out in radio silence.
How the game unfolds
The teams' main mission is to stop the clock and finish the game as fast as possible.
To do that, each team must obtain a special CODE that stops the ticking game clock.
To stop the clock, the team logs into a dedicated webpage using the CODE earned during the game.
To gather everything they need for the code, players must walk the streets of the Old Town hunting for answers. The clues come from the game cards with location-hinting photos. Once you reach the right spot, the answer is suddenly within your investigation team's reach :)
Collecting every piece of the puzzle unlocks the final decryption - calculating the CODE that lets you log in and stop the running clock. The first team to do so wins.
// investigation team
Who is the outdoor city game for?
It doesn't matter whether you're from the Tricity (Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia), elsewhere in Poland, or anywhere in the world. If you love riddles, get hooked on crosswords and rebuses, enjoy a good mystery and treat code-breaking as a personal challenge - then Zakodowany Gdańsk is for you!
Companies looking for a fresh, memorable form of in-city entertainment or creative team-building play with us - and so do private groups: hen and stag parties, birthdays and surprise events. We run outdoor city games in two languages: Polish and English.
Companies
Creative team-building and a one-of-a-kind form of in-city entertainment for employees.
Private parties
Hen and stag parties, birthdays and surprise events - for when a regular party just isn't enough.
Anyone who loves puzzles
Locals and tourists, Tricity and all of Poland, PL and EN - if rebuses and codes are your thing, this game is for you.
Arena: the heart of Gdańsk - the Old Town
Your arena is the historic heart of Gdańsk - the Old Town. Each team gets a physical map with the play area clearly marked. It leads you to remarkable spots, surprising slices of history, and small details that locals walk past every day without noticing.
Pro tip - don't venture beyond the marked area; you'll lose precious minutes in the race for victory.
// game zone
You play when it suits you
The game is set up so you can play whenever it suits you. When you choose to play in ZAKODOWANY GDAŃSK, you book the number of game packs you need. One pack = one game for a team of 3-4. So a group of 20 needs at least 5 packs - and the smaller the team, the tougher the challenge :)
We meet you at the day, time and place you choose, brief the players and launch the game app. From that point you're on your own - your sharp eyes, quick thinking, time management and how well you play to each teammate's strengths will decide the win.
When the time is up we gather at the meeting point and announce the results team by team.
That's the moment we crown the winners and reward them accordingly.
Game promo video
Ready to decode Gdańsk?
► Book the gameWhat does it cost?
If you're wondering about the price - just write to us or give us a call. We quote each game individually - we want to propose something that actually fits your group. Drop us a line and we'll come back with a quick, transparent offer. No commitments, no fine print. Get in touch - and let's play!
Frequently asked questions
Year-round, day or evening - and for the darker autumn-winter months we run a dedicated NIGHT edition.
There's no limit. All players are split into 4-person teams, and the number of teams is up to you.
Since teams roam the Old Town without a chaperone, players need to be old enough that local law allows them to do so unsupervised.
Briefing + searching for answers + wrap-up takes around 3 hours. Game duration is strictly defined.
Both adults and teenagers do great in our game. All you need is an open mind and a sharp eye.
Game cards are the backbone of the experience - photos of what you're looking for on one side, cryptic riddles on the other. The photos zoom in on details so subtle that even Gdańsk locals don't get a free pass, and the riddles will test anyone. So yes - Zakodowany Gdańsk works for visitors from Poland and beyond. We guarantee a good time.
The game ends at a pre-arranged time and place. Even if your team doesn't crack the code, you'll reach the meeting point and see your final ranking. The game is designed around the players - it takes thinking, observation and wit. But most of all it's about fun, so we've done everything we can to give every team a taste of winning and never let anyone feel helpless along the way :)
