Barcelona Self-Guided Detective Murder Mystery Game

Plaça Nova, at the foot of the cathedral, is the starting point for this murder mystery walking tour through Barcelona. Most of the route stays inside the Barri Gòtic, then swings out to the Palau de la Música Catalana and back down towards the Museu Picasso. The narrow lanes of the old quarter make up the playing field, and the case is what moves you through them.

Distances in this part of Barcelona are short and the ground is flat, though the lanes fill up quickly and it pays to keep your team together. It suits families with children, groups of friends, couples and colleagues equally. A team is up to four players on one phone; larger groups split into several teams and compare results afterwards. Solo play is fine as well, and nobody has to wait for a guide or for a set departure.

How to play

Before the first clue in Barcelona, there are four steps.

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. Clues arrive as coded messages, photo tasks and statements from digital characters, and you sort the useful from the misleading. Casa Batlló sits at the far end of the route, but most of the reasoning happens in the alleys behind the cathedral, where one witness account fails to match the rest.

With several teams on the case at once, points decide who gets there first, which makes the game a straightforward teambuilding option. You can stop for a drink, leave the trail for an hour and return to it, and finish the investigation anywhere in Barcelona.