Valladolid Self-Guided Detective Murder Mystery Game

This investigation begins on the Plaza Mayor in Valladolid, in front of the town hall, and heads into the streets behind it. Along the way you pass the Casa de Cervantes, the church of San Benito and the unfinished front of the cathedral. It is a detective game on foot, with Valladolid standing in for the scene of the crime.

The centre of Valladolid is flat and the distances are short, so the walking suits families with children, groups of friends, couples and colleagues without much preparation. Teams are up to four people sharing one phone, and a larger party takes extra tickets and plays as separate teams. On your own the case works just as well. No guide comes with it, and you are not tied to a departure time.

How to play

Four steps come before the first clue in Valladolid.

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. There are codes to crack, photographs to take in the right place, and digital characters whose statements have to be checked against one another. Near the Teatro Calderón and the Museo Nacional de Escultura the accounts stop agreeing, and the number of plausible suspects falls.

With two or more teams the points turn it into a race, which is why it holds up as a teambuilding activity. Sit for a while in the Parque Campo Grande, take the trail up again, and finish the case in Valladolid whenever it suits.