About the game

Cambridge’s historic city center is full of equisite architecture and this game is going to show you the best of it!

Starting opposite the iconic King’s College Chapel, you’ll explore medieval lanes, prestigious college buildings and the splendid River Cam.

By searching for clues across the city, you’ll discover hidden treasure you never knew existed!

What you’ll do

You’ll be led around the city by Captain Bess, a snarky pirate who’s testing out new recruits to join her ship!

Bess will send a series of maps, clues and directions. You follow the map and solve the clue by searching your surroundings. When you get the right answer, you’ll move on to the next place.

Don’t worry, if you get stuck you can ask for a hint and Bess’ll get you on your way!

What you’ll see

Along the way you’ll see lots of sights and Bess will tell you some fun facts about some of them. It’s a perfect way of discovering things you might want to come back to.

• King’s College Chapel - the iconic gothic chapel and oldest surviving building within the College.
• Senate House - where graduation has been held for the past 300 years.
• Great St Mary’s Church - this beautiful church dates back to 1205 and the top of its tower offers fantastic panoramic views.
• Market Square - stalls have been trading at this historic market square since the middle ages!
• The Corpus Clock - a mesmerising and intriguing sculpture of a grasshopper eating away at time.
• Trinity, Catharine’s and Queens College - just three of the many prestigious colleges of the University of Cambridge you’ll discover on this tour.
• Mathematical Bridge - one of the most recognisable and interesting structures on the Cam, this timber footbridge has a rich history.
• The Backs - a peaceful and picturesque stretch where several of the colleges back on to the River Cam.
• The Round Church - at 900 years old, this church predates Newton and Darwin, the Colleges and the University!

What else you should know

• Take your time—it’s more enjoyable to see everything at your own pace. There's a scheduled break around half-way, but you can take your own breaks if you prefer.
• Aim to finish before sunset—it's near impossible to find clues in the dark! Check the sunset time
• You can play in 2 parts—if it suits your plans, you can pause the game and come back after lunch or even the next day.
• Bess will be scoring you! Your score is the number of clues you got right first time, without a hint. The score is only for your satisfaction, so don’t struggle needlessly!

How the game works

The game works a bit like a WhatsApp group, but on a web page instead. You don’t need to download anything and it doesn’t need any permissions.

Before you’re due to start, we’ll send you a link to the game. Open the link to join the game and share it with your team so they can join too.

Once you’re ready, Captain Bess will tell you what to do next.

What to bring

• Smartphones with mobile data and full batteries. (It’s OK to share, but it works better if everyone has their own phone.)
• Shoes for walking 2½ miles.
• Waterproofs in case of bad weather.
• Wit, cunning and an adventurous spirit!

Accessibility

We've designed the game to be step-free around the whole route. The recommended pubs at half-way and at the end of the game have step-free front access and an accessible toilet.

You can see the wheelchair accessibility review for Treasure Hunt Cambridge.