Philadelphia Self-Guided Outdoor Mystery Game

Escape the Park turns Old City Philadelphia into three self-guided outdoor mystery games, played on your own phone with no guide and no fixed schedule. Pick one — you are buying the game you choose, not all three. The Bell's Lost Word is built for junior agents ages 6-12. Count clues hidden on real landmarks - columns, stars, names, statues - and use a Junior Agent Codebook to return the Liberty Bell's lost word. The Shadow of Old City is the intermediate game. Gather a letter at eight real landmarks, from Washington Square to Elfreth's Alley to the President's House, and name the shadow that has followed the city since 1776. The Spy Winter goes deepest - play a courier in Major John Clark's spy ring in British-occupied Philadelphia, 1777-78, and decode a cipher hidden in the city's monuments. Each game stands alone and runs 1 to 2 hours at your own pace, on foot. Play one now and save the others for next time. Start anytime and walk the streets the founders walked.

1. 1

   Independence Hall

   10 min

   Solve clues at the exterior of the building where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and signed. The game uses features you can see from the public square - no ticket or timed entry required.

2. 2

   Elfreth's Alley

   10 min

   Walk the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the country and find the clue hidden in its doorways and markers. Free to walk at any hour.

3. 3

   Washington Square

   15 min

   Two of the three games open here, at the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier and the memorial wall. An outdoor public square, open and free at all hours.

4. 4

   Second Bank of the United States

   10 min

   Count the Greek Revival columns across the front and read the site signage - two different games take a clue from this building. Everything needed is visible from the street.

5. 5

   First Bank of the United States

   10 min

   The oldest bank building in the country. Junior agents count its marble Corinthian columns to crack one letter of the code. Exterior only, free, always visible.

6. 6

   Christ Church Burial Ground

   10 min

   Benjamin Franklin's grave lies just inside the corner railing, readable from the sidewalk. Two clues come from here - the names on the slab and the burial-ground sign.

7. 7

   Betsy Ross House

   10 min

   Count the stars on the flag flying over the courtyard, and find the state marker on Arch Street. Both clues are outdoors - no ticket needed to solve them.

8. 8

   Franklin Court

   10 min

   Franklin's home site, the ghost-frame steel outline, and the B. Free Franklin Post Office sign - the sign itself hides a clue. All outdoors and free to reach.

9. 9

   The President's House

   15 min

   The open-air memorial on the site of the executive mansion, where the nine people Washington enslaved here are named on the granite wall. All three games take a clue from this site. Free, outdoors, always open.

10. 10

    Powel House

    10 min

    A Georgian townhouse on Third Street whose bronze tablet supplies clues in two of the games. Washington and Lafayette were frequent guests here. Read the tablet from the pavement.

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Service animals allowed
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.