Scavenger Hunt City Games – A Fun New Way To Explore Ottawa with 4 New Games!

Published: January 7, 2022

Last updated: March 17, 2022

Ottawa neighbourhood city exploration games with escape bicycles, ebikes or scooters

Your boss has asked you to plan the next out-of-office activity and you’re all out of new ideas. Or perhaps family is visiting and you don’t know what you are going to do to entertain both kids and adults. Fortunately for you we have been hard at work developing new games to enjoy solo, with friends or family, or with colleagues from work!

No matter the reason, you’re definitely going to enjoy playing a Self-Guided City Game from Escape Tours and Rentals!

Once the pandemic hit and the travelling stopped, we thought of developing some theme-based city exploration games so you can enjoy Ottawa safely and in a fun way. For the last year we have been hard at work researching, writing, and testing these great games. Now that testing is wrapping up we wanted to introduce you to a whole new experience in Ottawa!

What is a self-guided city game?

Part scavenger hunt, part self-guided tour, and a whole lot of fun, even if you’ve never heard of one before you are going to love playing a self-guided city game!!!

After a quick set up you will be exploring Ottawa at your own pace with your smartphone! Complete the game as quickly or slowly as you want – there are no time limits here. Plus, you can even pause the game if you want to continue exploring before continuing onto the next stop.This could be very handy when you are exploring the Food of the World game.

You will be the main character of a captivating fictional story, stop at some unique places in Ottawa, and solve a series of riddles and challenges. Bonus: you will get to read some fun facts about each stop after you have solved the challenge. Become a world-famous detective, solve a murder, evade enemy spies, or re-trace your steps from a night of revelry… the game is afoot!

Discover Ottawa street arts with Escape city exploration games on bike, ebike or scooters

4 Games To Enjoy

We have created 4 great games for you to enjoy.

Do you like street art? Explore Ottawa: In The Eyes Of A Street Artist and get to know Ottawa’s diverse urban art scene as you become EgoNibi, legendary street artist from Tunam. Find inspiration and a location for your masterpiece, but watch out; agents from Tunam are hot on your tail!
Are you more of a foodie? Try the Ottawa ‘Foods Of The World’ game and try to solve a murder that has shaken the Ottawa culinary scene to its core. This strange affair is a cakewalk for you as you assume the identity of Olympus Peraux, world-famous detective and discover Ottawa’s diverse and delicious culinary scene.
Looking to explore Ottawa’s Rockcliffe Neighbourhood? Leave no stone unturned and play a game in one of Ottawa’s most beautiful residential neighbourhoods and delve into this enclave of ambassadors and mansions as you become Jackson, a party-goer who cannot find his car, nor his friends.
Or if you’re a history buff or fascinated to know about people who built Ottawa, then you will enjoy the Shapers Of Ottawa. As you take the role of a private investigator looking into the disappearance of Mr. Cardinal’s son. Along the way, you will learn about the real-life people and events that have contributed to the city we know and love today. Ottawa’s past and present are yours to uncover as you investigate some of the most iconic and Instagramable spots in Ottawa.

Ottawa city exploration games with escape bicycles or scooters in Rockcliffe neighbourhood

How does a self-guided city work?

The Escape Self-Guided City Games are fun and easy to play, and even easier to get set up! Even if you are not a super techy person, you will be able to get your game up and running in a few short steps!

1. Start by choosing the game you would like to play from the Self-Guided City Games page on the Escape Tour and Rentals website. Once you’ve decided which game you want to play, you can purchase the game there.
2. Next, open your phone’s app market and download the Questo app (Apple iOS or Google Android) and select your pre-purchased game.
3. Navigate to the real-world starting point for your quest using the map function and once you arrive the game will automatically unlock!
4. Begin the game and have fun! In the app you will be led around Ottawa on your tour. At each stop you will get the next chapter of the story, solve fun puzzles, and learn about the location you’re visiting!

Once you purchase the game, there are no date and time limits on when you can activate your game.

Exploring Ottawa has never been easier or more fun than with an Escape Self-Guided Game! Try one with your family. Up your date night game! Or impress your boss by planning the next great out-of-office event. You never know, you may end up liking that colleague who often gets on your nerves! We had so much fun making these games and we hope you will enjoy discovering Ottawa in a whole new way! We love to hear what you think. So, email us to share your experience, give us your feedback on how to improve the current games or if you have some new game ideas for us!

If you like to try these games with a bike or an electric kick scooter, you can rent them from us and get a 10% discount. Check out our Ottawa bike and scooter rental rates here and use promo code [ESCAPEGAME22] when booking your rental.

Escape Tours and Rentals thanks Ottawa Tourism and the Destination Development Fund for their support of the Escape Tours and Rentals Self-Guided City Games.