About the game

Edinburgh is an astonishingly beautiful city and this treasure hunt is going to show you the best of the medieval Old Town!

You’ll meander along the Royal Mile, admire the Castle perched up high and explore the bustling Grassmarket neighbourhood.

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.

• Edinburgh Castle - perched atop an extinct volcano, you’ll marvel at this incredible fortress.
• St Giles’ Cathedral - this stunning church boasts incredible architecture and wonderful stained glass windows.
• The Mercat Cross - an important spot from which public proclamations would be made for all to hear!
• National Museum of Scotland - this distinctive Victorian museum and its striking new building house extensive collections.
• McEwan Hall - the marvellous graduation hall of the University of Edinburgh.
• Royal Mile - the heart of Edinburgh’s old town, you’ll explore the finest section of this famous stretch.
• Greyfriars Kirk and graveyard - a peaceful and beautiful graveyard, complete with graves that inspired JK Rowling!
• Grassmarket - a picturesque market square right in the heart of the Old Town.

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 Edinburgh.