Urban Adventure Game – What Does the Term Mean?

In the hustle and bustle of city life, we walk past the same buildings, monuments, and streets every day without really noticing what lies behind these familiar facades.
But what if these well-known places were suddenly filled with secrets, stories, and challenges?

Urban adventure games make exactly that possible. They invite you to see your city from a new perspective and become part of an interactive adventure.
 

Urban Adventure Game – The City as a Playground

A city adventure is often also described as an urban adventure game. This term captures the essence of the experience perfectly:
an adventure that takes place right in the city and transforms real locations into an engaging, interactive game.

Unlike digital games or traditional leisure activities, an urban adventure game happens outdoors — on real streets, squares, and at landmarks. The city is not just a backdrop, but an active part of the experience.

👉 Learn more about the overarching game format here: Discover City Adventures
 

ParaPoly as an Urban Adventure Game

ParaPoly is an interactive city adventure experience in which real urban spaces become the playing field. Participants move through selected areas of the city, solve puzzles together, and follow a connected story that is closely tied to their surroundings.

The term urban adventure game is a descriptive label for this type of experience — it is not a separate category, but a way of explaining the city adventure concept behind ParaPoly.

Interactive, Outdoor, and Flexible

An urban adventure game combines several key elements:

• movement in the open air

• collaborative puzzle solving

• interaction with real locations

• a flexible pace without time pressure

For this reason, city adventures are also described as interactive city games, outdoor puzzle games, or city puzzle experiences.

Not a Classic Outdoor Escape Game

Urban adventure games are sometimes compared to outdoor escape games. However, the experience differs in important ways:

• no fixed time limit

• no enclosed spaces

• no “escaping” as the main goal

Instead, the focus is on exploring the city, solving challenges together, and immersing yourself in a story that unfolds across the urban environment.

Puzzles and Discovery in the Urban Space

Puzzles are a core element of every urban adventure game. They are closely connected to the surrounding environment and encourage observation, logical thinking, and teamwork.

That’s why ParaPoly is also described as an outdoor puzzle game or a city puzzle game — an experience where thinking and movement come together naturally.

Urban Adventure Game Instead of a Classic City Tour

An urban adventure game is not a traditional city tour. There is no guide and no fixed route or schedule.
Participants explore the city independently and actively.

Terms such as experiential city tour, interactive city tour, or alternative city tour describe this approach — with one key difference:
participation replaces passive listening.

Common Terms Compared

Expressions like city rally, scavenger hunt, GPS rally, or smartphone escape game are widely used. They usually describe task-driven or technology-focused formats.

Urban adventure games like ParaPoly focus instead on:

• experience over technology

• storytelling over task lists

• free exploration over rigid structures

Who Is an Urban Adventure Game For?

Urban adventure games are suitable for a wide range of people and group sizes.
Whether playing solo, as a couple, or with others, the experience adapts flexibly and encourages communication, creativity, and shared discovery.

You can find detailed use cases and inspiration on our occasions and program ideas page.

👉 Explore Occasions & Program Ideas
 

Learn More About City Adventures

If you’d like to better understand what defines a city adventure and how ParaPoly transforms cities into interactive experiences, you’ll find all the essentials here:

Go to City Adventures