A family city game: exploring Krakow together

Families in Krakow can choose between two kinds of city game. The first is a self-guided game in an app on your own phone: you start whenever you like, take breaks and there’s no time limit. The second is a game with a Game Master, who hands out an iPad and props and then sends the team along a route full of puzzles, points and hints. With younger children, the first format is the easier place to start. Once the children are at least 10 and enjoy a bit of competition, the second is worth considering.

A family’s list of must-sees usually includes Wawel, the Main Market Square and the hejnał, the trumpet call from St Mary’s. A good game doesn’t replace these places. It gives you a reason to walk between them together and notice something along the way. What matters is that the whole family really plays as a team, rather than just following one person with a phone.

Two ways to play a family game in Krakow

Krakow Legends in the app runs on an Android or iOS phone with location turned on. The game leads you along a route through the city centre: you reach the next points on the map and only unlock the tasks, which are linked to Krakow’s legends, once you’re there. The website says the game takes about one and a half to two hours, but there’s no time limit and no fixed start time. You can stop and come back later, and one access covers any number of players on one phone. The website lists families among its players and notes that you don’t need to know the city’s history.

A game with a host is, for example, Kraków Legends by EscapeCity. The name is the same, but the rules are different. You meet at Matejko Square or, for the shorter version, at Plac Mariacki. Each team gets an iPad with a GPS map and augmented reality, plus a set of props. The route is about 3 km long, follows the Royal Route to Wawel and finishes on the Vistula Embankments. The operator rates the difficulty at 7/10, and your guide through the story is Master Twardowski. On its page for tourists, EscapeCity recommends its outdoor games for families with children aged 10 and over.

Don’t mix up the two versions when you plan. In the app, you set the pace yourselves. In the hosted game, there’s a fixed date, a meeting point, a mission time and scoring.

What you’ll see along the way

The Royal Route is the old path of coronation entries and processions. According to the city’s official website (in Polish), it starts at Matejko Square and runs through St Florian’s Gate, Floriańska Street, the Main Market Square and Grodzka and Kanonicza Streets up to the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill. On the way you pass the Grunwald Monument, St Mary’s Basilica, the Cloth Hall, the Town Hall Tower and the Adam Mickiewicz Monument, among others.

Children get into the game more easily if they know two or three short legends linked to the route before you set off:

• The hejnał from St Mary’s. According to the legend told by Kraków Travel, in 1241 a watchman on the tower sounded the alarm, warned the city about the Tatars and was killed by an arrow mid-tune. That’s why the melody breaks off so suddenly. The hejnał is played every hour, towards the four points of the compass. It’s worth planning to cross the Market Square on the hour.
• Master Twardowski. The legend tells of a sorcerer who sold his soul to the devil, but on condition that the devil could only take him in Rome. When he ended up in an inn called “Rome”, he escaped on a rooster and, so they say, is still sitting on the Moon today. In the EscapeCity game, he’s the one leading your team.
• The Wawel Dragon. The Royal Route ends at Wawel, and the entrance to the Dragon’s Den and the dragon sculpture are at the foot of the hill, by the embankments. Check the season and visiting rules for the cave on the Wawel Royal Castle website.

It’s worth telling a legend apart from an established historical event. A story can be fascinating without being presented as a literal record of the past. It’s a good topic to talk about with an older child: what in this story could really have happened, and what did later storytellers add?

A green route instead of the Market Square

If you’d rather avoid the crowds of the Old Town, EscapeCity also runs Eight Portals. It’s a fantasy story about closing magical gateways. The route goes through old Zwierzyniec: along Aleja Waszyngtona, through part of Wolski Forest and around the Rudawa river. The operator gives a distance of 3.5 km, a mission time of 140 minutes and a difficulty of 6/10, and during the game you compare today’s places with photos from a hundred years ago.

It’s a longer option, so it suits older children who can comfortably walk a few kilometres. In a fantasy scenario, Krakow is first and foremost the stage for the adventure. Don’t promise your children a history lesson at every stop.

One team doesn’t mean one pace

When you choose a game, start with the youngest player and the person who’ll find the whole route hardest. Check the length, whether you can take breaks, the type of terrain and the time limit. A “for families” label on its own doesn’t settle any of these questions.

A simple rule of thumb:

• Younger children, or you need frequent breaks: the app game, with no time limit. You can split the route into two shorter walks.
• Children aged 10 and over who enjoy competing: the hosted game with scoring. Agree beforehand whether you’ll use hints, because in EscapeCity’s games a hint costs points.
• A child in a pushchair, or someone who can’t walk 3 km: ask the operator about the surface, steps and a shorter version before you buy. The game descriptions don’t say whether the route is pushchair-friendly.

A ten-year-old may want to rush on to the next task, while a younger sibling wants to stop at every detail. You don’t have to treat that as a problem. Choosing the right format lets you balance different ways of enjoying the walk.

How do you get everyone involved?

Before you start, agree that a different person reads out each task. An adult can help with a tricky word but should leave the children room to suggest a solution. Whoever isn’t holding the device can look for details around you: a coat of arms, a date on a façade, a sculpture above a gateway.

When ideas clash, ask both people to explain what they’ve noticed. That gets you further than a quick vote or going with the loudest player’s answer. If everyone gets stuck, use the help built into the game.

GPS makes it easier to find your way, but you still need to watch where you’re going. Floriańska and Grodzka Streets can get crowded, and trams and cars pass through. Put the puzzle away before you cross the road, and only read the screen once you’ve stopped somewhere safe.

Fit the game into your family day

Don’t add a longer route at the very end of a day packed with sightseeing. Plan for water, clothes for the weather and a meal at a sensible time. For the hosted game, allow time to get to the meeting point and for the briefing. EscapeCity says the game goes ahead as normal in light rain, and in a gale, a downpour or a storm another date is arranged. In the app, you simply pause the game and come back when it clears up.

After the game, ask everyone for one moment they remember. For an adult, it might be an interesting story; for a child, a symbol they spotted or a sibling’s funny idea. If you’d like to start with the format that lets you take breaks and go at your own pace, take a look at gramiejskakrakow.pl and see whether the route suits your family.