Maranja Adventure Club – scavenger hunt in Berlin

Looking for a fun thing to do with friends on a weekend? Something that would get you out of the house? Maybe something a bit different than the usual grabbing a bite or a drink? I might have just the thing!

I was recently introduced to Maranja Adventure Club. It’s a concept similar to escape rooms – you need to find your way using different clues – but outdoors! Right in the very center of Berlin, near all the most recognizable places, like the Berliner Dom, Lustgarten, Unter den Linden, Bebelplatz, etc. The goal is to walk through the city, guided by the game, and find all the puzzle elements.

We started the scavenger hunt greeted by Marcus, our game master for the day. The cool concept here is that the game is partially analog, with clues and items that you need to find, touch, play with, and figure out, and also digital, as you are handed a tablet, on which certain parts of the game also need to be completed in order to move forward to the next location and clue. Your game master also sees your location and how you’re doing. With a built-in chat you can be in almost constant contact (if you want to ;)) and also receive hints if at any point you get stuck in the game. After a short intro video on your new best friend – the tablet – you’re ready to go out into Berlin and explore!

You can play in a group of 2-6 people. I’d say the more, the merrier! Also, it gives you an advantage of having different viewpoints and thinking patterns, which might help A LOT in solving the puzzles by looking at them from different perspectives. We were a group of 4 (plus dog). The website says the estimated time to complete the game we took part in, Theodore’s Challenge, is about 2h. Our group took 2h and 2min – and we did get stuck longer on some of the more tricky riddles. Nevertheless, it was super interesting to see this area of Berlin from a completely new perspective. And also learn an interesting fun fact or two, since the game makes you look for details in the surroundings, that you normally would never pay attention to.

Not to give away too much, I will only say, that we had lots of fun! The puzzles are quite diverse and require an array of skills – logical thinking, some creativity, attention to detail, some general knowledge, any maybe some math. Oh, and a decent sense of direction, so you don’t end up in Spandau. 😉

What was also important for me, is that it’s easy to respect all health recommendations and Covid-19 rules during the game. As it is outdoors, you are not locked in a standard escape room, and you have access to fresh air literally all the time. It’s also no problem to keep the recommended 1,5m distance from your teammates and/or wear a mask.

I’d absolutely recommend going on an adventure with Maranja if you have 2 hours to spare on a weekend. The cost of a game starts from 18€ per person – provided there are 6 players. The cost per person is a bit higher with fewer participants. With my code ‘justmartathings‘ you will receive a 10% discount for your own adventure.

Bonus: each 1 game played = 1 tree planted by the German eco organization PrimaKlima, which focuses on reforestation.