Orbe Gymnasium Students Create Outdoor ‘Escape Game’ to Explore Town’s History | Review

For their senior task, two gymnasium students from Orbe had developed an outdoor “escape game” to introduce players of all ages to the history of the small medieval town. We tested it.

Maëva Renggli and Zoé Desponds in front of the Urbescape launch area at Atelier 21 in Orbe. (Photos by Héloïse Mouquin)

Maëva Renggli and Zoé Desponds are in their last year at the gymnasium in Yverdon. Although they do not have common courses – the first in a biology-chemistry option, the second in philosophy-psychology -,
the two lifelong friends found a big project to tackle each other: the mature task. Having both grown up in Orbe, they had been toying for some time with the idea of ​​creating from scratch a life-size treasure hunt that would unfold across various key locations in the city. great that was ideal for him: “We have lived. here all these years, but we don’t necessarily ask many questions about the city. Just by walking through the streets, you will discover that there is a whole historical aspect,” explained Zoé, eighteen years old. So the two friends jumped at the opportunity offered to them to do mature work in pairs, on a free theme, in history, to bring this personal project to life.

Learn while having fun

Lescape game, or escape game, quickly became popular in the mid-2010s around the world. Generally, the game takes place inside (also known as escape room) and involves solving puzzles within a certain time limit to escape from a restricted area. In some cases, however, it may take place outdoors and require players to use location-specific clues to solve the mystery. This is the case with Zoé and Maëva’s Urb’escape project, which took them almost a year to complete. Their game draws on the many medieval remains that, fortunately, are still alive throughout the town of Orbe, and weaves a fictional plot around them. Equipped with a diary and a few essential items, players, immersed in the past, are invited to explore the city and discover history in a fun way.

They seem to be very confused, these participants are looking for guidance notices in the diary. (Photos by Héloïse Mouquin)

If the historical aspect of the city is already well illustrated through the museum, the Roman mosaics as well as the explanatory panels that surround the city, these are not, in the eyes of the two students, in their highly immersive approaches to the general public. As seventeen-year-old Maëva explained, the two wanted to “innovate, improve Orbe’s cultural and tourist offerings, bring people in and let everyone learn more about the city- big.” Including, of course, the Urbigènes!

Municipal cooperation?

Urb’escape has been officially active since this winter and will be active all summer, or even aeternum. The current format is temporary though, as part of the installation has to be set up and removed every time a group of players want to start… which contains the ads. In addition, far from stopping there, they are already thinking about future variations of the game – for example a sports version, in conjunction with the bike shop, which would contributors to the Roman mosaic.The activity, accessible from the age of seven, is ideal for groups of four to six players. Contact via e-mail (a website will be replaced soon) at the address
urbescape1350@gmail.com, or via Instagram at @urbescape1350

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