I’m standing at Hackescher Markt, on a mission to help Marlene Dietrich find the missing script for “Blue Angel”. The aim: save the actress’s career. That’s the kind of challenge you’ll encounter when you do a puzzle tour from Planlos.in. The platform offers playful ways to get to know the city, using text messages containing clues and mysterious phone calls to help you solve the puzzle. The game will take you off the beaten track, through hidden backyards and small alleys. Even for seasoned Berliners, there’s still much to discover and learn, because in addition to the tricky clues, Marlene Dietrich and her colleague Frida reveal all sorts of fascinating facts and trivia, like where the name “Scheunenviertel” comes from, or how to dance the Charleston.
The experience is not without its quandaries: mysterious locations and cryptic clues mean it’s easy to lose your way. But should you ever feel lost in the maze of clues and riddles, you can always ask for an extra hint. Planlos.in has been around for a while: already established in Cologne and Munich, the game came to Berlin in 2018. You can choose between three missions, each of which immerses you in a different era and introduces you to a new side of Berlin. The setup is simple: book a tour, put together a team and arrive at the starting address with your thinking caps on. The Planlos.in tours are designed to take two to three hours, but I’d suggest you allow for a little more time. It can take longer to piece everything together, and you might also want to linger at the various stops. So get going, because there’s nothing like the thrill of a successful mission – especially when you get a thank you call from the great Marlene at the end…
Text: Anabelle Grundmann / Photos: Planlos.in & Anabelle Grundmann
Planlos.in tours take place in German.
Puzzle tours include Das Vermächtnis des Kaisers (“The Emperor’s Legacy”) in Kreuzberg and Rennen um die Weltherrschaft (“Race for World Domination”) in Tegel. An overview of the starting points and schedules for the tours can be found here.
@planlos.in
