Edinburgh, but make it a puzzle. This Ghosts of Edinburgh app-based game turns famous streets into a self-guided walk where you can pause and restart, and I love the offline-friendly play and the just-spooky-enough tone. The main drawback is that the experience depends on your phone working smoothly at each clue spot, so loading and screen-reading matter.

You’ll roam through iconic places like Edinburgh Castle, St Giles, Mary King’s Close, Greyfriars Bobby, and the Grassmarket, then keep going to college buildings and the modern art area. It’s built for families and groups of friends, and the pace is up to you, with about an hour set aside.

Key things I’d plan for

• Offline by design: you can play without an internet connection.
• Start when you want, stop when you want: you can take breaks and resume later.
• Edinburgh’s haunted and gruesome stops: executions in the Grassmarket and the story layers around the closes.
• You solve by looking nearby: clues are meant for you to scan the landmark area, not far-off trivia.
• Night-friendly fun: it’s popular after dark for a playful spooky vibe.
• Private, group-only play: you’re not mixing with other strangers in the activity.

Ghosts of Edinburgh, a self-guided puzzle walk with offline play

Ghosts of Edinburgh, Bloody Past Exploration Game and Tour is the kind of sightseeing that feels less like a lecture and more like a guided scavenger hunt you control. You follow a map, answer challenges at each stop, and keep moving when you feel ready.

The big practical win is that it works offline, so you are not stuck burning mobile data or hunting for a signal when you’re deep in old streets. That matters in Edinburgh, where stone buildings and narrow lanes can make phone performance unpredictable.

You also get full flexibility built into the experience. You can start at the time you choose, take a break, and resume without needing to book a new slot. For families, this is huge. For anyone traveling with slower walkers, it’s also relief.

Price and time: is $7.21 worth your hour?

At about $7.21 per person for an experience that runs around one hour, this is priced like a value activity, not a premium guided tour. The question is how much “engagement time” you’ll actually get out of it.

Here’s the honest take: you will get value if you enjoy puzzles, like walking between landmarks, and don’t mind reading clue text on your phone as you go. If you want someone to talk to you the whole time, this is not that kind of tour. The experience is self-guided, with no physical tour guide included.

Also think about how you travel. If you’re a couple or a small group, the app can feel like a shared game. If you’re with a larger group, you’ll likely want to plan multiple bookings when the party is bigger than 15, since that’s how the activity handles group sizes.

Starting at The Mound: the best place to set your bearings

Your game begins at The Mound near Edinburgh’s center, the artificial slope that connects the New Town and Old Town views. It was formed by dumping roughly 1,501,000 cartloads of earth from New Town construction into Nor Loch, which was drained in 1765 and later shaped into Princes Street Gardens.

Why this start is smart: The Mound is a viewpoint and a connector. Even before you get into the spooky bits, you get oriented fast. When the game asks you to look around for an answer, you’re not hunting in an empty field. You’re surrounded by the town’s geography, so the clues make more sense because your surroundings are doing the heavy lifting.

This is also a good moment to set expectations with your group. Tell everyone to slow down, find the clue spot, and check the phone screen carefully. Many app-based city games fail when people rush and assume the next step is far away.

Edinburgh Castle and St Giles: big landmarks, puzzle-style storytelling

From The Mound, your route heads to Edinburgh Castle, the fortress that dominates the skyline from Castle Rock. Archaeology has established human occupation of the rock since at least the Iron Age, even if the earliest settlement details are still unclear.

In a normal guided tour, you’d get the castle facts and then move on. In this game, you’re likely pausing, scanning the area, and solving a challenge tied to what’s around you. That makes the castle feel less like a distant “wow” photo spot and more like a place you’re actively reading.

Next up is St Giles, with origins dating back to around 1130, when a parish church was built during King David I’s reign. The church was associated with the Lazarites, and it was dedicated to St Giles, patron saint of lepers, and later tied to Edinburgh itself.

St Giles is perfect for a puzzle format because the building invites close attention. The game pushes you to look at the details you might otherwise walk past quickly. If your group likes architecture and symbolism, this stop tends to hit better than you’d expect.

One practical note: when a clue is meant to be answered by looking nearby, timing matters. If you start late at night when you’re tired, the screen text and the visual searching both get harder.

Mary King’s Close and Greyfriars Bobby: the old-town legends hit harder at night

Your game then moves into the storytelling-heavy lane network of the Royal Mile with Mary King’s Close. This is a historic close located under buildings in the Old Town. It takes its name from Mary King, a merchant burgess who lived on the Close in the 17th century.

Mary King’s Close is exactly the kind of place that works for a haunted theme without needing constant jump scares. The “bloody past” concept fits here because the setting naturally suggests layers, secrets, and what people hid or endured. Even without a guide, the game structure helps you stay present in the space rather than just taking photos.

Then you arrive at the Greyfriars Bobby Fountain, famous for its life-size statue of Greyfriars Bobby created by William Brodie in 1872. It was paid for by Baroness Burdett-Coutts and unveiled on 15 November 1873. The fountain sits near the south (main) entrance to Greyfriars Kirkyard.

This stop is one of the more concrete “anchor points” for the whole experience. You can use the statue and the kirkyard entrance as a reference while you work through the clue. If your phone is acting up, having a clear landmark like this helps you reset without panicking.

The Grassmarket: where the past turns grim

Next comes the Grassmarket, a square with origins in the 1300s. It was once filled with cattle fairs and stables, and by around the 1670s it became a trading point for goods. Then the tone turns darker: it’s also known as a traditional place for public execution.

That grim connection is the kind of detail that makes a ghost-themed game feel grounded. You’re not just playing a generic Halloween theme. You’re walking through a place where real social history included brutal punishment.

For the best experience, I’d plan to be present here, not rushing. The game asks you to look around for the answer, and with the Grassmarket you can easily lose a minute because there’s a lot to see. If you move slowly and read the surroundings, the stop works as an atmospheric payoff to the earlier closes.

New College and Old College: the walking route includes real institutions

After the Old Town stops, the game reaches educational buildings in Edinburgh, including New College. It was founded as the theological college of the Free Church of Scotland, opening for classes in Edinburgh’s New Town on 1 November 1843. It later moved to the Mound area, and the foundation stone for the current building was laid on 3 June 1846 by Rev Dr Thomas Chalmers.

Even if you’re not a theology-nerd, this stop can add variety. It shifts you from spooky streets to a calmer architectural campus vibe. The clue format also makes you pay attention to the building itself, not just the general area.

From there, the game also includes visits around modern art institutions, starting with the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. It first opened in August 1960 at Inverleith House in Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden. It moved to its present site at Modern One on Belford Road in 1984, and in March 1999 the National Galleries of Scotland opened Modern Two across the road from Modern One.

This is a smart tonal reset. You get your ghost-and-gallows mood, then you get art and civic culture, still tied to places you can see and read in real time. If you have mixed ages in your group, this is where people who are not “super into ghosts” often stay engaged.

Finally, you reach Old College, part of the University of Edinburgh on South Bridge. It currently houses parts of university administration, the University of Edinburgh School of Law, and the Talbot Rice Gallery. It was originally called New College and was designed by Robert Adam to replace older buildings.

Old College is another stop that benefits from a puzzle format. A big building can feel like a backdrop. In a game, it becomes a place you solve, notice, and connect to.

Where this game is best for families and friend groups

One reason this experience earns points is the balance of spooky versus approachable. People describe it as just spooky enough, including a version that worked well for an older teen and a parent at night. That’s the sweet spot for many families: you get atmosphere, but the whole thing stays playful.

The app structure also makes group problem-solving natural. If you travel with friends, you can split tasks. One person reads the clue and another person scans the surroundings. If you travel with kids, it turns a walk into a mission where progress feels earned.

And because you can play whenever you book, you can match the outing to your day. Want it at dusk when the streets feel more dramatic? You can. Want it during a slower part of the trip? You can. That reduces stress.

A realistic look at friction points, so you’re not surprised

The game relies on your phone screen, and that is where the main problems tend to show up in real life.

Some common issues to watch for:

• App loading and account setup: if the app takes too long to load, you waste the start of your hour window when you’re most motivated.
• Clue proximity: this game is designed to be solved near clue locations, but if you end up walking long distances between the right points, it feels like a chore.
• Paid attractions confusion: one complaint claimed that reaching certain landmarks required paying entry, and even security said no for a quick peek. The operator’s position is that entry to paid attractions is not required to play the games, and the experience is designed to work without entering paid locations.

So here’s my advice. Treat this like an outdoor puzzle game, not a ticketed attraction circuit. If you hit a spot where you think you must enter a paid venue, stop and check what the app is telling you, or use the support options provided by the operator.

Also, keep your expectations realistic. Some clues can be tricky to decipher, so bring a group mindset, not a solo perfectionist vibe.

Finishing at 100 W Bow: don’t rush the last stretch

Your game ends at 100 W Bow in Edinburgh. Ending points matter because they help you avoid the classic travel mistake, wandering around at the end trying to figure out where you are supposed to be.

Plan to keep a little energy in your legs for the final segment. If you solve everything too fast, you might get bored at the end. If you solve too slowly, you might feel rushed when you reach the finishing point. Aim for steady progress so your hour feels like a walk with moments of fun, not a sprint.

Should you book Ghosts of Edinburgh?

Book it if you want:

• A self-guided way to see major landmarks without committing to a full guided tour
• Offline play for a smoother city walk
• A family-friendly spooky vibe, especially if you like puzzles and problem-solving
• Flexibility to start any time, pause, and resume

Skip it or think twice if:

• You hate app-based activities or you know your phone can be slow under pressure
• You want a guide to explain everything out loud the whole time
• Your group gets frustrated by unclear puzzles or needs constant reassurance

For most visitors, this is a good value add to a day in Edinburgh. At roughly one hour and low cost, it’s a low-risk way to turn “we walked past that” into “we noticed that and solved it.”

If you’re going at night, charge your phone, keep your brightness up, and build in a calm pace. Do that, and this game can be the kind of Edinburgh experience you remember because you actively took part in it.

FAQ

How long is Ghosts of Edinburgh: Bloody Past Exploration Game and Tour?

It takes about 1 hour (approx.).

Can I choose what time to start and take breaks?

Yes. You can start at any hour, and you can take a break and resume later.

Do I need internet access to play?

No. You can play offline, so you do not need an internet connection.

Where does the tour start and end?

It starts at The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2EL, UK, and ends at 100 W Bow, Edinburgh EH1 2HH, UK.

Is there a physical guide included?

No. This is a self-guided activity, with no physical tour guide included.

What language is the experience offered in?

The experience is offered in English.

Is it suitable for most travelers, and are service animals allowed?

Most travelers can participate, and service animals are allowed.

What if my group is larger than 15 people?

If your group is larger than 15 people, you can make multiple bookings.