Bring your exhibition to life with a game visitors play on their own phones
Epic Scape is a Finnish game studio that makes story-driven puzzle games for museums. The game is built around your exhibition: objects, texts, images and the space itself become clues and puzzles.
A visitor scans a QR code and plays in the phone’s browser. No app to download, no registration.
What is an exhibition game?
An exhibition game is a game played inside the exhibition, where the answers are found in the exhibition itself. In an Epic Scape game the visitor follows a story, looks closely at objects and texts, and solves puzzles on their own phone.
The exhibition is not a backdrop for the game. It is the content of the game. To move forward, visitors have to look at what is on display, and that is the point.
What a museum gets
A game made for your exhibition
We write the story and design the puzzles for your collection, your building or your temporary exhibition. It is not a template with your logo on it.
Visitors who look more closely
The puzzles are tied to details in the exhibition, so visitors notice things they would otherwise walk past.
A reason for families, young people and groups to come
A game gives people something to do together and a shared story to talk about afterwards.
Visitor data
A reporting dashboard shows how many people play, how they progress, how long they spend and which puzzles need hints. Reports download as PDF or CSV.
Your own puzzles
An admin panel lets your staff add puzzles for school holidays, themed weeks or events, with guidance on writing them.
Open when you need it
Keep the game open all year or only for the length of an exhibition. While it is paused you pay no monthly fee, and the game stays saved.
Who plays
Families and children
The game is played together, so it gives a family something to do side by side in the exhibition.
School groups
Puzzles can be designed around the themes pupils are studying. The studio’s founder has over 15 years of teaching experience and works as a game-based learning consultant.
Young people and adults
Players move at their own pace, in their own group, without a guide. In 2025 players rated the games at nearly 4 out of 5 on average.
Event visitors
A game can also be built for a museum night, a festival or a themed event, to give visitors something to do between activities.
How a museum game is made
From the first planning meeting to launch takes around four weeks. Your involvement is two meetings and testing the game. We handle the design and production.
Planning together
We discuss your exhibition, your goals and who the game is for.
Visiting the exhibition
Our writer visits to plan the route, find details to build puzzles around and take any photographs needed.
Writing and building
We write the story and build the game.
Testing and launch
We test the game with you and refine it. You receive posters with QR codes and templates for social media.
How is this different from other ways to bring an exhibition to life?
These approaches work well for their own purposes. A game complements them rather than replacing them.
Museum apps
Apps need to be downloaded and installed. An Epic Scape game opens from a QR code in the browser, so the barrier to starting is a few seconds.
Audio guides
An audio guide tells the visitor about the exhibition. A game asks the visitor to act: observe, decide, solve.
Escape rooms
An escape room locks a group in a room against the clock. Epic Scape is played in open spaces, at the player’s own pace, and needs no one to run it.
Worksheets and activity booklets
Paper needs printing and collecting and gives no data. A phone game tells the museum how visitors actually move through the exhibition.
Experience from museums and libraries
Epic Scape built a game for the Finnish Punk Museum in Helsinki around the Pelle 1.000.070 exhibition, which follows the development of Finnish punk through the career of Pelle Miljoona.
Epic Scape brought new energy to our museum. Players were enthusiastic, and the game was easy to implement without additional resources. I warmly recommend it to other museums.
Rikhardinkatu Library in Helsinki has renewed its contract three times. More than 1,400 players played our games in 2025.
What does it cost?
One game trail costs €1,900 to design and produce, plus €149 per month for the months the game is open. The monthly fee covers the platform, maintenance, visitor data, the admin panel and support. All prices exclude VAT.
- A game for a one-month exhibition: €2,049 in total
- A game for a three-month exhibition: €2,347 in total
Frequently asked questions from museums
Do visitors need to download an app?
No. Visitors scan a QR code and play in their phone’s browser. No app and no registration is needed.
Can the game be made for a temporary exhibition?
Yes. The minimum active period is one month, and a game is usually ready in around four weeks from the first planning meeting, so planning should start a couple of months before the exhibition opens. A game for a one-month exhibition costs €2,049 in total.
How much does an exhibition game cost?
Design and production of one trail costs €1,900, plus €149 per month while the game is open, excluding VAT. A three-month exhibition costs €2,347 in total.
How much staff time does it need?
Usually two meetings and time to test the game. You bring your knowledge of the exhibition. We write the story, build the game and provide posters with QR codes and social media templates.
What data does the museum receive?
Player numbers, progress, play times, puzzle solutions and hint usage, in real time. Reports can be downloaded as PDF or CSV.
Can we add our own puzzles?
Yes. Every trail includes an admin panel where your staff can add puzzles at no extra charge, for example for school holidays or themed events.
Is it an escape room?
No. It uses escape room mechanics, a series of connected puzzles and a story, but players are not locked in a room and are not racing a clock. They play in the open space of the exhibition at their own pace.
Does the game work for school groups and families?
Yes. The puzzles are designed for the audience you have in mind, and the game is played in a group. Tell us who you want to reach and we design for them.
Which languages are supported?
Additional languages are agreed separately as part of production.
What happens when the exhibition ends?
The game stays saved on the Epic Scape platform. You can reopen it later without paying for design and production again, and you pay the monthly fee only for the months it is open.
Which exhibition would you like to bring to life?
Tell us about your exhibition or museum. We will tell you what a game could look like and what it would take.